Rooster not socializing and may be sick (might have went through abuse)

[betafkeet]

Hey, hope all of you are having a good day/night,

I recently got a Serama rooster who is about a year old for my hens who are aren't that far behind in age, as soon as I got the rooster it tried jumping out of the car when I was going home and when it got there it started running around the entire garden, not even 3 people together could catch it, I had to separate it from my hens as I believe it was attacking them, whenever I go close to its cage it starts screaming and clucking as if I am a predator, touching it is out of the question since it will freak out,

I don't really know what to do to help this rooster, it eats and drinks when I'm not there but that's all, I tried bringing my hen a bit close to him and he calmed down a bit and started making noises and my hen responded but after some time he went back to the usual screaming.


Can somebody help me please? I heard Serama chickens are entirely peaceful but this one is quite the opposite

(Did not know what section to put this in so I just went with this one)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hey, hope all of you are having a good day/night,

I recently got a Serama rooster who is about a year old for my hens who are aren't that far behind in age, as soon as I got the rooster it tried jumping out of the car when I was going home and when it got there it started running around the entire garden, not even 3 people together could catch it, I had to separate it from my hens as I believe it was attacking them, whenever I go close to its cage it starts screaming and clucking as if I am a predator, touching it is out of the question since it will freak out,

I don't really know what to do to help this rooster, it eats and drinks when I'm not there but that's all, I tried bringing my hen a bit close to him and he calmed down a bit and started making noises and my hen responded but after some time he went back to the usual screaming.


Can somebody help me please? I heard Serama chickens are entirely peaceful but this one is quite the opposite

(Did not know what section to put this in so I just went with this one)

Welcome To BYC

Is there a way to get photos of him or can you get a video of his actions?

For video, upload to youtube and provide a link.

What was the reason the previous owner was getting rid of him?

I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that he was abused. He's been uprooted from his known space/home (familiar surroundings), been taken for a car ride (was he loose in the car?), chased by 3 strange people all over a garden and caged. He's in a scary unfamiliar place with new noises, faces, etc. etc. Sounds like he's quite frightened.

Go slow. Provide him with food and water. Let your hens come around his cage, but you stay back from his cage. Do sit somewhere near so he can see you. Talk to him and the ladies. If you don't know what to talk about, take a book with you and read. Let him hear your voice, see that you are sitting nicely and not a threat. Every few days, move just a little closer and sit and talk. If he gets panicky because you are too close, then move back a bit. SLOW. It's going to take time for him to calm down.

Now. This may not 100% work. Some birds are just flighty. They panic and don't want ANY contact at all. They just don't. I have a 2 year old hen that was hatched here, she's seen me every single day of her life, but I can just look her way and she's not having any of it...some are just like that.

Once he's familiar with his surroundings and the hens have been near and are familiar with him, then let him out, see how he interacts personally with them. If all is o.k. there, then see how things go. He may never warm up to you, but if he's good to the hens, then I'd call it a win. Every once in a while, you can end up with a rooster that just isn't going to work out for some reason or another - interactions with the hens is the most important thing to me, but if he turns on the hens, then make a tiny casserole.

 

[betafkeet]

Welcome To BYC

Is there a way to get photos of him or can you get a video of his actions?

For video, upload to youtube and provide a link.

What was the reason the previous owner was getting rid of him?

I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that he was abused. He's been uprooted from his known space/home (familiar surroundings), been taken for a car ride (was he loose in the car?), chased by 3 strange people all over a garden and caged. He's in a scary unfamiliar place with new noises, faces, etc. etc. Sounds like he's quite frightened.

Go slow. Provide him with food and water. Let your hens come around his cage, but you stay back from his cage. Do sit somewhere near so he can see you. Talk to him and the ladies. If you don't know what to talk about, take a book with you and read. Let him hear your voice, see that you are sitting nicely and not a threat. Every few days, move just a little closer and sit and talk. If he gets panicky because you are too close, then move back a bit. SLOW. It's going to take time for him to calm down.

Now. This may not 100% work. Some birds are just flighty. They panic and don't want ANY contact at all. They just don't. I have a 2 year old hen that was hatched here, she's seen me every single day of her life, but I can just look her way and she's not having any of it...some are just like that.

Once he's familiar with his surroundings and the hens have been near and are familiar with him, then let him out, see how he interacts personally with them. If all is o.k. there, then see how things go. He may never warm up to you, but if he's good to the hens, then I'd call it a win. Every once in a while, you can end up with a rooster that just isn't going to work out for some reason or another - interactions with the hens is the most important thing to me, but if he turns on the hens, then make a tiny casserole.

Short update on what happened, I tried a different method and I put a stick in the middle of my garden and attached a thick string to one of his legs yesterday, (I know it sounds a bit cruel but it worked out in the end) then I had my hens roam around my garden while I threw some treats in his area, surely enough he started to trust me again, he could still walk and run with the string on him I just put it on him so he could not jump over any fences and run off, this morning he was a completely different chicken, never screamed when I touched him and he has even started to follow and play with my hens today, he does shake a bit when I hold him so I won't really do it anymore until he is used to my presence.

 

[betafkeet]

Welcome To BYC

Is there a way to get photos of him or can you get a video of his actions?

For video, upload to youtube and provide a link.

What was the reason the previous owner was getting rid of him?

I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that he was abused. He's been uprooted from his known space/home (familiar surroundings), been taken for a car ride (was he loose in the car?), chased by 3 strange people all over a garden and caged. He's in a scary unfamiliar place with new noises, faces, etc. etc. Sounds like he's quite frightened.

Go slow. Provide him with food and water. Let your hens come around his cage, but you stay back from his cage. Do sit somewhere near so he can see you. Talk to him and the ladies. If you don't know what to talk about, take a book with you and read. Let him hear your voice, see that you are sitting nicely and not a threat. Every few days, move just a little closer and sit and talk. If he gets panicky because you are too close, then move back a bit. SLOW. It's going to take time for him to calm down.

Now. This may not 100% work. Some birds are just flighty. They panic and don't want ANY contact at all. They just don't. I have a 2 year old hen that was hatched here, she's seen me every single day of her life, but I can just look her way and she's not having any of it...some are just like that.

Once he's familiar with his surroundings and the hens have been near and are familiar with him, then let him out, see how he interacts personally with them. If all is o.k. there, then see how things go. He may never warm up to you, but if he's good to the hens, then I'd call it a win. Every once in a while, you can end up with a rooster that just isn't going to work out for some reason or another - interactions with the hens is the most important thing to me, but if he turns on the hens, then make a tiny casserole.

I also contacted the last owner about the rooster, and turns out he did have an interesting past, he had internal bleeding due to their children playing around with him and treating him like a toy so they had to take him to a vet and his bleeding did end up stopping but they could tell he was mentally disturbed by what happened to him, luckily he does not scream or anything when I come close and even accepts to eat food out of my hand often once he sees my hens doing the same.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Short update on what happened, I tried a different method and I put a stick in the middle of my garden and attached a thick string to one of his legs yesterday, (I know it sounds a bit cruel but it worked out in the end) then I had my hens roam around my garden while I threw some treats in his area, surely enough he started to trust me again, he could still walk and run with the string on him I just put it on him so he could not jump over any fences and run off, this morning he was a completely different chicken, never screamed when I touched him and he has even started to follow and play with my hens today, he does shake a bit when I hold him so I won't really do it anymore until he is used to my presence.

I also contacted the last owner about the rooster, and turns out he did have an interesting past, he had internal bleeding due to their children playing around with him and treating him like a toy so they had to take him to a vet and his bleeding did end up stopping but they could tell he was mentally disturbed by what happened to him, luckily he does not scream or anything when I come close and even accepts to eat food out of my hand often once he sees my hens doing the same.

Poor Guy

Yeah. He's been defeated and knows it.

I'd still go really slow with him. I wouldn't handle him unless it's necessary for health checks. He has hens, so likely he'll stick around.

Do you have photos of him?

 

[betafkeet]

Poor Guy

Yeah. He's been defeated and knows it.

I'd still go really slow with him. I wouldn't handle him unless it's necessary for health checks. He has hens, so likely he'll stick around.

Do you have photos of him?

I will take photos in the morning since it is really dark and he's probably sleeping and I don't want to disturb him, I only go near him if its really needed, I let him roam free today and he was really socializing and came near me to hang out every once in a while, starting eating comfortably from my hand, I think this is the first time he has seen non-violent human interaction in his life that is why.

I'll be sure to send pictures of him soon.