eveliens
Songster
- Jun 24, 2020
- 210
- 317
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TL;DR: serama cockerel was watched by a sitter for 2 weeks and was handled too roughly - now he bites when you try to pick him up
More detail: Lucky Duck is a 4 mo old cockerel who's hormones hit 3 days before I went out of town. Usually I rehome cockerels well before the hormones hit but he got very sick as a chick and took a long time to recover. Apparently, he bit the sitter (to mount) and the sitter is rather... old school about this. The result is every time the sitter went to pick him up, he was very aggressive and rough about it. The cockerel had zero problems being picked up prior but now he bites (hard!) whenever hands come near him. If I could, I'd just not pick him up at all for awhile, but unfortunately he has to be picked up 2x a day to get him in/out of his sleeping place. I'm planning to see about changing this up but that doesn't resolve the biting just decreases it.
What are some humane and kind ways I can train him into allowing himself to be picked up without panicking and lashing out. He's shredding up my hands LOL - his bites are mostly harmless but they hurt because he latches and twists! I will need to rehome him now that he's crowing, and I can't in good conscious rehome a rooster that bites. I'd be too afraid he's bite someone and they'd react like my sitter and accidentally hurt or kill him since he's so small.
(he does not chase or spur. he's actually very wimpy, so it isn't an aggression or horny problem, it is definitely fear of hands )
More detail: Lucky Duck is a 4 mo old cockerel who's hormones hit 3 days before I went out of town. Usually I rehome cockerels well before the hormones hit but he got very sick as a chick and took a long time to recover. Apparently, he bit the sitter (to mount) and the sitter is rather... old school about this. The result is every time the sitter went to pick him up, he was very aggressive and rough about it. The cockerel had zero problems being picked up prior but now he bites (hard!) whenever hands come near him. If I could, I'd just not pick him up at all for awhile, but unfortunately he has to be picked up 2x a day to get him in/out of his sleeping place. I'm planning to see about changing this up but that doesn't resolve the biting just decreases it.
What are some humane and kind ways I can train him into allowing himself to be picked up without panicking and lashing out. He's shredding up my hands LOL - his bites are mostly harmless but they hurt because he latches and twists! I will need to rehome him now that he's crowing, and I can't in good conscious rehome a rooster that bites. I'd be too afraid he's bite someone and they'd react like my sitter and accidentally hurt or kill him since he's so small.
(he does not chase or spur. he's actually very wimpy, so it isn't an aggression or horny problem, it is definitely fear of hands )