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One got in our yard and try to fly into the house but the screen stopped it.
I went outside and I'm was able to get real close to the bird. I could have easily grabbed it. It was very calm and walked slowly around the yard as I followed it.
So what do you think would happen if I grabbed it? What's the best way or parts to grab it by?
I never had trouble with farm chickens but this thing is wild.
It looked delicious, tho' and I do know how to dress them. It looked young enough that maybe it wouldn't be too tough for dinner.
So how do rooster catchers catch roosters?
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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I think the humane society checks out traps with a deposit. My neighbors got rid of some chickens that were pooping on their patio that way, and it was easy. As far as grabbing one, I'd say avoid doing it in a way that allows it to get at you with the spurs just above the feet. You should be able to google the part about dressing one. I have done it with hens before, but you might be better off with professional instructions. Also, I've been told a rooster would have to be very young to be good to eat. YMMV
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Wait till evening. Find where it is roosting. Walk up to its roost, pick it up by the feet and turn it upside down (hanging it by its feet). Place it in the cloister of your choice....
http://the-hroost.com
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Wild roosters are usually not easy to catch. Sly little suckers! They roost high up in the trees and can take off from a standstill.
My dogs love having permission to chase a chicken and keep the wild ones away from our flock of layers. (That goes for Mongoose)
If you do catch it, Green papaya tenderizes just about anything.
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If you have an accurate, and reasonably powerful, pellet gun, sight it in and shoot it in the brain. No bb guns. That would just wound it.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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I decided to Google it and the results were very entertaining! Guns are out here as the neighbors are kind of close (half acre lots). Rooster sure seems tame I held my hand out to it and didn't really do anything or run away.
Of course it explode into wild flesh-tearing fury of feet and beak.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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If the bird lets you get close to it, it was either somebody's pet or its sick. My guess based on your description is that the bird isn't sick but is at least habituated to humans.
The best way to grab it is just that... lure it in with a treat and make a sudden grab for it around the back and then quickly grab the legs so that the wings can't come out while immediately cradling the back of the upside-down bird against your body. The second choice is to grab the tail feathers (as close to its body as possible) and close the distance between you and the bird quickly (like less than 2 seconds) and put the bird in the same position. Either way, once you've nabbed it, continue holding the back towards your body to discourage wing flapping (they can break their wings in a panic) with it's head pointed down towards the ground and then cradle it like an upside down baby using your body and the arm that isn't holding the legs. Even a wild rooster usually submits in this position as the blood rushes towards its brain and makes it dopey. Usually if you just hold it several seconds without movement or drama it calms right down and sometimes they nearly fall asleep. Another option is to grab it by the head/neck and then use a single sudden jerking up/down whipping motion to break the neck, however this method is probably not great for a first timer because if it doesn't work the first time you'll 1) Only injure the bird and 2) Wonder what to do next.
After catching a live bird we put it into a "comfort cone" and then slice the jugular with a very sharp knife and let it bleed out upside down until it has passed. Then you can either scald and pluck it or just skin it. There are many videos on youtube on how to dispatch and prepare them for eat but not as many on how to humanely catch them.
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Since the bird appears so tame maybe it has people that miss it? How about finding them?
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You call it a "comfort cone", I remember it as the "cone of silence" in reference to the show "Get Smart", but no other connection. It was an inverted traffic cone nailed to the fence rail near the coop.
Community begins with Aloha
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"Since the bird appears so tame maybe it has people that miss it? How about finding them?"
Excellent advice. 8F, have you put posters up asking if anyone is missing a rooster? Is it wearing a collar with the owner's phone number? How about Craigslist?
If you have no luck with that approach, then you need to contact everyone in the neighborhood to check if they have a missing rooster before you find a way to cook it.
