4 Year Old Son vs. Roosters

[Jmay402]

This is my first year of keeping chickens. Whenever I go to the chicken coop / run, the birds are all fine and never even act like they want to be aggressive to me. My 4 year old son is another story though. The roosters have all had a go at him. I'm wondering if he's maybe doing or acting a certain way to make them want to flog him. I killed one rooster yesterday because it was chasing my son up to the house and attacking him. I don't mind a little peck, but i'm not putting up with that crap. I want to keep at least one rooster, but I am not going to let them be aggressive to my son. Is it a dominance thing maybe? Any suggestions on keeping roosters with small children would be appreciated.

 

[aart]

Don't......is my advice, especially if chickens are a new venture for you.

It's... dominance, defending his territory, and anxiety from little kids typical herky jerky high energy movements.
The swift movements of little children make the cockerel feel nervous and threatened, he attacks the kid who is now scared and this make the cockerel even more nervous......it's a vicious cycle.

Dealing with male livestock requires a state of mind that little kids are usually unable to understand - let alone maintain,
even many adults often cannot achieve it. Humans must remain calm, cool and confident.

With only 6 pullets, I'd get rid of all your cockerels, at least for the first year or so of having them.
Just enjoy the girls, and more importantly don't put your 4 year old in a situation that might make him hate/fear chickens forever.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I agree with aart, it's best to get comfortable with your birds before adding a cockerel. Your son will get better being with livestock, you'll have a better understanding of poultry. Some people never get good responses from cock birds but a year of learning behavior will help immensely. Your hens will train a cockerel for you when introduce next year.

 

[000]

It is almost certainly a dominance thing. You aren't a target because you are obviously higher in pecking order but your son is closer in size so he is a "threat" to their dominance. Personally I don't cull (kill) my chickens for behavioral issues. I sell mine on craigslist. You would be amazed at how many people want roosters. Mine are usually gone within 1 week of posting it. I get over 10 responses and choose the one that wouldn't use it for cock fighting. This is also better that killing because you can make money. I have sold an aggressive rooster for $25.00 to a couple that wanted him for a pet. I hope that I helped!

 

[Folly's place]

Your cockrels will taste great for someone, if not your family. It's part of having chickens in a sustainable way. If you offer them for sale, be honest about the issues you are having, so some other child isn't injured! You can do craigslist, post signs with pictures at the local feed stores, or do facebook to offer them to other people. Mary

 

[sourland]

Your cockrels will taste great for someone, if not your family. It's part of having chickens in a sustainable way. If you offer them for sale, be honest about the issues you are having, so some other child isn't injured! You can do craigslist, post signs with pictures at the local feed stores, or do facebook to offer them to other people. Mary

100 % agreement The potential for injury to a child is too great risk to take - either your own or someone else's. You can wait until your son gets somewhat older and then search for a non human aggressive rooster - they do exist.

 

[Dreysander]

We have a rooster and I have a 7 year old, a 5 year old and a 2 year old. The rooster so far has been a good boy, but I don't let the kids in the chicken run very often. The other day I did and he started crowing at me after they left, he wasn't impressed. He hasn't shown any aggression yet though. If he did, I wouldn't hesitate to kill him and eat him.

 

[allpeepedout]

It seems that many people do have success in finding / only keeping roos who are totally good with all people. That said, in my limited experience, I would not let a young child be unattended with a rooster. In being defensive, roosters are only trying to do their job.

I have a big BR roo and used the roo-training techniques detailed in other threads on BYC, with what I regard as success. If he can tell it's me, we're fine. However, he will attack anybody he doesn't recognize as me. So, if I'm wearing my usual farm garb, he's fine. But if I switch to wildly patterned pants, or show up in sandals with red toenails, he thinks I'm an intruder.

Since it's his job to defend the hens and he's not the brightest bulb in the pack, I can hardly blame him for not recognizing me when I show up in "disguise." All he's seeing seems to be my pant legs and footwear.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm very happy with my always polite to people roosters, and get rid of/ eat the idiots who want to take me or any other human on as if the person is another bird! Stupidity doesn't get to reproduce in my flock, and I do raise chicks, so having good breeding stock matters to me. Mary

 

[donrae]

I'm very happy with my always polite to people roosters, and get rid of/ eat the idiots who want to take me or any other human on as if the person is another bird! Stupidity doesn't get to reproduce in my flock, and I do raise chicks, so having good breeding stock matters to me. Mary

Amen sister!

Something about kiddos make them a target for roosters. I don't know if it's the size, the noise, the activity level, what exactly but roosters love to attack the littles, especially from behind. I'd agree to go roosterless for a while, then find another bird to try as a flock leader. You don't want your child to be one of those folks, 20 years down the road they're terrified of chickens still because of being attacked as a youngster.