Having roosters with small children and babies

[haleymarie]

Keeping the chickens confined with very high fencing would be the only way for me to keep roosters when small children live, play, run, screech, play ball etc. on the same premises.

Anything can trigger a rooster attack, even more so the normal, but unpredictable, noisy and active way small children behave. They could lose an eye and get scarred for life - it is just not worth the risk.

Thank you!

 

[Shadrach]

It's not just about the rooster. it's about you and your children and the conditions your chickens are kept in. If like Ridgerunner you come from a farming background then your expecations of other creatures behaviour may be rather different from someone whose main experience with other creatures is through having pets. I coped with free ranging roosters when I was a child on my uncles farm. I learn't very fast to be wary of all the other creatures, they all have the potential to injure and sometimes kill their keepers.
If you intend to range, or free range and you have plenty of room (acres) then the chances of human rooster conflict should be less.
If you are going to keep the chickens confined then you need to be aware that the area of confinement becomes the roosters territory and he is likely to defend it as he is his hens.
For those new to chicken keeping who intend to keep a confined group my view is don't keep males to start with. Get some experience of chicken keeping with hens only. You'll find out lots of things that in practice don't quite work out for you and the chickens. Get these things sorted out first including how you and your children respond to having chickens. If you find for example that you and your children enjoy the pet side of chicken keeping and want to handle the hens then probably a rooster isn't the best option.
It's also worth bearing in mind that how you teach your children how to behave towards the chickens has a major impact on how well everyone will get along.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A few years ago there was a thread on this forum where a guy had a free ranging flock with a rooster that was no problem at all, even with kids playing outside. Then his 5-year-old son started chasing the hens for fun. It was so cute, that little boy playing with the hens.

The rooster started attacking that boy any time he saw him. Nobody else, just that boy. The rooster had to be put down for protecting his hens. Controlling your kids is important.

 

[haleymarie]

One mans story... I did it.

Thank you! This is really encouraging.

 

[haleymarie]

It's also worth bearing in mind that how you teach your children how to behave towards the chickens has a major impact on how well everyone will get along.

Thank you! I have been teaching my son already and he’s actually doing really well so far with respecting them and their space and being “gentle” with them. I let them free range as chicks for a few hours a day so he’s familiar with them being out and about while we do our gardening or whatever else outside.

 

[RcoM]

It depends. In my experience, raising cockerels with same-age pullets CAN make it more difficult to have a decent relationship with them as they don’t learn things from their older flock members like they would in a normal social structure. Plus, children have no idea how to interact with roosters, which can set off a less tolerant rooster even if he interacts well with you. I had a rooster that was an absolute angel with me and every other adult, but young kids that didn’t know how to regulate their attention got spurred. I have also had roosters that were completely fine with even the most annoying kids.

Even if you supervise your kid, accidents happen, and you don’t want one slip to result in an ER visit. Personally, I would not recommend keeping the roosters in your situation, but that’s a generalization based on my experience with same-age flocks and how a good chunk of roosters react to that dynamic. Usually aggression doesn’t crop up until 8-12 months old so I would say wait and send them to freezer camp - no need to waste their meat.

Since you're new to chickens and have two small children, I'd rehome or cull.
Roosters are a completely different animal and not for the still learning.
Never believe what you read online about temperament, chickens are individuals. getting more hens will not solve anything except possibly over breeding.
You are not a bad owner for getting rid of them, in your circumstances, they would not be a wise choice. Your kids health and safety are much more important.

Personally, I agree. You have not owned chickens for long. Increasing your hen number just for a rooster will mean a lot of extra feed to buy and excess eggs. Calculate how many a day you now eat or use. Who eats eggs in your family now and how often a week? We found 1 hen (or less) per person was enough, if you usually eat an egg most days. I would say you’ll be covered well with eggs already- as soon as they lay. Does the chick seller have a rooster return guarantee?

 

[Scooter1A]

I recently started my first flock of what were supposed to be all pullets, but it’s looking like two of the seven I purchased are cockerels - a Salmon Faverolles and a Black Australorp (thanks to those on here who helped me ID them!). They are currently 4ish weeks old. I’m planning to get more chicks, hopefully all pullets, when I move this batch to their coop in a couple of weeks because I would like to keep a rooster around and I want him to have more than five hens. However, it is my first flock, aside from the smaller flocks we kept growing up, none of which included roosters, and I don’t want to be irresponsible. I have an almost two year old son and will have another baby this fall. The chickens will be free range during the day when I’m home and will be put up when I’m not. Obviously I won’t let my son go out with them unsupervised. I’ve heard that both Faverolles and Australorps make great, docile roosters, but I also know every roo is different and I don’t want to generalize and just “hope for the best”. I know I’ll most likely have to cull or give one away later on simply because there won’t be enough hens for both and I’m fine with that. I’ve been doing a lot of research and there’s a lot of info and differing opinions out there! Is giving one a chance too risky with my kids? Possibly both if it works out with additional hens? If not, should I get rid of them now or wait to cull them later on so they can go in the freezer? Sorry for the long story, and thanks in advance for advice!

Australorps are very cool birds. Big mellow bird. Good luck. I would not let them be around roos until they can swing a stick.

 

[haleymarie]

Personally, I agree. You have not owned chickens for long. Increasing your hen number just for a rooster will mean a lot of extra feed to buy and excess eggs. Calculate how many a day you now eat or use. Who eats eggs in your family now and how often a week? We found 1 hen (or less) per person was enough, if you usually eat an egg most days. I would say you’ll be covered well with eggs already- as soon as they lay. Does the chick seller have a rooster return guarantee?

Thanks! I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask.

 

[Sunbonnets]

I had the same issue as you but kept my rooster and he’s great.
When he comes at me once in a while, it’s mostly for show. I just pick him up and rub him and talk to him and carry him around as much as possible.
He’s totally fine after that.
He’s never hurt me or my kids.
We love having him around.
I would hold them now as much as possible and get them used to being around kids while they are still on the smaller side.

 

[Mrs. K]

You have years to enjoy this hobby and all of its' fascinating arms of the hobby. And this can be a hobby that you enjoy with your children for years to come, maybe all their lives too.

But a lot of people have had the whole hobby ruined by an attacking rooster, and generally speaking, inexperienced people do not pick up on the signals that he is becoming aggressive and the attack comes out of nowhere - this forum is filled with those posts.

You are going to have your hands full with your little ones, and accidents do happen, little kids are quick and so are roosters. Imagine being in the ER, getting your darlings face sewed up. Small children take the attack in the face, and roosters tend to attack children first.

I would wait for roosters until your youngest is about 4-6. Yes, you can raise chicks from your own flock, you just don't need to do it right now. Get some experience raising the birds up, harvesting birds, finding the breeds you like, testing out your coop and run for predators and seeing how many birds really fit in there peacefully.

My point is that there are lots of this hobby to try, don't need to do it all this year, grow into it.

Mrs K