Rooster attack, but maybe he had a good reason? Next steps? How would you interpret his behavior?

[FunClucks]

I haven’t heard mention how big his spurs are ? Keep an eye on those. Roosters have spurs for a reason: to kill and maim and attack. They can do serious harm to grown adults much less a child. I’m sorry you are experiencing this. But if you must have a roo and I get it, they are so cool, you may need to start over and hope for a more docile one.

His spurs are 1/2" long. Once the weather is a bit warmer I'll be looking into trimming them for the first time while he's wrapped in a towel. If that goes well, he'll get to stick around longer, if not, then we are done.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

An attack towards a child? I introduce it to #6 birdshot, strike one he's out.

 

[3KillerBs]

I gave my rooster, Rameses, a second chance, but his apparent aggression was only crowding and a single peck.

Had he attacked my grandchildren he'd be soup.

 

[centrarchid]

Maybe this naughty rooster can be sent to me. I can more than likely get him into being civil while not riling up the animal rights people. He would be alive after effort as well.

 

[Keeper of Flocks]

I'm definitely keeping a much closer eye on him now. And my daughter is banned from the coop. My son has appropriate safety equipment and is monitored when out there. He's been around from day one taking care of them, while my daughter has not.

Speckle has totally cut out all aggressive behavior. But as you say, spring is coming.

I'll have a pet sitter sometime in March. I'm seriously considering crating Speckle in an XL dog crate for the duration of the pet sitting. She can just monitor the water and fill the food from outside the crate.

Just my thoughts. From what I’ve read, I think you’re doing very well with your handling of the cockerel. You’re being patient and this can be a great learning experience. It sounds to me like you have his respect, though never turn your eye, of course. You’re more aware now of positions, such as being lower than him, which could provoke attack. Now, the cockerel, in his nature did this thing, perhaps others would not have. This is notable.
I think the little girl, being unfamiliar to him could be considered a mishap, although some would have a rooster who wouldn’t attack any person, ever. I believe in nature and nurture, not either or, therefore I don’t believe there’s no hope for him. Train, but don’t work too hard at it, that you can’t enjoy your flock, those are your chickens, and he’s very fortunate to get to be your rooster, don’t forget.
Don’t allow him to take over your place!
I believe in giving them a little grace, they’re not always going to get it right. But as they age, you should have the full respect of this rooster, and your boy, and if you don’t after all, well, you gave him a fair chance.
That’s commendable!

 

[Folly's place]

This is definitely a learning experience for you, and so far nobody has been really injured and that's good.
I think he's dangerous, and that your children shouldn't have to worry about any of your chickens wanting to hurt them. And spurs can really hurt, but so can beaks!
This cockerel would be gone, as dinner for someone, if he was here. We started with a nasty bantam rooster, and carrying a weapon, and finally got over it. then we tried every method to 'reform' difficult cockerels, all failures. Now, nobody stays who's thinking bad thoughts at any of us. Life is good, the chickens are a pleasure to have, and we only keep 'nice guys'.
Mary

 

[FunClucks]

Just my thoughts. From what I’ve read, I think you’re doing very well with your handling of the cockerel. You’re being patient and this can be a great learning experience. It sounds to me like you have his respect, though never turn your eye, of course. You’re more aware now of positions, such as being lower than him, which could provoke attack. Now, the cockerel, in his nature did this thing, perhaps others would not have. This is notable.
I think the little girl, being unfamiliar to him could be considered a mishap, although some would have a rooster who wouldn’t attack any person, ever. I believe in nature and nurture, not either or, therefore I don’t believe there’s no hope for him. Train, but don’t work too hard at it, that you can’t enjoy your flock, those are your chickens, and he’s very fortunate to get to be your rooster, don’t forget.
Don’t allow him to take over your place!
I believe in giving them a little grace, they’re not always going to get it right. But as they age, you should have the full respect of this rooster, and your boy, and if you don’t after all, well, you gave him a fair chance.
That’s commendable!

Thanks for the encouragement. Speckle has done fine for this last little while with me and my son and my husband, and that's what I want from him. No signs of anything, everyone has been pretty calm. We've kept a close eye on him, and no hints of trouble.

Now we are introducing the pet sitter, who is actually my sister, who is larger than me, but sounds like me, and is used to rehabilitating abused dogs, and snakes, and a variety of other animals, and has taken direction pretty well on how to interact with Speckle. So far it's going well. If it stops going well, I have options.

Since he's totally confined, if small, screechy, fast-moving people are just not his thing, we can live with that.

 

[DonyaQuick]

From Speckle's perspective, I guess my daughter was an intruder, so he was protecting his hens from someone new that he didn't know coming into his space.

Yep, some animals learn to be ok with one person and then are ok with just "people" in a general sense but others have to learn one person at a time. That can hold for hens too, the difference of course being they will run away from a stranger they're afraid of rather than attack. One of my hens makes a huge fuss if someone other than me tries to pick her up. Also holds for other animals like dogs, parrots, etc. It sounds like your cockerel is not generalizing what he learns with one individual human to other arbitrary humans. That can be worked on in just about any animal, but it does mean any exposure to strangers has to be done carefully. Personally I wouldn't expose novel young children to such an animal (whether dog or rooster) and would make sure adults are introduced alongside an already trusted individual.

I've got a cockerel right now who is a bit younger than yours. I have handled my cockerels a lot; I know not everyone agrees with that but it's how I did things. He is high strung and goes into defense mode easily, but he loves being held...by me. Just me. He doesn't generalize what he learns from my handling to other people, so he bites my husband if my husband tries to pet him. That's down to not enough interaction from my husband as that cockerel matured, and we're working on it. In contrast, that cockerel's brother generalizes a LOT. My husband interacted with the brother cockerel even less and yet can interact with him just like I do. The high strung husband-biter out of those two birds is definitely the better flock defender though.

 

[Keeper of Flocks]

Thanks for the encouragement. Speckle has done fine for this last little while with me and my son and my husband, and that's what I want from him. No signs of anything, everyone has been pretty calm. We've kept a close eye on him, and no hints of trouble.

Now we are introducing the pet sitter, who is actually my sister, who is larger than me, but sounds like me, and is used to rehabilitating abused dogs, and snakes, and a variety of other animals, and has taken direction pretty well on how to interact with Speckle. So far it's going well. If it stops going well, I have options.

Since he's totally confined, if small, screechy, fast-moving people are just not his thing, we can live with that.

Thank you so much for giving an update!
Respect on both sides, without fear, sounds like as it should be. Your sister is very kind for helping while you’re away!

 

[SourRoses]

Poor little girl doesn't get to enjoy seeing the birdies


Reading the rationalization from some respondents in these types of threads... it's all the same thing. It's what a caring person wants to think. It's not reality.