California - Northern

[Kaylish]

I do have a file that has rooster training information in it. Apparently picking him up is not the best thing to do.

Awesome! Thank you very much! gonna get the hubby to read this too.

4 months might be teenage issues. You might want to have your daughter carry him around if possible for the 10-15 minutes. You might be able to show him who is boss but he probably isnt making the connection about her. Maybe if she spends some time and attention on him he might get the idea that she is higher on the authority list than him. Even if big for her age the size difference between her and an adult is going to cause him to think differently. For him to get the idea she probably needs to participate in the discipline

Good idea! I'll combine her training as a "coop master" with his training as "you not the boss!"

 

[fowlman01]

Even if your daughter is big for her age I would not trust this male. While judging I have run into more than a few BCM males that have tried to attack me.
These roosters can do significant damage to children. "Training" usually only lasts for a short time.

Walt

 

[cafarmgirl]

Need some advise on an agressive roo. Our BCM roo is 4 months old and he is getting more and more agressive with my daughter (she's 3 but big for her age). He's in a pen with 3 adult hens, and my 4 month olds - 4 pullets and 3 other roos (2 bantam and a Light Sussex); I know, to many boys but the bantam pen should be done soon.

Last week he kinda jumped at her while she was bending down to pick up one of the hens. I thought maybe he was being protective of his girl but I grabbed him; carried him around under my arm for about 5 mins and put him back. No problems for a few days. Then he straight jumped on her while she was holding one of the bantam roos (both of which allow her to carry them around). Ok, not about the girls... but again, grabbed him, football carry for 5-10 mins and then put him down.
I've been teaching her to stand her ground and be firm but gentle with the chickens and we've had no issues with the other boys. Then today when we went to give the morning treats he tried again! I've been super aware of his behavior so I was able to jump between them before he got her but this was a full on attack. My first thought was he has to go but hes my husbands favorite (he got to pick the roo we're keeping) and I'd like to see if there is anyway to "cure" him of the behavior.

Anyone been able to gentle a roo like this? Is it perhaps the breed? Or teenage hormones that will mellow after a while? Or is this a problem I'm going to have with any roo due to my daughters size/age? (FYI I do NOT allow her in the pen/coop without an adult but I don't want to have to be on constant defense mode just so that she can visit with "her" chickens)
Thanx!

I would not have a rooster with a three year old child around, period. Some roosters do settle down after they hit a year old or so, some just never do. However, there is something about small children that often sets off a rooster. They are small and tend to make quick movements, they are an easy target. Even if a rooster is respectful of adults he may decide a toddler is just his size. The problem with "training" is that you can train him all you want, and he may learn to respect YOU, that has worked for me. But until your daughter is old enough to understand rooster body language and what sets him off she is not going to be able to participate in training him and he is not going to learn to respect HER from the training he gets from you.

Roosters are capable of great damage, at the very least a very painful spurring in the shin. But with their tendency to jump up and spur, a child is at risk of getting a face full of rooster if he gets it in that tiny brain to attack. It doesn't take much to loose an eye or get some nasty scars on the face. To me it's just not worth the risk.

 

[tls_ranch]

 
Need some advise on an agressive roo. Our BCM roo is 4 months old and he is getting more and more agressive with my daughter (she's 3 but big for her age). He's in a pen with 3 adult hens, and my 4 month olds - 4 pullets and 3 other roos (2 bantam and a Light Sussex); I know, to many boys but the bantam pen should be done soon.

Last week he kinda jumped at her while she was bending down to pick up one of the hens. I thought maybe he was being protective of his girl but I grabbed him; carried him around under my arm for about 5 mins and put him back. No problems for a few days. Then he straight jumped on her while she was holding one of the bantam roos (both of which allow her to carry them around). Ok, not about the girls... but again, grabbed him, football carry for 5-10 mins and then put him down.
I've been teaching her to stand her ground  and be firm but gentle with the chickens and we've had no issues with the other boys. Then today when we went to give the morning treats he tried again! I've been super aware of his behavior so I was able to jump between them before he got her but this was a full on attack. My first thought was he has to go but hes my husbands favorite (he got to pick the roo we're keeping) and I'd like to see if there is anyway to "cure" him of the behavior.

Anyone been able to gentle a roo like this? Is it perhaps the breed? Or teenage hormones that will mellow after a while? Or is this a problem I'm going to have with any roo due to my daughters size/age? (FYI I do NOT allow her in the pen/coop without an adult but I don't want to have to be on constant defense mode just so that she can visit with "her" chickens)
Thanx!

I would not have a rooster with a three year old child around, period.  Some roosters do settle down after they hit a year old or so, some just never do.  However, there is something about small children that often sets off a rooster.  They are small and tend to make quick movements, they are an easy target.  Even if a rooster is respectful of adults he may decide a toddler is just his size.  The problem with "training" is that you can train him all you want, and he may learn to respect YOU, that has worked for me.  But until your daughter is old enough to understand rooster body language and what sets him off she is not going to be able to participate in training him and he is not going to learn to respect HER from the training he gets from you.  

Roosters are capable of great damage, at the very least a very painful spurring in the shin.  But with their tendency to jump up and spur, a child is at risk of getting a face full of rooster if he gets it in that tiny brain to attack.  It doesn't take much to loose an eye or get some nasty scars on the face.  To me it's just not worth the risk. 

I agree with Walt and Cafarmgirl . Aggressive roosters/ cockerels and children are not a good combination. I will not keep a human aggressive cockerel because I have kids. This makes selecting good breeders even harder, but my kids come first. Even then I try to keep a close eye on my kids around the " proven" males. They have small brains and strong instincts as for breeding animals that's a dangerous combination,

Trisha

 

[ronott1]

I agree with Walt and Cafarmgirl . Aggressive roosters/ cockerels and children are not a good combination. I will not keep a human aggressive cockerel because I have kids. This makes selecting good breeders even harder, but my kids come first. Even then I try to keep a close eye on my kids around the " proven" males. They have small brains and strong instincts as for breeding animals that's a dangerous combination,

Trisha

I agree too. It is good to read this. I was blasted on a different thread for saying that little children should not be around Roosters.

Thanks!

 

[caychris]

I agree with Walt and Cafarmgirl . Aggressive roosters/ cockerels and children are not a good combination. I will not keep a human aggressive cockerel because I have kids. This makes selecting good breeders even harder, but my kids come first. Even then I try to keep a close eye on my kids around the " proven" males. They have small brains and strong instincts as for breeding animals that's a dangerous combination,

Trisha

I was assuming that mama was close at hand with a 3 year old that close and that she was not going to be the primary lookout for his behavior only hold him (if able). I wouldnt put up with it for long either.

 

[Audio51]

Quote: They gave me the 2-prong wing stabber so the only way to vary the dose would be to do only 1 prong on the little ones. I can't find anything that says anything about varying the soese by age though.

The vaccine was only $7.50 at the feedstore. I looked online and the cheapest was $14.99 plus shipping. One place was less than $10 for the vaccine , but due to "special handling" the total would have been $65!!!!! I guess they were going to hand deliver it to me the same eveing for that price.....

Rawr!

My 2 latest zebra dove chicks.

They are so cute!

So the farm is now dogless (enter very sad emocon here).

We've never had a predator attack because he did his job. He also only ate chicks and loved the full grown chickens like friends. All we had to do was keep the chicks away from him (he thought they were treats on legs).





Our landlady showed up unannounced and approached this 130# guard dog with her hand out (didn't get permission) and guess what. He bit her. Yup, our dog bit the landlady

Since she was pretty convinced she was going to die of rabies (she was badly scared and had 2 puncture wounds and bruising but no stitches needed) she wanted him tested. I feel like a complete heel because his rabies booster was due in April and I completely forgot. A little self-forgiveness is probably due here because my husband was gone and I was doing all I could to keep the place from falling apart. Anyway, one cannot test a live animal for rabies. She must have the test results in spite of the fact the vet told us there was no documented case of rabies in the Central Valley for 70 years.

So yesterday my husband had to take our dog, actually my son's dog via a birthday present, out to the family ranch and bury him.

What a terrible day.

Oh no! What a horrible day for you. I don't understand why the dog could not just be quarantined. If vaccines are current they even let you quarantine at home. If is was past due, as in your situation, they might have required it be at the vet or shelter, but they would usually only euthanize if quarantine was not an option due to cost. Hugs to you and your family

Need some advise on an agressive roo. Our BCM roo is 4 months old and he is getting more and more agressive with my daughter (she's 3 but big for her age). He's in a pen with 3 adult hens, and my 4 month olds - 4 pullets and 3 other roos (2 bantam and a Light Sussex); I know, to many boys but the bantam pen should be done soon.

Last week he kinda jumped at her while she was bending down to pick up one of the hens. I thought maybe he was being protective of his girl but I grabbed him; carried him around under my arm for about 5 mins and put him back. No problems for a few days. Then he straight jumped on her while she was holding one of the bantam roos (both of which allow her to carry them around). Ok, not about the girls... but again, grabbed him, football carry for 5-10 mins and then put him down.
I've been teaching her to stand her ground and be firm but gentle with the chickens and we've had no issues with the other boys. Then today when we went to give the morning treats he tried again! I've been super aware of his behavior so I was able to jump between them before he got her but this was a full on attack. My first thought was he has to go but hes my husbands favorite (he got to pick the roo we're keeping) and I'd like to see if there is anyway to "cure" him of the behavior.

Anyone been able to gentle a roo like this? Is it perhaps the breed? Or teenage hormones that will mellow after a while? Or is this a problem I'm going to have with any roo due to my daughters size/age? (FYI I do NOT allow her in the pen/coop without an adult but I don't want to have to be on constant defense mode just so that she can visit with "her" chickens)
Thanx!

I have one that is only a couple of months old that has been charging my feet. I have started going after him first and he has not been so aggressive. He will be dinner when he is big enough any way so I am not too worried about him.

 

[Kaylish]

Even if your daughter is big for her age I would not trust this male. While judging I have run into more than a few BCM males that have tried to attack me.
These roosters can do significant damage to children. "Training" usually only lasts for a short time.

Walt

I would not have a rooster with a three year old child around, period. Some roosters do settle down after they hit a year old or so, some just never do. However, there is something about small children that often sets off a rooster. They are small and tend to make quick movements, they are an easy target. Even if a rooster is respectful of adults he may decide a toddler is just his size. The problem with "training" is that you can train him all you want, and he may learn to respect YOU, that has worked for me. But until your daughter is old enough to understand rooster body language and what sets him off she is not going to be able to participate in training him and he is not going to learn to respect HER from the training he gets from you.

Roosters are capable of great damage, at the very least a very painful spurring in the shin. But with their tendency to jump up and spur, a child is at risk of getting a face full of rooster if he gets it in that tiny brain to attack. It doesn't take much to loose an eye or get some nasty scars on the face. To me it's just not worth the risk.

I agree with Walt and Cafarmgirl . Aggressive roosters/ cockerels and children are not a good combination. I will not keep a human aggressive cockerel because I have kids. This makes selecting good breeders even harder, but my kids come first. Even then I try to keep a close eye on my kids around the " proven" males. They have small brains and strong instincts as for breeding animals that's a dangerous combination,

Trisha

I agree too. It is good to read this. I was blasted on a different thread for saying that little children should not be around Roosters.

Thanks!

I was assuming that mama was close at hand with a 3 year old that close and that she was not going to be the primary lookout for his behavior only hold him (if able). I wouldnt put up with it for long either.

Thank you all for the imput. I discussed this with my other half and we decided to rehome this particular roo. In the interest of furthering both my education and this discussion in general (and I value all opinions here) Is it that all roos have this instinct and should be allowed no contact with children until the child is able to fully understand the rooster behavior and react appropriately? Or that its just certain breeds or birds are aggressive; and once shown as such should then not be trusted?
For context; my birds are in a locked coop/run that she can not open by herself and is never allowed inside without Mom/Dad within arms reach. But for me a bit part of having a flock is the opportunity to teach her how to care for her animals and where her food comes from so eliminating her contact is not an option. The question then becomes; can I keep a roo?

 

[ronott1]

Thank you all for the imput. I discussed this with my other half and we decided to rehome this particular roo. In the interest of furthering both my education and this discussion in general (and I value all opinions here) Is it that all roos have this instinct and should be allowed no contact with children until the child is able to fully understand the rooster behavior and react appropriately? Or that its just certain breeds or birds are aggressive; and once shown as such should then not be trusted?
For context; my birds are in a locked coop/run that she can not open by herself and is never allowed inside without Mom/Dad within arms reach. But for me a bit part of having a flock is the opportunity to teach her how to care for her animals and where her food comes from so eliminating her contact is not an option. The question then becomes; can I keep a roo?

The thing is you just do not know what will set one off. We had a barred rock rooster go after my little brother. The Rooster took of running at him, jumped up into the air and hit him with the spurs. He was several years old and very heavy, this being the 1960s. My brother still has the scars on his leg. If he and been three it would have been much higher.

The Rooster made very good Chicken and dumplings.

I would not let three year olds out with large fowl roosters.

You can keep a rooster. Don't let them out where the children are. Treat the roosters like livestock. If you had a bull, you would not let the toddlers near them. I would not go near them. They can be very scary.

 

[tls_ranch]

I would not trust a 3 year old with a large fowl rooster. That said... There are roosters who could care less about adults and children. Sometimes it's hard to find them. Show quality birds from breeders may tend to be better mannered than hatchery birds. But, don't bet on it. Personality can vary greatly even with in a flock.

I too met a huge...no gigantic barred rock rooster when I was a kid. Unlike Ron's poor brother, this one did not attack even when up to 6 little kids were chasing hens around the coop on a daily basis.

I've had several good roosters that barely even batted an eye at kids or me chasing hens around. One was good with cats, dogs, kids and even other roosters. One was good with everyone but other roosters. That one would not tolerate other roosters anywhere in eye sight. But, like Ron said breeding males of any kind of animal should never be trusted completely.

Trisha