Can auracana roosters be aggresive?? He is 5 months old now but I have little kids.....

sararoni

Chirping
7 Years
Aug 26, 2012
256
9
98
chicago
Hi everyone,

We got a rooster from a friend that couldnt keep him.
He seems fine but I was reading that roosters can attack little kids. Mine are almost 3 and 5 years old.
I was told he is a white araucana.
Did anyone had any experience with them??
I am worried as I cant be always in the garden with the kids. I have 3 hens by the way.

Thanks a lot in advance
 
Any rooster can be aggressive, especially with little kids who are prone to moving in unexpected ways and making loud noises. Generally speaking, roosters and small children just don't mix, and even with roosters that are completely tame around me, I wouldn't have small children around them unsupervised. I myself have a scar from a rooster that attacked me when I was three, so I can speak from experience here.

If possible, keep your roo penned up if there's a concern that the kids will be in the yard unsupervised. Use supervised time outdoors as an opportunity to educate your kids and the roo on how to treat each other. If he'll let you, handle your roo as much as possible, and even have your kids hold him and carry him around. The more you do this, the more he will respect you as the top of the pecking order and the less likely it will be he'll try to thrash you or a family member.
 
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Any rooster has the capacity to be aggressive, especially when mixed with loud, fast, erratic moving children (e.g. perfectly normal kids just being kids, but perfectly mimicking everything most roos interpret as a danger to the flock). It's never a good idea to mix roos and young children, because it only takes one well placed peck or spur to put out an eye. If you plan to keep him, I'd keep him in a run and not allow the children to interact with him until they are older and better able to understand the kind of noise/behavior that can set a roo off as well as effectively defend themselves should he ever try a go at them.
 
Thanks everybody.
Needless to say I am worried and I am having mixed feelings about this rooster now...
 
Just be watchful, educate the kids, and keep him penned when the kids are out and about. If it gets to be too much to handle, either re-home him or send him to freezer camp..
 
Unless the rooster is in a pen where he cannot touch the children, I would get rid of him. Two weeks ago, I let my chickens out to free-range while I supervised them - as I do almost daily. It was my layer flock, and I had only one rooster with that flock. I've been around that rooster daily since he was a day old chick. I was babysitting my 2-year old granddaughter that day. I walked across the yard holding my granddaughter's hand, and the rooster charged us. It was the first time he has ever acted aggressive. I immediately scooped up my granddaughter and faced off the rooster. After another couple charges where he rushed toward us but stopped before getting too close - he was definitely challenging us - he finally backed off, and I took my granddaughter inside and stayed with her there until my husband got home to watch her. Then I went outside and put the chickens back in their coop/run. Since I want to keep the rooster for a breeding project - I immediately moved him into a separate pen. Otherwise, I would have gotten rid of him. He (and the two hens I moved in with him) have plenty of room, but he won't be allowed outside to free-range again. I will never let any of my 3 grandchildren around the chickens without my being right there with them.

But even being right there with a child doesn't guarantee they're safe. I read just a few months ago here on BYC about a mom who was outside with her child (2 or 3 years old), and even though she was right there, the rooster attacked the child and she had a hard time getting the rooster off the child. They ended up spending the day in the ER. Thank goodness, no major injuries.

It's not worth taking the chance. Roosters and children don't mix.
 
Thanks everybody.
Needless to say I am worried and I am having mixed feelings about this rooster now...

If he hasn't shown any aggression towards anyone, then just keep him separate from the kids. If you have a run, then you should be good to go. Don't let them free range when the kids are out and don't let the kids in the coop/run and give it some time for the adults of the household to sound him out and see how it goes. If he gets nasty with adults, it's time for him to go. If he's good, then have the kids bring treats to the flock through whatever barrier you have in place. Then you get him used to the presence of the kids and you can take the time to teach your kids how to behave around a roo. Once the kids get older and are tall and strong enough as well as used to and well educated in handling chickens, then you can consider supervised mixing of the two to see how it goes.

If there's a liklihood that an accidental interaction will occur, then scrap this idea and eat or re-home him.
 
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