children with rooster

[teddiliza]

You should definitely get rid of him.

Your kids shouldn't have to feel like the rooster is more important than they are. Plus once their eye is damaged from a peck or a scratch and you have a huge medical bill on your hands to pay for a corneal scratch and the pain it causes- you will regret NOT getting rid of the rooster either by eating it, or giving it away to an adult only home or farmer who doesn't mind a protective rooster. My son has been flogged in the face twice by a rooster. The fact he was wearing a ball cap both times probably saved his eyes. The first time was because I wasn't in the chicken yard with him. The second time was because he swatted a hen with his hand for pecking his foot through a hole in his shoe. I couldn't blame the second rooster, who was normally not aggressive- the hen squawked and he was 'protecting' his hen. Since he normally was a nice rooster, I found a new home for him. The first rooster -who was normally pretty skittish, was just being territorial, and ran too fast for me to kill it, and we found a new home for it that didn't have kids. The third rooster was a d'uccle that scratched my son's hand while trying to pick up his pet hen. I had been isolating this particular rooster because I noted it to be abnormally aggressive which is not a normal d'uccle trait. This young rooster was beautiful in every way, but I had no qualms breaking his neck immediately after he showed aggressiveness to my son. I do NOT want any of my flock inheriting an aggressive nature. Now it's pretty normal for young roosters to try an test their mettle, but whenever any of them show signs that they want to be boss above me, they get carried around the yard in the crook of my arm like a little pet and I think it really embarrasses the heck out of them and because they can't just squirm away, it reaffirms who's in charge. I make a point of picking them up off the roosts frequently at night and petting them. I do have one that is skittish, but not aggressive, but I'll probably sell him because I want any chicken I own to be pettable without trying to squirm away from me if I want to pick them up and pet them.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The problem I have with those who refuse to wring the necks of nasty Roos, but instead "re-gift" them to others is that the next person might well breed them, which passes on the nastiness, or has to the deed that should have been done in the first place. 2 cents.

 

[ginormous chicken]

I have no roo roo for this reason. My DH (NOT a country boy) is scared of what they can do. I would be worried about the roo trying to gouge the childs eyes. I see 3 options. a. dinner for Sunday sup. b. having the kids hold a broom to push them away c. CL it or giving to a different person. Personally, passing on a nasty roo does no one a service. It sounds horrible, but I would be making dinner with it.

 

[KimM]

I don't think roos and young kids mix either. I want one, but I will be waiting until my youngest is much older. I have heard way too many bad stories. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[jettgirl24]

I have a roo and my boyfriend has kids. My roo has kind of challenged me once or twice and got the kick treatment. I've spent my entire life around 1000lb horses so I'll be d***ed if I'm going to be pushed around by an 8lb rooster but kids aren't generally so brave. I also don't really want to teach them the kick treatment because I'm not sure they're old enough to understand the difference between discipline and it being ok to be mean, nor do I think they're old enough to understand how hard is disciplinary and what will hurt him. I could be wrong about that (I'm not super experienced with kids) but I don't ever want to be responsible for teaching them anything that is somehow used to hurt an animal. My roo has never challenged the kids because I don't allow them to be in a position where that will happen. When they are in the yard unsupervised the chicken coop/run is padlocked shut. When we're spending time with the chickens I either leave the roo in the run and only let the girls out or I closely supervise just to be sure. I can see where that would be a pain/not worth it if you have your own kids and they're at the house full time. I probably wouldn't deal with it in that situation either, but I love my roo and this has worked for us so far.

 

[dianaross77]

There are too many unwanted roosters in the world to put up with an aggressive one. You're bound to find a nice one. They do exist. We had a cochin roo when I was a kid and he was our sweetest chicken. If you don't want to eat him, I'm sure you can find someone who would love to! Maybe they'll trade you.

 

[sourland]

Sorry that I have to agree with the majority on here. Cull the rooster. Just imagine the potential for permanent damage to your children's eyes or faces.

 

[Caddy-Corner-Chick]

I don't mean to steal the thread, but what type of rooster is usually the nicest, I was wanting one for my girls and would prefer to get a Black Austrolaup but not sure if they are known for the rooster reputation or not

 

[speckledhen]

It doesn't have much to do with the breed, frankly. Each one is an individual. There are even aggressive Silkie roosters, though everyone says the breed is docile. Kids and roosters do not mix! Young kids have jerky, sudden movements and make roosters nervous and defensive. They are just stallions or bulls with feathers and in a smaller package.

I have three awesome, calm, even-tempered roosters, but I would never allow a young child around any of them because of the nature of young kids.

 

[new2chickens09]

Thank you all for all the advice on my rooster. The first rooster I ever had ended up fleeing the coop. I wanted a rooster again because I heard that a rooster will protect hens and I was tired of losing my chickens to preditors. But I won't put my children in danger. Its not worth it. He hasn't hurt them yet but I don't want it to get that far. Where I live there isn't any one that I know that have roosters. We got ours from a feed store and it was actually supposed to be a hen and it turned out to be a rooster. I didn't mind at the time because he was only a week old and I didn't know they could get mean. The last thing I want is for my children to be afraid to go in our own backyard.

So dinner it is, I definately do not want to pass the aggresive gene on.