Cockerel Biting Child

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

It's irresponsible to give an aggressive male to someone else, even if you've mentioned to them they're agressive. Usually people don't take it seriously and tend to ignore the warning

Ok, If you've mentioned how the bird is and they still chose to take it, respect of a persons free will an choice must be honoured. Freedom ALWAYS comes before safety, for it is more important, even then life itself, what is a life worth living without choice and freedom if only safety is the option.

 

[aart]

Romance meets Reality.

 

[Katanahamon]

I’ve never had a rooster before.
My daughter is extremely tough and capable of handling herself but of course I worry about her well being. There’s no way to keep them separate so either everyone has to get along or the roosters gotta go.
However with them free ranging do they not require a rooster to keep them safe??

A rooster is merely the first chicken to be taken by a serious predator. There are ways to protect a flock, and if predator pressure is extreme, free ranging may not be an option.. Everything is great..till someone loses an eye. Rehome him.

 

[NatJ]

He wants our daughter to experience the death and help with the cleaning/cooking.
She’s one and a half She’s super smart but I feel like her being involved might scar her for life.

No, it will not scar her for life.
It will probably affect you more than her.

If your husband wants her to watch and be involved, I would let them do that.

In general, adults and big kids seem to get more upset than little kids. For an adult or a big kid, they think they know how the world works, and butchering their pet feels unfair, like a betrayal of how things are supposed to be. Little kids are still learning about the world, so instead of feeling betrayed, they are more likely to accept that the world just does work this way. Yup, we eat chickens, and this is how the chicken goes from alive to dead to ready to cook to actually cooked and tasting good.

If your husband is matter-of-fact and doesn't get all emotional about it, your daughter will probably react similarly.

The worst part is he’s her buddy and he’s the biggest and most handsome we have. Not to mention his protection for the girls saved their lives during an attack.

Those are good reasons for YOU to feel upset, but your daughter might not feel that way. I'm sure she won't care that he's the biggest, most handsome, and protected the hens. She certainly might care that he's her buddy, but that would have to change anyway since he cannot be trusted to behave safely.

 

[Katanahamon]

It's irresponsible to give an aggressive male to someone else, even if you've mentioned to them they're agressive. Usually people don't take it seriously and tend to ignore the warning

Well, I’m sure they meant give him away to someone who will have a better solution, not spring him on the unwary..Lol..

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Romance meets Reality.

I don’t even get what that means.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

A rooster is merely the first chicken to be taken by a serious predator. There are ways to protect a flock, and if predator pressure is extreme, free ranging may not be an option.. Everything is great..till someone loses an eye. Rehome him.

We live in the deep woods and it’s not feasible to fence large areas to rotate them on and it seems rather cruel to keep them in a dirt floored pen.
Rehoming also seems irresponsible if a dog attacked a child you wouldn’t just rehome it. So it’s life or death for him. He either lives or he dies.

 

[aart]

I don’t even get what that means.

Getting chickens can be very 'Romantic', but some of the 'Realities' are not fun at all.

Rehoming also seems irresponsible if a dog attacked a child you wouldn’t just rehome it.

Not quite the same.
Giving away an aggressive cockerel with all behaviors stated can be fine,
the new owner might not have the same issues you do.

 

[Isadora]

So it’s life or death for him. He either lives or he dies.

My kids had told me that one of our cockerels (My favorite, of course) had chased one of them and that cockerel immediately went on a 'wait and see' list, since part of the story was that the kids were offering the chickens peaches in a rather aggressive manner (ie, throwing them at them ). So I gave him a couple days so I could observe him before I made a decision. He was an Easter egger and very beautiful, so I wondered if somebody might want him. He was a beautiful bird and it seemed a shame to kill him.
I was on the phone outside not too far from the chicken coop 3 days ago and he sidled up to me and my 4-year-old and attempted to attack me. Thankfully I had a big shiny cup in my hand and I threw it at him. Naturally I missed, but the cup went bouncing and rolling down the hill and that cockerel chased it far away. As soon as I got off the phone, a big pot of water went on the stove for the scalding.
I'm sorry you have to be forced to make this decision, but it's for the best of your daughter. She's young enough that she won't remember, and as she gets older, I'm sure situations like this will crop up again and you can teach her. My kids are all very involved whenever we raise the meat birds that we butcher ourselves. I was a little worried when we first butchered a few ducks that they were going to be traumatized, but my husband is very matter of fact, and no one had nightmares or was traumatized or anything like that. Now it's a part of life to them. Good luck!

 

[Brooks_]

@HeathenHavenHomestead I don't think there is much I can add other than to agree that it is unlikely that the behavior will get better and that I think any taming methods you may have heard of are a waste of time. With full disclosure, he could be rehomed (likely someone else's dinner), or you dispatch him. You don't even have to eat him...I have two in shallow graves.