Do I have to have a rooster?

[BigBlueHen53]

Your situation is not uncimmon! And no, he probably will not mellow out. In fact he will probably get worse. It's hard to believe since he is "only a bird," but a rooster can do you some serious harm. He has spurs of course but also claws, beak and wings. And he can easily jump as high as your head. I am not trying to scare you, just make you aware. Nobody is going to fault you for not keeping him, or for not being "patient" with him. Please do not feel that you have to justify your decision here. Way too many of us have gone through exactly what you are going through, and it is our collective voices of experience that are telling you: there is no good reason to keep him.

 

[BDutch]

Almost everything has been said in the previous posts.
Just want to add a few things.

First congrats with your newborn.
Second, its a good decision to rehome this Silkie cockerel asap.
Third, is the fact that roosters and children are often a bad combination. Unfortunately your older daughter knows now and probably has learned how to act. If your baby becomes a toddler she/he better not have access to any rooster. Its no guarantee at all when a rooster acts okay with adults and grown ups , they will respect a smaller child too.

 

[Altairsky]

And maybe as he gets older he’ll mellow out.

Mine got worse and worse until one day, 2 years later, while I was bringing out the food for the chickens, he shove his 2 inches long spur all the way in, through my boot, into my thigh flesh, until he hit my leg bone. I had to toss my boots, my pants and my socks, and I'll have another permanent scar.
Don't wait for this to happen. I can't imagine the damage my rooster could have done to a kid.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I'll have another permanent scar

I also have a rooster scar. I was a teenager when I got it but it is a good reminder of how dangerous roosters can be, especially to children. My scar is on my butt Because that’s the kind of guy Charlie was—the kind that would flog you as soon as you turned your back. That’s just about the right height to get a kid in the eyes and not worth the risk. Nobody wants to lose an eye to a dirty spur.

 

[McChooky]

I’ve raised him since he was a chick so I was hoping he’d mellow out. He’s not the absolute worst (I’m sure there’s meaner out there) but how aggressive he is with my hens isn’t it for me. My daughter is scared of him and his lunging at me several times has been it. It’s only a matter of time fore he gets someone. And maybe as he gets older he’ll mellow out. But I truly don’t have the patience for it (as bad as that sounds).

I have no faith my roosters offspring will turn out any better than him but the choice is theirs to make. Never blame yourself for the choices a rooster makes. Mine didn't like anyone messing with the hens but I put up with him 3 years.I didn't have to worry about my rooster hurting anyone but me.He was scared of visitors

 

[FrostRanger]

I’ve raised him since he was a chick so I was hoping he’d mellow out. He’s not the absolute worst (I’m sure there’s meaner out there) but how aggressive he is with my hens isn’t it for me. My daughter is scared of him and his lunging at me several times has been it. It’s only a matter of time fore he gets someone. And maybe as he gets older he’ll mellow out. But I truly don’t have the patience for it (as bad as that sounds).

It's not bad at all, that's the point where you understand that life is too short for mean roosters. Best way to have nice livestock is to treat them with care and respect and not put up with mean individuals, they will only make life miserable and produce more mean animals

 

[SkyAJK]

I had a rooster for 7 years..he was a surprise in the flock of chicks I adopted. Now i have a Pekin Bantam rooster....
Here are my personal experience with roosters in my flock

The lovely things about rooster are:
They are sweet
Beautiful mating dance
So handsome
Gentlemanly protect the hens
Keep peace in the flock
Manage the flock which is a big task - save me doing it.
Quite lovely to spend time with
Rooster is very special in so many ways.

The not so nice things about rooster are:
Bother then hens with mating
Crow too much sometimes
Attack human sometimes

I missed having a rooster after my old rooster gone. Then I got a bantam rooster, he is cute to look at because he is a frizzle, does not look much like a rooster. He did a few times attack us, but he is so tiny that it has no impact.

I do regret having him sometimes because he bothers the hens too much. He has been with us for 7 months now so adjustment still in progress. Most of the time I love looking at him, he makes me laugh for just being his tiny frizzle self.

I do want a rooster in my flock, it requires me to workout how to get that balance for the hens, the rooster and me

 

[McChooky]

I had a rooster for 7 years..he was a surprise in the flock of chicks I adopted. Now i have a Pekin Bantam rooster....
Here are my personal experience with roosters in my flock

The lovely things about rooster are:
They are sweet
Beautiful mating dance
So handsome
Gentlemanly protect the hens
Keep peace in the flock
Manage the flock which is a big task - save me doing it.
Quite lovely to spend time with
Rooster is very special in so many ways.

The not so nice things about rooster are:
Bother then hens with mating
Crow too much sometimes
Attack human sometimes

I missed having a rooster after my old rooster gone. Then I got a bantam rooster, he is cute to look at because he is a frizzle, does not look much like a rooster. He did a few times attack us, but he is so tiny that it has no impact.

I do regret having him sometimes because he bothers the hens too much. He has been with us for 7 months now so adjustment still in progress. Most of the time I love looking at him, he makes me laugh for just being his tiny frizzle self.

I do want a rooster in my flock, it requires me to workout how to get that balance for the hens, the rooster and me

My rooster got worse and worse over time and tried attacking me last summer at 2 plus yrs old. He started up again in the last couple of weeks and hit me from behind while I was on my knees gathering eggs. I have no regrets about giving him as many chances as I did but I'm also happy that he is dead.He went to freezer camp last week

 

[SkyAJK]

My rooster got worse and worse over time and tried attacking me last summer at 2 plus yrs old. He started up again in the last couple of weeks and hit me from behind while I was on my knees gathering eggs. I have no regrets about giving him as many chances as I did but I'm also happy that he is dead.He went to freezer camp last week

My old rooster did that sometimes, out of the blue attack us and he punchered a hole into my gumboots. It was not safe with him, we were very careful around him. I learned to recognise the signs and not to turn our back to him and always know where he is. We took extra steps, he attacked us sometimes and at a certain condition. We loved him so much and he was not all the times bad.

I understand completely that there are roosters out there that are very aggressive and the injure can be fatal.

 

[McChooky]

My old rooster did that sometimes, out of the blue attack us and he punchered a hole into my gumboots. It was not safe with him, we were very careful around him. I learned to recognise the signs and not to turn our back to him and always know where he is. We took extra steps, he attacked us sometimes and at a certain condition. We loved him so much and he was not all the times bad.

I understand completely that there are roosters out there that are very aggressive and the injure can be fatal.

I replaced my rooster with one of his offspring (7 mo old cockerel)He was hatched and raised by a broody hen in the flock and free ranged since he was hatched so he's untouchable.
EDIT:
I've never raised one like him before so I'm not sure what to expect from him as a rooster.He is a legbar and leghorn cross and looks and acts like a leghorn