does this roo have to go?

[Leah S]

Hi there! So today I was in the coop checking eggs and water and all that good stuff. The kids were outside in the yard, as were the chickens. My son started crying so loud and screaming for me. Thinking he was hurt I ran out into the yard. He told me that he was walking to the coop to get me when the roo started to case him and flap his wings. My son is 5 and has always been a bit worried about the roo because he is so big. (He is big, standing taller than my knee, maybe that's a normal size for one, I don't know.) Now I had my son, while holding my hand, to walk up to the roo and reassert himself. Had him walk up to the roo and the roo backed down, don't know if that actually did anything. Little later he feed the chickens some treats. The roo did not seem very interested in my son. But now I am worried that it may happen again or get worse. We have tons of kids in the neighborhood and CANNOT have a roo that is going to chase kids.
Do you think the roo will do it again? Any suggestions on how I can nip this. Would rather keep him instead of eating him.
The roo is a silver cuckoo maran about 6 months old. He is normally very laid back, this is the first time I have a had a problem with him.

 

[peepblessed]

Hi there! So today I was in the coop checking eggs and water and all that good stuff. The kids were outside in the yard, as were the chickens. My son started crying so loud and screaming for me. Thinking he was hurt I ran out into the yard. He told me that he was walking to the coop to get me when the roo started to case him and flap his wings. My son is 5 and has always been a bit worried about the roo because he is so big. (He is big, standing taller than my knee, maybe that's a normal size for one, I don't know.) Now I had my son, while holding my hand, to walk up to the roo and reassert himself. Had him walk up to the roo and the roo backed down, don't know if that actually did anything. Little later he feed the chickens some treats. The roo did not seem very interested in my son. But now I am worried that it may happen again or get worse. We have tons of kids in the neighborhood and CANNOT have a roo that is going to chase kids.
Do you think the roo will do it again? Any suggestions on how I can nip this. Would rather keep him instead of eating him.
The roo is a silver cuckoo maran about 6 months old. He is normally very laid back, this is the first time I have a had a problem with him.

He will no doubt do it again and could continue to get more aggressive. I read about some methods of discipline on here. One is to carry a good squirt gun or spray bottle. The one I used on my silkie cockerel was to push him down to the ground and hold him there a couple of minutes. That would probably only work with a tame roo. Hope you don't have to eat him!

 

[Pinky]

I've had success with holding roosters down on the ground until they stopped trying to get away like what was mentioned above, but if your son is afraid of the bird, I would not keep him.

 

[justachick]

If a roo gets aggressive its isn't likely they will change. You can cow them but generally they will take any opportunity to attack. Is this your only roo? If you have more than they'll be more aggressive to try and be cock of the walk. If he's the one and only Id butcher him before all that testosterone makes him less edible.
justachick

 

[bobbi-j]

I'd get rid of the rooster - especially since you have alot of kids in the neighborhood. You don't want to be liable of he attacks a neighbor child and does serious damage. Also, do you really want your son to be afraid to go outside or near teh chickens all the time? I don't know why you have chickens, but if part of the reason is to enjoy them and teach your kids responsibility, you're defeating the purpose if your boy is afraid of them. If you really want a rooster, maybe look for an already grown one, I got a 1 1/2 year old Brahma from a neighbor over a year ago (well, actually, I got 8 of them with the intent to butcher them all, then decided to keep one for my flock). He's a sweetheart. No, I don't mean a cuddly pet. I mean a respectful rooster that never EVER challenges me, and when my little grand-niece and nephew want to go see the chickens, he leads the hens away instead of going toward the kids. He hardly even looks at them. If you get a mature rooster, you make sure he's gentle and not another mean one.

 

[kgdubois]

I had something very similar happen to me with my 2 year old son. I had a gorgeous Cuckoo Marans rooster that I was very fond of challenge my son a couple of times, flapping his wings & chasing him. Graham went from really enjoying going out to the chickens & gathering eggs with me to screaming & crying if I even talked about taking him out with me. The rooster was very gentle up until he was right at 6 months old, and I was told on here that this is often the case -- they get aggressive when their hormones start to "kick in" and they feel the need to be dominant. I tried TONS of different suggestions for making the rooster less aggressive towards people -- holding him down, walking slowly towards him to make him back down & away from me, catching him & carrying him upside down by his legs until he stopped fighting me, and more. He was not aggressive at all towards me, only my son & strangers who came into the flock area. The final straw was when my son finally decided to come back out to the chicken yard with me to gather eggs & the rooster attacked him, flogging him with his wings and spurring him ON HIS FACE, right next to his left eye. He had a huge bruise, a big long bloddy scratch a puncture wound on his forehead from the spur. I caught the bird, wrung it's neck right there & ate him for supper. He was, in all honesty, my favorite chicken out of my flock. He was very gentle with me, and if I were alone he'd come up and hop onto my knee & hang out with me. I am not at all the kind of person who would do something like that (wring his neck, I mean) but I was so angry & worried about my son! I could not take the chance that the rooster would attack another child. I would advise anyone with a rooster that is showing any sign of aggression to either place them with a home that has no chance of children coming into contact with them, or cull them before accidents happen. My son is finally getting to where he is enjoying the chickens again, ad it has been over 5 months since he was attacked. I was worried that he would never want to be around the birds again, but thankfully he seems to realize that the hens are nice!

 

[Leah S]

thanks for all the advise!! Sad to report that the roo is going be supper. the knives are sharpened and got a 5 gallon bucket all ready for him. Waiting for the weekend so the hubby to be around since it does bother the kids when we kill the birds. He was a good bird, but my kids come first. Hopefully he will be super tasty, not that I am going to enjoy killing one of my birds. But I have to do what I have to do.

 

[sourland]

Good decision.

 

[HoustonChicks]

I've gone through the aggressive rooster troubles, too. Still going throught it, daily, I'm afraid. Advice to me was "send 'em to freezer camp," but we do not kill any of our animals, although I'm afraid I might accidently whap one in the head out of anger when it flogs me. Our Silkies are sweet and never had one challange me, but the bantam roosters are a bunch of thugs. Is it because I have too many roosters to ratio of hens? I have to carry a long stick when I go out and wave it behind my back as I walk, and I still sometimes get hit in the leg. Then the little criminal runs away before I can grab him. I get them at roost time, carry them around, hold 'em upside down for a few seconds, whatever I can think of to make them think twice the next time, but their memory seems short. A water gun seems to help when they start to come after me. But the enjoyment of walking among my chickens is a trail. I wish I could get bantam Ameracauna pullet chicks, but they only come straight run, and that's where all the roosters come from! Aaaiieee!

 

[chigger bait]

When I was a young'en we rented place in West Tennessee out side of Memphis in Shelby County, TN.

The land lord had a large flock of White Rock Chickens that free range over the property.

The rooster was meaner than a stripped snake and would make a dive for us kids when ever he had the chance.

Mom had asked the landlord to see if he could keep the chickens up because of that and they would get in the garage and mess on the car and her chest freezer.

One summer morning I went out the back door, turned the corner and there he was in all his glory, at which time he jumped up and spurred me through the hand.

I went in the house and showed mom and that was all that she could take.

Dad was at work, so she when an got his .22 automatic rifle.

She couldn't get it to operate, but she did have an old German Walter P-38 in the bedside table that was loaded and waiting.

Shot the rooster with a 9MM FMJ that went through him bounced off the gravel and though an old out building in the back yard.

The landlord had a sharecropper that was tilling a field of cotton behind the house, heard the shot and the ricochet, jumped of the tractor, leaving the tractor running in the field, and hightailed it for the landlords house.

The chicken problem came to an halt after that.

Sometime you have to do what you have to do.