Is this typical for cockerels?

[Mrs. K]

In my experience, older birds have more blood spots?

What I would suggest to the OP, is get just pullets. Get some experience. Really the chance of 2 roosters and 1 hen working was almost nil at the beginning.

Roosters and cockerels take some experience, I am pretty confident, they would be taking the kids on too, within a short amount of time had you not done the culling. Personally, while it is a bit hard, I think it is good for kids to know where food comes from, and all of my grandchildren were a bit surprised, but not traumatized.

Hens for a year, then add a cockerel if you want. If you are keeping them in a traditional back yard, I would be surprised if hawks or eagles would get them. Roosters have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of kids, and one must always be very aware of them. They really are not pets like dogs and cats.

Mrs K

 

[ClickityChick123]

You definitely did the right thing culling them, the aggression would probably just increase. I hope you have better luck next year, and (if you get any cockerels) they will turn out better than the others! I've already gotten two cockerels this year and had to rehome them (we aren't allowed to have roosters) and it broke everyone in the family's hearts!

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

I'm sorry about that experience.
As far as "typical" behavior, it's something I've been reading about a lot on here when people (new to chickens) treat chickens like puppies.

We don't handle our birds unless we have to, so that likely plays into my experience.
There's been a grand total of 1 human aggressive chicken here. He was a good rooster, until some horrible people visited the farm and enjoyed their children harassing all our birds.
Soon after that, the rooster saw humans (children) as dangers to his flock.
I was about 3? And was the first target. Even though I used to be able to be right next to him.
He probably became dinner after he came after me.
Very different from your situation.

Aside from that, I've been around zero human-aggressive chickens. (*knock on wood)
Of many hundreds.
Hatched here, incubator raised, hen raised, store bought, hatchery shipped, purebreds, sex-links, barnyard mix.
We'd end up with many cockerels, and kept a few cockerels and roosters. And all ours were fine.
Part of it was surely just that we had chill birds, with plenty of space and free range (we typically had dozens at a time, so space was important). But the more I read these stories, the more I think that babying a chicken can do too much harm. They just aren't like dogs or cats.

If you still want chickens, pullets/hens is the way to go. There could be a risk of aggression, but it's less likely.
Hens also can take care of themselves without a rooster. As long as they have places to hide from an aerial predator, they should do okay. The hens can alert the flock with or without a rooster. They should adapt.

 

[Mrs. K]

Part of it was surely just that we had chill birds, with plenty of space and free range (we typically had dozens at a time, so space was important).

I think space is much more important and has a great deal to do with how all chickens behave, but especially cockerels and roosters.

But also, there is a world of difference in a farm set up and a backyard set up, where as the children are playing in the same yard and space as the chickens. Children are loud, quick, and have unpredictable movements, this can be upsetting to cockerels and roosters.

However, my husband tells a story of his uncle and a rooster, and he was not betting on the uncle, they can be very violent. And that was in a farm set up.

I think, like you, it is responsible to remove dangerous roosters from backyards with children. It is important for new people to realize that not all birds work out in the space they have. Adjusting the flock for that is important.

Mrs K