My California White Rooster, Charlie is not playing very nicely.

[catholder]

Charlie is about 5 months old...we love raising our chickens...we have 2 yr old and 3 yr old human boyz - Charlie has decided he needs to herd them around and attack - no spurs yet - but he jumps on their chest and pecks at the same time...is he doomed to a new home (stock pot) or can he be saved and live with our 14 hens, 9 guinea fowl, 5 goats, 2 barn kitties, a puppy and my 2 human children?? The kidz love to be involved with the animals but Charlie, Charlie, Charlie is not playing very nicely. I've searched the internet looking for a behavior description and can't find it...does anyone else have a cali white rooster and how is his attitude?

I love hearing is crow but not seeing him attack my children...can he be saves? (Before my husband gets him?)

 

[mstricer]

Buy your boys a kids gardening rake that they can use to push the roo back show it who boss (prongs facing down) I have a yellow one and my mean roos jump back with I hit the ground infront of them (again prongs down) It took a few times, even me pushing them in their chest (again prongs down) They now think the rake is the ruler of the run (I do leave it up against coop so they dont forget whos the boss.

Teach them to be brave not afraid

 

[Brindlebtch]

Be careful with your kid's faces. Yes, Charlie needs to be re-homed to freezer camp. Lots and lots of nice roosters out there so there is no need to keep a jerk.

 

[Kev]

Bottom line.. most likely he cannot be "saved". Some roosters can be deterred by techinques, some very particular ways some absolutely swear by.. but in truth aggression is Genetic plus some environmental influence. So there's all kinds of roosters, as for those that do attack anybody, some can be trained to quit that nonsense, many will seem to stop.. only one day to sneak up and whup out of the blue.. "train him" gain and he seems to stop... for a while.. rinse, repeat.. for others, nothing really helps, they simply keep doing it again and again and again.

Since your boys are really young, it's probably just best not to find out what sort of rooster he is and just cull him out. You can try one technique, but if he threatens or charges at the boys again after, really, just take care of him right there. Chickens can do a LOT of damage to a small child, people like to think it's mainly the spur that does the damage but really, a lot of damage is caused by the claws, wing beating and pecking.

Aggressive roosters out of production bred lines are a common occurence. This is because they were bred for production only, things like nice or not so nice roosters are simply not considered important at all in a strict production breeding. As a result, RIR from production lines are very famous for being extremely aggressive, unfortunately so are some leghorn lines(some lines throw roosters so aggressive they literally keep coming back to attack despite being kicked.. again and again..)

This is why there's always such a huge range of opinions and suggested treatments for aggressive roosters.

 

[catholder]

Thank you all for your info...what is a good rooster for the hens AND kids? The kids are not afraid of him - he just follows and when they turn towards him he attacks - it has only happened a few time and that is a few times too many - and yes, the claws, jaws and wings are going like crazy - he's only 5 months and showing aggression ONLY to my kidz - he dances for me and lays on the ground at my feet and talks to me like he does his hens - so he knows I'm boss -- but not my kidz - the kidz have also been around him his whole life and just now is he starting this...poor Charlie - my husband told me to call him Stew...a neighbor may want him knowing he might go in the pot.

But please any info on a good kid friendly rooster would be appreciated.

~Peace~

 

[Emzyyy]

I hold mine upside down by their legs until they stop flapping and then when I put them down I make sure they are the first to walk away. If you walk away first especially showing your back your showing submission and that he is the top roo.

 

[Kev]

Dancing towards you is not good. He definitely does not regard you as a boss at all.. don't be too surprised if he eventually attacks.

Dancing is a combination of signals, it is basically courtship/herding if aimed at hens but is also used as a warning/threat if directed against another rooster or a person before he finally attacks. Seems he so far considers you a "hen".. Hens are to respect roosters, so you still are something "below" his status. A lot roosters will be kindly towards hens, as long as they never challenge him. As soon as one squares off with him.. he is going to whup her butt with no hesistation.

It's impossible to know which cockerel will turn out nice, they can and often change when they fully mature. Best bet is looking for already fully grown, mature rooster with a mellow personality and no inclination to charge at kids(or anybody).

There is no specific breed for nice roosters either. A lot of people will say silkie roosters are very nice, however there are a lot of silkie roosters that will and do attack people.

 

[catholder]

Thank you Kev -- Good info to know --
Charlie started to dance at me before the other hens - I was flattered - what's up with the laying on the ground, face down, clucking p it seemed submissive to me? Oooo that little one... I will be passing Charlie on.
Thanks Again!

 

[Kev]

The sitting down and clucking is also what some roosters do with some hens, usually they do that in a secluded spot, it kind of looks like the rooster is calling to what he thinks is a good nest spot.. I have seen it and noticed that often several hens will become very interested when they hear & see this behavior and come over to "check it out".

It's good that he has not attacked you so far but it's still more of him regarding you as a hen to court. So that kind of puts him in that iffy zone, maybe he will never attack you, maybe one day he will demand you respect him(with a whup) but the real problem he already has gone after the kids several times already, it's likely he will go after them again.

Pretty much a "good rooster" does not regard any person as another chicken so they don't try to "apply" chicken rules towards people. Make sense? He does all the roosterly things with the hens but only comes up for food, treats and then goes on his way with the girls. With small kids, it can be slightly a challenge due to their size, excitement and high pitch noisy excitement, which can be a little too exciting for a rooster.