Right decision to cull?

[goldfinches]

I had one go after my little girl and sent my husband to kill him right away. Not only did his actions scratch my daughter, but now she's afraid of all the chickens. It's a very sad thing and I hope she can recover, mentally, and be able to enjoy the flock as she grows.

 

[Presidential]

Absolutely, you did the right thing!

Tip for the future:
If any animal will "come at" YOU, he will most definitely "come at" a weaker, less dominant human (your child). You had warning - twice.

 

[cinch920]

Good decision! No need to have a meanie attacking your kids. Doing chicken chores should be fun, not dreading it because you know your gonna get attacked! lol

 

[Jkm0518]

My daughter is just fine. She was glad to see the rooster go and I was sad to kill him cause he was a good rooster he protected his flock but he had to go after that. Both girls can't wait to eat him and the one girl he attacked played with his head for a second and held his feet while I skinned him up. They are excited to eat him. My wife says she refuses to eat him. She is upset that I hurt her daughter while protecting mine- direct quote there. I guess there are deeper issues there though

 

[bobbi-j]

You definitely have deeper issues going on. Sounds like your daughter is just fine with it all. Your wife, I'm guessing is a city girl with the "animals are our friends" mentality. I can say this, because I was that woman at one time. Raised in a Mpls. suburb, married a farmer and learned about raising our food - both meat and veggies. Hopefully your wife will get over it soon. Again, you're doing the right thing by your daughters in teaching them about the circle of life. Kids are so resilient. We had a steer once. Just one (bad thing for me, because I still tend to see our animals as "pets") and my sons - ages 11, 9 and 7 named him Butch. Why? "Well, we're gonna butcher him anyway, right, Mom?"

ETA - He really wasn't a good rooster. A good rooster won't go after you, your kids, or any other human.

 

[Jkm0518]

Absolutely, you did the right thing!

Tip for the future:
If any animal will "come at" YOU, he will most definitely "come at" a weaker, less dominant human (your child). You had warning - twice.

yup. I had told my wife several times if he went after one of the girls I would have to dispatch him.

It now seems my alpha hen has taken over the roosters job with the crowing lol

 

[Jkm0518]

Th

You definitely have deeper issues going on. Sounds like your daughter is just fine with it all. Your wife, I'm guessing is a city girl with the "animals are our friends" mentality. I can say this, because I was that woman at one time. Raised in a Mpls. suburb, married a farmer and learned about raising our food - both meat and veggies. Hopefully your wife will get over it soon. Again, you're doing the right thing by your daughters in teaching them about the circle of life. Kids are so resilient. We had a steer once. Just one (bad thing for me, because I still tend to see our animals as "pets") and my sons - ages 11, 9 and 7 named him Butch. Why? "Well, we're gonna butcher him anyway, right, Mom?" 

. that is too funny. Love the name, and your dead On about the city girl animal lover thing. I've told her sooner or later all our livestock has to be slaughtered. The best we can do is give them a good life till then.

 

[bobbi-j]

Th
. that is too funny. Love the name, and your dead On about the city girl animal lover thing. I've told her sooner or later all our livestock has to be slaughtered. The best we can do is give them a good life till then.

That's exactly it. They're not being raised in cages, or over-crowded buildings. Our steers are allowed to be outside with plenty of space (my dad actually raises them as he has a better place to do so). You know what your animals have been fed, and whether they've been medicated or not. The thing that helped me the most is to not give them names. And have more than one.

 

[Jkm0518]

That's exactly it. They're not being raised in cages, or over-crowded buildings. Our steers are allowed to be outside with plenty of space (my dad actually raises them as he has a better place to do so). You know what your animals have been fed, and whether they've been medicated or not. The thing that helped me the most is to not give them names. And have more than one. 

. Yup. And I tried to warn her not to get attached to them or name them. That rooster was happy up until he went. I feel a lil sorry cause he knew it was his time to go when I grabbed him. He had treats every day and would eat right outta my hand. It's too bad he had to mess up that one time. I'm hoping this will be a lesson to both girls and my wife about wasting food, especially meat. They do it too much and my wife lets them. it's a huge pet peeve of mine cause some animal had to give its life for us to eat today.

 

[Doubleyolker]

Add a vote on your side. Roo had to go! This time he drew blood. what if next time he gother her eye? It has happened. I always wondered how the conversation would go when you explained to your child that they needed surgery to repair their face. AND you were warned and failed to protect them. nothing I would ever want to do. I argued this to a man whose chow had " nipped" his child in the face and lucked out with only 2 stitches. He thought the dog should get a second chance. The dog had prior offenses and was a loaded gun. There are so many nice roosters out there who are sweet and still protect their ladies....... hey kinda like you did when your baby needed protecting!