Robin (my young Roo) attacked my 2 year old son...

[Mycookoonest]

Robin, my favorite chicken... my CHICKEN STALKER, attacked my son. He's a Bantam and only got Wes' shins, but still... How do I handle this. I told Wes to stop chasing the chickens... but try telling a 2 year old to stop doing anything. So now I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep Wes away from the chickens at all times. I really wanted him to learn how to take care of them as he grew up, to collect eggs, and help feed them.

Is there a way to solution this or is this just going to be the way it is... He did lay some pretty good scratches on those shins... 1/2 of me was proud he's protecting his flock and the other 1/2 almost made me wring his neck for attacking mine!

He's also starting to do that little Roo dance with me... but he'll still let me pick him up even if it's for a minute.

 

[wyliefarms]

Get rid of the roo or lock him up. Attacks will only get worse and protecting your child should be top priority, not a stupid chicken!

IF one of our roosters ever tried to hurt my kids I would ring its neck right then and there.

 

[Beekissed]

First, I wouldn't let your boy get anywhere near the chickens without your presence not more than 2 ft. away from him. Then, I would let him know that chickens weren't for chasing!

Then, I would school that rooster if he even looks cross-eyed at either of you....and I mean hard!
I know folks on here say to pick them up and carry them around, and that may work (if one has the time to carry around roosters in your daily travels) but the chicken needs to understand, just like your little boy will have to learn his lessons, that humans are not for flogging. YOU rule the roost, not him, and the sooner you get that message across, the better.

My rooster did this a couple of times to "protect his flock". Not flogging, but a peck and a little dance. I took the idea out of his mind immediately with a firm cuff around the head, the second time with a few lofts on the end of my "chicken stick". He has not repeated the behavior. He will still defend his gals from the cat, or other perceived threats, but he walks a wide circle around me when I'm messing with the hens now.

A two year old? Your lucky he didn't go for his face. Maybe being a banty makes the attack a little lower...

 

[WriterofWords]

Your son does need to learn to respect the chickens but at 2 that is a hard lesson to learn if he is already challenging you when you tell him to stop. Pen up the roo, not only for the childs safety but for the roos safety, until your son learns a little more control.
Explain to him he got hurt because he scared the roo, the roo is smaller than him and will defend himself. Try introducing him to the hens slowly as he helps you feed, gather eggs, and just sit and watch them play.
I wouldn't go so far as to wring the little roos neck when they can be kept apart, he probably felt he was defending himself and his hens from a threat, that is his job.

 

[Hobbley_Farm]

I think I would either lock the roo up, or get rid of him one way or another. I wouldn't put up with it with ANY animal I owned.

can you get him a dog house and make him a little run?

 

[Barnyard]

If you search the name rooster red he has a website that tell's you how to deal with a roo like that. I have one that tends to be a little snotty and when he wants to get ugly I get ugly back. Chase him around the pen screaming and stomping and throwing things and then I go and pick him up and carry him around for 30 minutes or so while I am doing other things. He is not as big as he thinks he is anymore..... hope this helps.

This is a touchy subject because there are people on both side of the fence.....some get rid of him and other's say work with him, but in the end it is your choice what you do.

 

[EllyMae]

I separated my roo for safety of everyone in general and only let him out when I know it will just be me outside with him. I made him a little pen with a dog house inside and he is doing fine. He grumbles from time to time but it works great.
Think of the roo as you would a bull or stallion...safety first.

 

[Mycookoonest]

We have the chickens in a Run so for both of them they are pretty safe apart. Robin would chase Wes around the run (about 150 feet around the coop) but both on their respective sides of the fence. Wes just runs around the fence not really antagonizing Robin, but running.

We were all standing there. DH and my Dad were in the fence on the chicken side when DH decided he would let Wes near the chickens (not something we do very often). Wes didn't antagonize Robin but was just standing in the coop.

I still can't rehome my other Roo I don't think it's going to be possible to rehome Robin. He is the dominant Roo for sure.

I guess I will have to wait until the kids are a bit older the introduce them to the chickens. One thing Wes can do is throw snacks from outside the fence... We may have to pen Robin up when Wes helps with the eggs (when the girls start laying). Robin is still young he's 12 weeks old so I was hoping there was something we could do to "train" him...

 

[MissPrissy]

The rooster was not acting out with simple aggression. Your rooster has been provoked by your son.

The flogging did not happen out of nowhere. The rooster was in a mode of defending his own space.

I have no tolerance for aggressive behavior but I would have to say the rooster was in the right this time.

A 2 year has no place being near a rooster unsupervised. A rooster is no different from a bull or stallion only in that he comes in a smaller package. A child would not be allowed to provoke a bull or stallion and essentailly that is what was done to the rooster.

Lock the rooster up. Keep the child out of the roosters territory until he has learned to respect the animal.

There are ways to deal with an aggressive rooster, remove it or try to recondition the behavior. In this case I don't think the reconditioning is needed as it was provoked reaction.

 

[Chickenaddict]

I have a rooster like that. He has gone after my 4 year old nephew and now the poor kid is terrified of him. He has gone after me only a few times and realized real quick he wasn't gonna win. I do the carying him around thing and when the nephew is over for the weekend we go outside together with one of those styrofoam noodles kids use in the pools. That is myles weapon of choice. All he does is hold the noodle and the rooster stays away. The rooster is great with all the chickens big or small which is why we didnt rehome him.