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

[Cetawin]

That is a hard lesson to teach a 2 yr old indeed, they chase everything at that age. Maybe the roo taught him the lesson? How did he react to getting his shins scratched up? Sometimes little incidents like that instill a greater lesson and sense of respect than we could teach them.

If Wes still wishes to chase the chickens, you may need to keep him away from them until he is a little older or is being supervised by you (in a teaching situation).

Poor little roo has this HUGE toddler chasing the girls or him and he is only doing what he is there to do. Defending and protecting. But, roo needs to understand you will not tolerate human attacks to.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[mamato3]

Sorry for what happened my 1 year old does that i call it chicken bowlin lol. Im worried my Roo will do the same but still has not showed one mean bone in his body..Here is what i would do if they free range cage all of them or the roo when your son is outside. Or make a nice roomy pen for all of them to live in if your son wants to visit it would only be on the outside looking in or lock up the roo while he is with the hens. Or make a roo bachelor pad if you have a big setup you could do a wire cage on the inside of the henhouse on a wall make a small door for him and make a small run on the outside. That way he is still with his girls.

 

[Mycookoonest]

MP... he was not unsupervised... My son was a foot away from DH. And I was 3 feet away on the other side of the fence. I saw him doing the "dance" around Wes and yelled at DH to get him out of the fence quick. I don't even let my children around my Golden unsupervised...

With the 20 million cats across the street who are no longer afraid of my dogs I need a Roo who is going to protect the girls...

 

[Mycookoonest]

Wes was a little stunned... he said "Robin hurt Wesley" so maybe he will learn his lesson. I doubt it... he's a stubborn boy. Just as with anything I teach him, he has to learn to respect the animals... we taught him that with the dogs by him feeding them every day. He gives them treats and snacks too... but my Golden still tries to mow him over when he's outside playing...

 

[Dutchgirl]

The last bantam meanie that I had I locked up in a dog pen, before we did that we carried sticks around. For a little while, he stopped attacking right away because we chased him every time he tried to. But then we stopped doing that, and he got mean again.
We had four other mean ones that we got rid of.
The last mean one we sold at a chicken swap.
So, you could try locking him up in a large cage (although mine wore a path around the edges trying to get out).

 

[speckledhen]

However you choose to deal with it, just remember this one thing: a rooster is exactly the right height (well, a standard rooster) to take out a toddler's eyes. And a bantam can fly up to do that, too. All it takes is one good time to blind your son. Nothing is worth that, so I'd keep them separated till your son is much older.

 

[rooster-red]

Check out my page on rooster behavior, the link is in my sig line.

The rooster was acting on a percieved threat, not being "mean".

Lock the rooster away before letting young children go into the run.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I'm someone that has two young grandsons that are never allowed around the henhouse even with my gentle roosters. It's just an accident waiting to happen.

I've seen the grandsons in action no matter how many times they have been warned to leave the chickens alone!! When a rooster sees someone aggressive or chasing "his" hens he is only doing what a rooster is suppose to do.

 

[cqranch]

My year old rooster has never flogged me, however, he has fluffed, danced and came towards me. I don't put up with it at all and I'm not nice about it. I go toward him, if he doesn't turn, then a kick is in order. As soon as he turns I continue after him letting him know he retreated and I'm the boss. Only had to do that a couple times, now any time I enter the run, he beats feet and heads the other way.

 

[Opa]

So much for the people who believe in "lap roosters". Sooner or later all roosters will do what nature has programmed them to do, attack any perceived threat. While it would be better for your son to pen the rooster, it is not necessarily best for your free range hens. They need his protection. Might be easier to pen the two year old. Sorry he was hurt. Anytime any bird or animal hurts a child it's hard realize it isn't their fault, just nature.