Rooster attacked my toddler

[FunClucks]

Just keep chickens away from your face. They're on the ground, you're standing up. How is this a problem?

Some folks have them stand on their shoulders, or hold them in their arms. For kids, that distance from arms to eyes is the perfect distance for full size hens to peck eyes. Also, if you're bending down to feed them, or collect eggs, or do anything on the floor of the coop/run, eye contact could be an issue. Mine eye my eyes when I'm cleaning the poop off their poop boards. They are at the perfect height when perched over the poop board to eye my eyes.

 

[User690263]

Cull him ASAP.

 

[McChooky]

My 16 week old rooster pull it just attacked my toddler in the face. Thank God it missed his eye. My son was sitting there, and the rooster just jumped at him. Should I rehome or just cull?

This is my first experience with a rooster. I wouldn’t even know how to rehome.

Any child is capable of making sudden movements, gestures or noises that could be perceived as a threat by a rooster.No child should be around roosters unsupervised .

 

[kattabelly]

I'm really sorry this happened and I hope both you and your toddler are ok.

First of all, what you have is a young cockerel - not a rooster. Also, culling just means to remove from the flock (or sometimes even just from the breeding pool) but since you also mention rehoming I'm guessing you're asking if you should kill him.

Killing him is definitely one option. It'll be the quickest way to get rid of him and could also provide you with a meal if you're comfortable doing that. Rehoming may also be an option, depending on where you live and whether you'd be comfortable with someone else taking him to eat. If you have a local Facebook page or something other website people use for local advertising, that's probably the best place to start. Do make it clear why you're looking to rehome him.

While his sex may well have been a factor in the behaviour, pullets and hens are also plenty capable of injuring a small child if they're allowed to interact without close supervision. It doesn't even have to be intentional; just one curious peck to the eye could be enough. I'm not saying this as a criticism or judgement of your parenting but please keep this in mind in future.

I also don't agree that this is a sure sign he's going to grow into a human-aggressive monster of a rooster. It's hard to comment or form an opinion without knowing much more about what happened but I think it's worth pointing out that he's right at the age now where they often turn into hormonal idiots for a while - and he doesn't have any older flock members to keep him in check or teach him the ropes. If you're fairly new to chickens then this could also seem like an "unprovoked" action because you just didn't recognise a warning sign, and toddlers are too young to even learn to read an animal's behaviour and body language well until they're older.

 

[McChooky]

My 16 week old rooster pull it just attacked my toddler in the face. Thank God it missed his eye. My son was sitting there, and the rooster just jumped at him. Should I rehome or just cull?

This is my first experience with a rooster. I wouldn’t even know how to rehome.

Did a rooster or pullet or both attack him? After reading this again I'm questioning the 'pull it' .A young rooster is a cockerel and a young hen a pullet.Thanks!

 

[SemiSweet2391]

I hope your son is doing ok poor little guy. Easier to cull and eat the cockerel imo.

 

[WingItRanch]

My 16 week old rooster pull it just attacked my toddler in the face. Thank God it missed his eye. My son was sitting there, and the rooster just jumped at him. Should I rehome or just cull?

This is my first experience with a rooster. I wouldn’t even know how to rehome.

I'm so sorry to hear that! I hope your little boy is ok. Probably traumatized. I know roosters have ruined the chicken keeping experience for many young people. My mom is scared of chickens to this day because her grandmother had broody hens and rooster that would attack.

Personally, I would immediately cull. If it's already showing human aggression at 16 weeks old, then it's genetics should not continue. Rehoming puts you at risk, too, if he harms his future owners and you knew he was dangerous.

If you're up to it, you can make soup with him so he's not a waste.

 

[FunClucks]

I've had a number of roosters / cockerels that were aggressive as chicks. They only got worse when they got older, so I rehomed with an explanation of their behavior or I ate them. None of them calmed down when older. But others experiences may differ.

 

[centrarchid]

I would take more care when allowing the smaller kids and chickens to interact. Sometimes the pecking are more about food, but even that is not ideal with smaller kids that do not or are unable to respond appropriately. Even chicks can be an issue if properly motivated. If a rooster is suspect for potential of not being good, then keep him and kids apart. My roosters are generally very good around kids but sometimes they will stand on a kid which can cause scratches. So I control those interactions.

 

[angc11]

I am also not trying to judge or comment on your parenting but merely to spread rooster awareness because this kind of post is extremely common. Having any kind of intact male on your property is inherently risky. Just as you would not let a young child around a bull or a ram or a boar, you should also be wary of letting a child around a rooster, especially a young cockerel whose hormones are raging. 16 weeks is the worst time for a cockerel especially if he has been raised without older hens/roosters to teach him manners. If you cannot keep your boy away from the cockerel, remove this cockerel by rehoming or eating him and don’t get another rooster if you don’t need one. Roosters serve specific purposes in flocks such as fertilizing eggs and keeping watch for aerial predators when out ranging. If you don’t need any of those things a rooster can provide and you have young children, in my opinion it’s best to just have hens.