Rooster scratched my son

[irlybird]

so tonight we were in the 16ft run and my 5 year old was in there with us. I assume the rooster (our only one, barred rock) thought his hens were in danger and jumped at my son. His feet made contact with his stomach and scratched him. There was two welts with very minor scratches but clearly it was from his claws. I washed his tummy with soapy water, put polysporin on and bandaids so the polysporin could soak in.

Is this minor in regards to a rooster attacking?


What do we do going forward?

Up until now we thought the rooster seemed rather timid. He just stands around and has never seen to be a threat. He watches me often while cleaning the coop but has shown no aggression.

He only found his voice in the past ten days.

I’m looking for suggestions going forward and insight if this is considered a mild/bad attack etc..

It definitely threw me off as until now I’d never have seen this aggression.

 

[wamtazlady]

Any time a cockerel draws blood, it is serious. It is even more serious when it involves a child. Take this for what it's worth. Your cockerel (won't be a rooster until he's a year old) is going through the period in his life when his hormones are starting to go crazy on him since you said he just started to crow. If he is attacking a child now you can expect that he will continue to attack the child and maybe adults. As he gets older his spurs will get longer and more dangerous. Those spurs or his claws can potentially end up in a child's eye. Also anyone visiting your property might become a target. You could be sued if someone gets hurt.

Some people have had decent results with training a cockerel or rooster to keep away from people. More have not been able to stop aggressive attacks. Now, there is a small chance that your bird will calm down after he is a year or 2 old. Do you have a separate and safe place away from children where you can put him away until he reaches that age? In any case, you do not want to breed with that bird. Often times aggressiveness is hereditary. Why keep a mean rooster when there are so many nice ones that need homes?

My problem rooster did not get aggressive until he was 18 months old. Tried for 6 weeks of special training to get him to stop. Then he went after my visiting grandson. No rooster is going to hurt a child at my house. He went to freezer camp that very day.

If it were just you around the bird I would say it is up to you whether to keep the bird or not. You could take your chances. With a child involved I do not see how you can keep him. You can sell him making sure the buyer knows he is an aggressive bird, or you can make chicken dumplings.

 

[chrissynemetz]

In my opinion ANY attack on a human is major. I wouldn't hesitate, I would get rid of him as soon as possible.

 

[aart]

I’m looking for suggestions going forward and insight if this is considered a mild/bad attack etc..

Not mild....get rid of him(the bird, not the child-haha) ASAP!
If you still have any doubt, imagine if that bird had reached the childs face.

 

[mixedbreeds]

Cockerel needs to go it’s only going to get worse for your child and probably everyone else.

 

[Peppercorngal]

This is a very bad sign. He's a young bird that is already attacking and that is just a view into what he's going to become. A monster! He has no manners, no respect for humans and I'd get rid of him ASAP! There are plenty of friendly respectful roosters you don't have to keep a bad one.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Come on, people! This has been the ONLY attack soo far, and only since he's been crowing...... meaning the 'rooster' is still pretty young and just started to get into his hormonal stage. At this point in their life they are unaware of their actions and act out accordingly to what roosters do, which is to attack and defend any new comers into his property. It's NORMAL. With time, the rooster will learn that humans are not their to harm them and learn to accept their presence, but of course some training before his attacks gets outta hand is the best solution to preventing it. But to say cull and get rid of him for coming into adulthood and testing boundaries? That's just ridiculous as far as I'm concern. My advice would be to teach him to behave, it is paramount as he starts growing into an adult rooster..... I prefer the 'buddy buddy' method, meaning to be more of a friend than foe with the rooster, he will soon learn you are not a threat and doesn't see you as such. With people who prefer the bully method and trying to dominate the rooster..... it probably will work for the majority of time, but you can always be assure that he sees you as a threat which means there is always a chance of him attacking. With the friend method there is zero percent chance of him seeing you as a threat, therefor very very little chance of you getting spurred, given he's 100% committed to being a 'friend' with you. It's your choice how you will proceed with this, and of course nothing is guaranteed as every chicken behaves differently.

 

[Peppercorngal]

Come on, people! This has been the ONLY attack soo far, and only since he's been crowing...... meaning the 'rooster' is still pretty young and just started to get into his hormonal stage. At this point in their life they are unaware of their actions and act out accordingly to what roosters do, which is to attack and defend any new comers into his property. It's NORMAL. With time, the rooster will learn that humans are not their to harm them and learn to accept their presence, but of course some training before his attacks gets outta hand is the best solution to preventing it. But to say cull and get rid of him for coming into adulthood and testing boundaries? That's just ridiculous as far as I'm concern. My advice would be to teach him to behave, it is paramount as he starts growing into an adult rooster..... I prefer the 'buddy buddy' method, meaning to be more of a friend than foe with the rooster, he will soon learn you are not a threat and doesn't see you as such. With people who prefer the bully method and trying to dominate the rooster..... it probably will work for the majority of time, but you can always be assure that he sees you as a threat which means there is always a chance of him attacking. With the friend method there is zero percent chance of him seeing you as a threat, therefor very very little chance of you getting spurred, given he's 100% committed to being a 'friend' with you. It's your choice how you will proceed with this, and of course nothing is guaranteed as every chicken behaves differently.

I totally disagree with you here. This bird is not "unaware" of his actions and it's not normal for a cockerel this age to be so aggressive. I have raised 7 roosters from hatch to adulthood and only one was aggressive but at a much later age. He is long gone. If this guy is acting like this now, just starting his hormonal flood, it will only get worse. I know from experience it's best to get him gone and be safe, not sorry. Children are not something you want to put in harms way, ever!

 

[BaaKaaawk]

I'm of the 3 strikes you're out mindset, but an attack on a kid is 2 strikes. So your Roo would be one strike from gone in my household. It's completely unscientific but most Roos I have had attack that I can then fight back, pin, and literally hang upsidedown by their feet for around 5 minutes and carry them around the pen- never attacked another person. There have been some exceptions, but few. So I personally wouldn't kick him out yet, I'd go get him to try it again, try that above... and if it didn't work then he's a goner.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It is not just the claws and spurs that can hurt. My rooster attacked me from behind, causing me to turn around to face him. He then smacked me just under the knee with open beak and I can still feel it. If I were a child he could have taken an eye out. Keep your child away from this cockerel and eliminate the threat, permanently and immediately.