Roosters Aggressive to Little Boy - Help!

[mattamuskeetmom]

Hi Everyone!

I've got 8 beautiful black Australorps, five of which ended up being roosters (just my luck!) Anyway, they have been sweet and gentle, following us around like puppies until last week. They still follow me and my two older boys (6 and 4) around, but the roosters have started charging my 20 month little boy, who unfortunately, is not much taller than the roosters. I let my birds free range in our yard, so I have to be on red alert now when my little one is outside with me. Does anyone have any experience with this, and are there any solutions beyond keeping them all penned up? I have a feeling that a chicken dinner is becoming the only answer, but I thought I would ask for help first! Thank you!!

 

[Nicole01]

My neighbor had this happen to her one rooster. It went after their 3 year old boy and almost got him. Then it started attacking the owners and after the 4th-5th time of drawing blood, they rehomed him. His aggressiveness started at 6-7 months of age and escalated. He was a year old when they got rid of him.

They replaced him with an older nice rooster. They are now afraid of the nice rooster and are fearful that he's going to attack at any moment.

If your rooster is showing aggression now, it's only going to escalate. I'd never keep any rooster with any ounce of aggression. They can take an eye out of your child. Even hens can draw blood.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Toddlers and roosters simply do not mix. A rooster has a genetically disposed job to do. Alert, defend and mate. A toddler, with jerky walk and actions, confuses the rooster. It isn't his fault. He's simply doing what he is supposed to do.

It is a hotly contested and debated subject here, but coddling young cockerels often leads to such things later on. Cockerels might better be served learning from day one to respect humans as bigger. A healthy respect. But in any case, no matter how one deals with cockerels, a large cockerel or rooster simply must not be approached by toddlers and vice versa.

 

[Nicole01]

Toddlers and roosters simply do not mix. A rooster has a genetically disposed job to do. Alert, defend and mate. A toddler, with jerky walk and actions, confuses the rooster. It isn't his fault. He's simply doing what he is supposed to do.

It is a hotly contested and debated subject here, but coddling young cockerels often leads to such things later on. Cockerels might better be served learning from day one to respect humans as bigger. A healthy respect. But in any case, no matter how one deals with cockerels, a large cockerel or rooster simply must not be approached by toddlers and vice versa.

I agree. I also watch my 9 and 11 year old closely around my hens. One thing I do not want is them throwing the hens in the air to fly, nor to be chased especially in hot weather . They have not tried this yet either. I teach my children to respect all animals. I do not trust any animal around children. This includes cats and dogs as well. I keep a close eye on our dogs. Our dogs love our family, but they are protection dogs, which they could turn when awoken from a sleep.

 

[keesmom]

You're going to have to do something with at least 4 of those roosters anyway. Five roosters and only 3 hens isn't going to work.

 

[teach1rusl]

You're going to have to do something with at least 4 of those roosters anyway. Five roosters and only 3 hens isn't going to work.

X2!!! Those poor hens will be so ill used and stressed that you won't ever see an egg unless you pen, process, or rehome 4 of your cockerels. You didn't say, but I'm guessing these are younger roos - cockerels??? That's probably why you're noticing them challenging your toddler recently - they're coming into their own...

 

[jecombs]

We got 5 chicks this Spring, 2 of which turned out to be roosters. Long ago, when my friend told me about her rooster attacking her 9 yr. old son, I decided that roosters and kids don't mix. Period. My husband and I had already discussed this when we got our chickens. He dispatched the roos to stewpot camp when they were about 5 mo., before they got too aggressive. With 4 roos and only 2 hens you are going to have to get rid of at least 3 of them. It's up to you whether you decide to rehome them or eat them. Personally, I would get rid of all the roos. Since our roos have been gone, our hens are much more relaxed and friendly and I don't worry so much about my kids interacting with the flock.

 

[mattamuskeetmom]

Thank all of you so much for your insights. Yes they are young birds, and I had a feeling that they were starting to get a little sure of themselves with this new behavior. The boys have been loving all over them since we brought them home with no issues, and now it is a different story. I knew that I was going to have to get rid of four of them soon, but I was trying to figure out if I should get rid of all of them since all it takes is one to go after my little boy. I'm getting the feeling from all the posts that a hens-only camp is the best way to go until my boys all get bigger. Thank you again!

 

[chicknlove]

I have three young boys as well. The youngest being 2 we decided to re home or BR Roo soon as he turned 10 weeks. It was sad but I thought it would be more sad to see him attacking my toddler after we all became too attached. I still miss him, but he went to a home with older children. It was for the best.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I know everyone has their own methods, but the story of "the little cockerel was soooo sweet and lovable then he turned aggressive when he got older" gets repeated here over and over.

When kids are a bit older, whenever we raised chicks, we allowed the chickens to be chickens. We taught the children to walk into the chicken area with a stick. We do the same thing now with the grandkids. Nothing particularly menacing, just something to always take with them. I know a lot of folks like to make pets out of their chickens, but in far too many cases the cockerels simply do not lend themselves to this. The cockerels can be precocious as chicks and thus, people often mistake this for being "friendly". But when a cockerel becomes a rooster, his hormones and his genetic pre-disposition kicks in. They are designed by nature to be breeders, dominant, watchful, wary, and sometimes, even protective of their hens. This is their DNA. This is their purpose, via nature.

We do not schmooze up the young cockerels. We are bigger and we stay bigger in their eyes. We respect them and they respect us. I go about my business and expect the roosters to do the same.