Silkie roo flogging my kids

[HeatherKellyB]

The way I understand it is a cockerel with any human aggression tendencies will/can become human aggressive due to multiple factors. One is when they lose all respect for you and decide to dominate, which often happens when they're held and coddled (of course this isn't all). Another way is when they can sense the uncertainty and lack of confidence. It's like they're just not sure how to perceive you, so why not try to dominate. Yet another way is if they actually have a reason to be fearful of you and they feel like they need to protect themselves and their flock. I'm sure there are many other reasons but those are the most important and quickest learned to me. I like for my cockerels to know what their getting with me and we share a mutual respect. They don't worry about me and they know I am not a threat. I am just the friendly flock keeper, not a chicken but not a threat. It's hard for kids to be perceived like this because kids are small, fast, silly, full of fun and have lots of love to give to all, including the birds. Unless you find a genuinely good mature rooster, I wouldn't ever trust a rooster and definitely not a cockerel around young kids. It's hard for them to know what to expect with a child. I may be in the minority here, but I wouldn't have a cockerel or rooster around if my daughter was young. I have been bitten in the face by that white Silkie rooster I mentioned and it hurt like the dickens even as an adult. Being flogged is painful too, even if the bird doesn't have spurs. I really hope you find an amazing rooster that works well for you, your family and your flock if that's what you want

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thank you for your response. I definitely can’t bring myself to kill him. I have a neighbor who says she takes in all birds. You’re right, what happens to him after I have found him a suitable home is not on me. I may have to talk to her and see if she’ll take my handsome angry guy

Yeah, I really empathize. I just found out today that one of the chicks in my brooder is definitely a cockerel. I'm actually glad because I want to have a good rooster. My current rooster is also very handsome, and he's good to my hens, but he's very aggressive towards me, in particular. If he were bigger, he could hurt me. I keep his spurs dull, but he's so tiny - he weighs only a pound - that he only flogs my boot when he does attack me.

Most people on BYC say that treating cockerels more like livestock and less like pets helps them learn to respect people. Others disagree, but my lil guy loved me when he was younger, and I indulged all the cuddles. I'm going to see if raising this new fella differently helps. The one in the brooder is a larger breed.

I know I should have rehomed my rooster. Lesson learned. If there are any issues between the 2 males in the future, I will probably keep this new one and let someone kill my rooster. No one wants a 1 lb jerk. Not worth eating. Not useful for breeding.

 

[Sbutcher224]

Thank you all for the advice! My roo learned who the boss is with me pretty quickly but he is definitely unsure about my girls. As much as I hate to, it sounds like it’s just time to find him a new home.

 

[Isadora]

Thank you all for the advice! My roo learned who the boss is with me pretty quickly but he is definitely unsure about my girls. As much as I hate to, it sounds like it’s just time to find him a new home.

I totally agree he needs to go. I'm sorry, as I understand he's pretty and you like him. I have young children as well and they're so short that an attacking rooster can get their eyes or tear up their face. Keep your littles safe and try your best to find him a new home. There are plenty of other roosters that have good manners that need homes. And your other cockerel isn't destined to be nasty. I agree with using a hands off approach for him. Here's hoping he turns into a good boy!
Good luck

 

[DarJones]

Roosters are not "angry". They are doing what their instinct tells them to do which is to figure out who is boss. Either the rooster is boss or you are boss. There is NO middle ground. You can teach a rooster to respect your children and he will leave them totally alone. Keep in mind that he ONLY understands dominance. He is not a cat, he is not a dog, he is a ROOSTER.

A rooster establishes dominance by attacking anything and everything that moves. This happened to my 5 year old son. He came in the house crying after a young rooster flogged him. I took him back outside and the rooster came running up for a repeat performance. After all, my son had just run from him so the rooster MUST be boss. I drop kicked the rooster 40 feet across the yard, then told my son to go and kick him as many times as he could. He kicked the rooster 6 or 7 times before the rooster got up and ran away. The next 3 times my son went out in the yard, I told him to run and kick at the rooster. The rooster ran away every time showing that he knew my son was boss. He lived about 5 more years keeping the hens happy and never attacked a human from that point on. It is key that the rooster must run from you to establish that he is not dominant. Just hitting him is not enough. He must run.

There are three key items in this story. It was the first time this rooster had attacked anyone. If they get away with it 3 or 4 times, it is MUCH harder to teach them to fear you. It was a young rooster meaning he was feeling his hormones and learning to rooster. Young roosters are more likely to cause problems than older stable roosters. This was a rooster that had not been handled. I agree that coddling and petting a rooster is setting the stage for that rooster to eventually pull a dominance play.

The rooster was not hurt seriously by being kicked. I played by his rules. My son played by his rules too. Once he knows who is boss, he is perfectly content to go about being a rooster.