We may be having chicken soup for dinner...

[Ridgerunner]

If your 17 month old daughter was following one of his hens as you said, he obviously saw it as a threat to his hen. I don't fault the rooster one bit for what he did. It is what he is supposed to do, protect his flock.

That said, your daughter is much more important than the rooster. It would not surprise me a bit since he has identified her as a threat that he will go after her next chance he gets. A very important tactic of roosters is ambush. If he can at all, he will sneak up on her. I personally would not risk it.

By the way, this is not an unusual story on here. I've seen several where young children were messing with a flock and the rooster went after the child. It is unfortunate, but young children and roosters can be a dangerous combination.

 

[SteveBaz]

where did I read to drop him in a bucket of water would work for this exact situation.

 

[Farm_Maven]

from another forum.........
Q: Someone told me to hold my rooster upside down by the feet to calm him down--is that a good idea?
A: No. That's a terrible idea.

Birds' respiratory systems are completely different from ours, so holding your rooster upside down can cause him real problems. For example, a bird's lungs are right next to the spine and upper ribcage, so it is hard for a bird that is upside down to breathe, since the weight of all his organs will be pressing on his lungs and some of his air sacs. Normally, he will breathe via changes in pressure in the air sacs. So... when the pressure changes "unnaturally," it can make it difficult for him to compensate. Chicken's lungs can't expand like ours do, either.

Being hung upside down is pretty uncomfortable for humans, but we breathe by using a muscle called the diaphragm, which is a dome shaped muscle between the chest and the abdomen. Birds don't have a diaphragm--they have air sacs, and breathe by changes in pressure in their air sacs. Some of the air sacs even extend into their bones (pneumatic bones), and the sacs act as a bellows to ventilate the lungs. They include cervical sacs, interclavicular sac, humeral sacs (these are parts of the interclavicular sac that extend into the bones of the humeris), thoracic sacs (anterior and posterior), abdominal sacs and so forth.

The reason holding a rooster upside down to "calm" him works is that he can't breathe properly. Birds have been known to die this way.

Roos won't fight when upside down simply because they can't breathe when upside down.
Push him to the ground then hold him there until he relaxes, making him submit to you (the alpha) the same way the hens submit to him. Hold him there for several seconds after he stops struggling. You will have to do this regularly so he doesn't forget. When he mounts a hen in your presence, push him off of her with your foot, treat him the same way an alpha roo would. Then after you get him straight, let your daughter do these things too. He needs to know she is above him in the pecking order also. If these don't work, I would cull or rehome.

 

[sourland]

Quote:
Excellent advice from Ridgerunner. I don't care what you do to rehabilitate the rooster - DO NOT TRUST HIM AROUND YOUR DAUGHTER! It's just not worth the risk.

 

[Farm_Maven]

Ok sorry. Seventeen MONTH old daughter. I was thinking 17 yr old daughter. Yes, get rid of the rooster.

 

[bobbi-j]

Don't risk your daughter's health and well-being. There are nice roosters out there, and lots of chicken recipes!

 

[Farm_Maven]

Quote:
x2!

 

[SkyWarrior]

Soup is good food.

Roos are everywhere. Look on Craigslist for free roos. You can get a more docile one easily enough.

 

[Farm_Maven]

My BR roo is a sweetheart and a gentleman. I started the submission technique soon as he hit his tweens because when I was a teen my mom had a game roo that was aggressive towards me and i was not gonna have that in my flock. He also loves to have his wattles and comb rubbed.
here's my alpha roo, Mylo

 

[TrystInn]

The only time our Cochin rooster got too big for his britches was during chick season - he was uber-protective of the little ones and patrolled the breeding hutches like a prison guard. I was fine with him, but he went after my brother-in-law a few times until we armed him with a long-handled koi pond net. You'd be amazed how polite that rooster got after being hauled around in a net over his shoulder for a half-hour.

This guy, btw, is so tame we use him to teach workshops and let strangers hold him and pet him. But you put chicks in his territory, we've got a problem with men he doesn't know well. Or ducklings. He protects them, too.

For you, I'd say soup.