What kind of rooster may be good around children?

[TreeHugger]

I have 2 silkie roos - One is mean and the other one is not. They are the same age & from the same breeder. The mean one was handled a lot from the time he was a chick (he was adorable) and the nice one was not.

I will say that I do not consider the mean one dangerous - he can't jump above my ankles when he attacks.

 

[95yj]

get them the biggest meanest rooster you can find, teach the kids to fight they're own fights... if you don't mentally/physically scar them for life. J.K. That would be mean... Any rooster that's handled from chickhood by the kids and you is going to be friendlier than his unhandled counterparts, but as i'm sure you know certain breeds have a tendency towards docility more than others. Banty roosters can be highstrung little ****s that think they're on average 4-5x bigger than they really are, the keyword is *think* i have 3 OEGB roosters who live with three hens, and pretend to fight all the time. Bigger breeds are actually usually calmer, kind of like dogs. Keep the spurs dulled and you should be fine, teach the kids good management and handling and instill within them a strong "good chicken sense" and they'll be fine. When i was six i was wrestling with hawk killing jersey giants, and thats only a slight exageration.

 

[chickenaddictntn]

I can't say which rooster is best around kids but if you think you need a rooster then just keep him in a run, because any breed can throw a bad roo. But in my opion the white egg breeds have the meanest roos.

 

[Farmington]

Don't trust ANY of them. I have 3, a Buckeye, a D'Uccle, and an EE. They have all jumped at all 4 of us at some point. The D'Uccle is worst. He's got a Napoleon complex. I never take my eyes off of him. The Buckeye comes in second. He put a nice hole in my 15 yr. old kids lip. The EE is the most well behaved with just a minor incident. All three were handled daily since the day they were born. I think that the competition between them, competing for the 13 hens is what has them getting aggressive towards us. I really like the EE. If I can find homes for the other 2 idiots, I would like to keep him. So, I guess in my limited experience, I would suggest an EE.

 

[SilkieChickenLover336]

Quote:
Silkies

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

We are raising Old English Game Bantams for 4H. My youngest DD is 6. She does great with the two young roosters that we have. We've had them since they were only a few weeks old, and they are just putty in her hands. Your six year may be mature enough to handle and raise a nice small breed rooster, and make it tame, and also understand what roosters are capable of, and how to handle those kinds of situations. I'd recommend keeping the younger children away from all the chickens, even the hens, until they are a bit older. Let them admire from a safe distance, and they will look forward to the day they are "big enough" to play with the birds, or you can let them interact with the birds while you hold them. Even the sweetest animals are still animals, and you just never know how they are going to perceive something, and react.

 

[Teresaann24]

Silkie roosters,

However as many suggested NEVER unsupervised rooster could hurt child. I have seen my roosters fight each other even with big feathered legs and big crests they still can put up a good fight. So I would never trust a young child unsurpervised with even a silkie rooster.

 

[Farmama]

I should have noted that the birds will all be confined, so the kids won't be interacting with them, unless supervised. However, I still do want to have a rooster that is reasonably nice.

Thank you, everyone, for your advice.

Jessi

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I say Silkies or Faverolles are the mellowest Roos out in the world!

 

[Pinky]

My buff orp. roo is easy to get along with.