Will roosters be mean to children?

[tomato lady]

I am still deciding how to configure my goat barn turned chicken coop. The main part has a wall dividing it into two sections with a door between the sections. I want to keep my roosters seperate from my hens so if I decide to hatch eggs I have some control who the father will be.

I have heard a lot about mean roosters. Will it be safe to enter the coop through the rooster's private pen? I could section off a walkway, but that would greatly reduce the coop area for the roosters (from 4 x 10 to 4 x 4). Their outside run will be 8' x 12'.

Right now the roosters are about 12 weeks old and they are no problem. I just don't know what another 2 or 3 months will bring. My 9 year old granddaughter goes into the coop often, and I have young great-grandchildren who like to go in with the chickens as well.

I have 3 roosters with the possibility of one more with the batch of 31 chicks I have which are all between 6 and 12 weeks.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Some roosters are more aggressive than others. A lot depends on individual temperment, helped somewhat by tendencies of specific breeds. Some cockerels are more wary even as young chicks, more prone to be defensive, no matter how kindly they've been treated or how much they're handled. Some gentle cockerels can be made more aggressive with rough handling.

I think you should always monitor your grands & greats whenever they're around your flock. And keep close attention to the behavior of the cockerels. Ruthlessly remove any who show signs of aggression.

I don't know why you don't keep the roos with the hens. I think being separated would make them more agitated, maybe more aggressive. If & when you decide to breed you can then confine the ones you want to mate. I don't remember the exact amounts of time, it takes a bit of time for a roo's "influence" to leave the hens, another bit of time for the new roo's influence to take effect. Why go through the bother of separate pens for most of the year if you're only planning to hatch for a short time?

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Agreed.

 

[LaSombra]

I agree with the above posters and just wanted to comment on the kids w/ the chickens. I keep a lock on the chicken coop/run so the kids can't go in there by themselves. They are absolutely not allowed to go in without me. You never know when a cockerel might "turn" and feel like a kid is a predator. You know how the kids like to chase those girls to pick them up. They mean well, but don't realize that the roosters might think they're chasing them for the wrong reasons. Instinct.

Looks like your flock size is sufficient to support the amount of roosters you have so why not let them lead?

Good luck!

 

[Crazy4cochins]

mine sometimes get to groughy with my kids so I tell them to give them the boot or carry a stick until the roo's learn they are not to beat up on the kids. Only one roo gets a refresher lesson alot

It also depends on Roo's personality.good luck

 

[kawonu]

We have a black Minorca roo that's mean as a snake. The kids carry a stick with them to keep him away. He will watch you until you turn your back then run up on you!

 

[LaSombra]

My grandma has a scar from when she was a kid and was attacked by the rooster... She's 91.

 

[Bec]

I have one rooster who will attack anyone, anywhere. My other 2 roos are nice and calm and have yet to do anything aggressive towards people.

The mean one I have is for breeding purposes and stays in lock down. He attacked my 5 year old daughter as she was walking to her swing set in the backyard. I raised him from a day old and handled him from day1, he just turned out to be one that is a little more aggressive than some.

 

[tomato lady]

My granddaughter is almost 10 and if I leave and am not home by dusk she puts the chickens in the coop. We lock them up at night because I don't think my run is preditor proof. She is very efficient, always seeing that they have food and water for the night. Most nights she helps me put them to bed. On one of my posts I have a picture of her with one of our Jersey Giants perched on her head.

I do have combination locks on the coop and run because of my 4 year old great granddaughter. She is bold and will go anywhere she wants no matter what you say. It was just easier to lock the chicks up than risk her hurting one or getting hurt herself. I will also have locks on my new coop and run.

I guess if I get a bad roo I will get rid of him. Two of my roos are Polish and the other one is an EE. All are going to be beautiful birds and I enjoy hearing them crow. It is obvious already that my blue Polish is the alpha rooster.

I was keeping the roos locked up because my daughter and son-in-law live with us and he will not eat fertelized eggs. Actually, I bought my two red leghorns because he will not eat brown eggs either. I wonder if he will eat green eggs.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Oh, for cryin' out loud...

Does he have convictions against eating any life form, or is he just more squeamish than most? Can he tell the difference between fertile & sterile eggs when they're cooked & on his plate? Or for that matter, the difference between brown-shelled & white-shelled eggs? You know there's no difference in taste between the different colored egg shells, and only a microscopic speck of difference between fertile & sterile eggs.