Roosters Good with Kiddos

We have a *EDIT* Brown Leghorn rooster which has proven to be quite brazen showing hostility towards my husband & I; we all treat them well and they are well cared for.

BUT! The rooster has gotten too aggressive and will no longer be with us soon.

We are keeping all medium chickens and we try to keep our flock filled with 1) Good layers and 2) various coloration eggs.

I know that the better layers tend to be a bit more anxious/flighty compared to lower-laying breeds but we’re trying to decide on what direction to go with our next attempt(s) at finding roosters that are good around the children and still have genetics for offspring to lay better or at least have colorful eggs (if not both)…

We’re looking at a few possibilities including Easter Eggers, Orpingtons, Cochins, Australorps, & Delawares…

If anyone has had any high-success rates with roosters good with children please let me know!

Monika Vee wrote:We have a Rhode Island Red rooster which has proven to be quite brazen showing hostility towards my husband & I; we all treat them well and they are well cared for.

BUT! The rooster has gotten too aggressive and will no longer be with us soon.

We are keeping all medium chickens and we try to keep our flock filled with 1) Good layers and 2) various coloration eggs.

I know that the better layers tend to be a bit more anxious/flighty compared to lower-laying breeds but we’re trying to decide on what direction to go with our next attempt(s) at finding roosters that are good around the children and still have genetics for offspring to lay better or at least have colorful eggs (if not both)…

We’re looking at a few possibilities including Easter Eggers, Orpingtons, Cochins, Australorps, & Delawares…

If anyone has had any high-success rates with roosters good with children please let me know!

My EE roosters have been very nice birds.  Same with Naked Necks.  I have Russian Orloff roosters and they are young, but so far very docile.  The problem is, like in the noisy chicken thread, individuals in any given breed can really vary a lot, so there are no guarantees.  I can tell you that the roosters that have been the friendliest (no surprise here) are the ones I spent a lot of time interacting with as babies.  I had a Naked Neck rooster that would fly up onto my shoulder and ride around there as I worked outside.  He was fantastic but from the time he was a couple days old I would sit with him in the yard, pick him up into my lap, hold him.  He was completely unafraid and not aggressive with us, my dogs, cats, everything.

If you raise your own in a brooder, I highly recommend a brooder box that opens from the side and is raised up so you can reach straight in to pick up the chicks, rather than hovering over them and picking them up from above.  Getting them from above triggers their "being attacked" fears and makes them more timid and a rooster that is afraid of you is more likely to be aggressive I think.

My earliest memory when I was about age two was being chased by a rooster.

I have no idea what breeds are best though my kids grew up with our roosters.  They would play with them as chicks.  And continuing as it became noticeable that they were roosters.

I don't really know though to me a pet rooster would be good with kiddos ...

A couple years ago, my brother rescued a "jungle-fowl" type rooster. Then, my brothers started telling each other horror stories about when we were children being attacked by a rooster that looked just like it.

Cannot directly help with the rooster.  But if flighty is a problem a couple of buff Cochin hens in with the flock will make them noticeably less flighty.  Other advantage is they are natural setters who produce results most of the time.

We had a few good roosters thru the years but they were specific personalities not breeds that made it work as we had more of the same breed that got nasty.  We had a blue Andalusian that was every human's friend and came to be scratched and picked up.  But he was the biggest bully ever with the other chickens and had the dog buffaloed too.  Same breed another year attacked everyone.  The one advantage was the small size meant less damage.  One good Australorp but there again another a couple of years later got a mean one.  I would probably try a Cochin rooster but we never had one and I would be going on how calm the hens were.  We never had a leghorn that didn't get mean.  The buff laced polish was okay but we only ever had the one.  Super flighty though and wasn't good for the flock's personality.  A couple of good silver or gold laced Wyandotte but a couple of bad ones too.  One good barred rock but a couple bad ones.  

Hi Monika,
I would have to agree with the general replies here. Roosters are individuals, and while some breeds tend to be more laid back, you can still sometimes get a jerk. Just like you can get a really nice rooster from the flightier breeds. Here are a couple things to think about. I'm not expert, so take them with a grain of salt. They are also in no particular order.

I was attacked by roosters as a kid, I was scared of them for a long time, but as an adult, its not too bad.
A rooster raised by hens (rather than in a brooder by a human) tend to be much nicer to the hens, but may not have any bearing on their interaction with people.
Having too many roosters for the size flock can cause them to be more aggressive.
You want some aggression in a rooster if you are using the rooster as part of your protection strategy.
Chickens raised with people, and handled, daily tend to stay friendly much better.
Chickens have memories. A friend of my son had come over when I was not there and had chased some hens around to try to pick them up. I didn't mind that. The rooster did not like it and attacked the boy. The boy was not hurt or scared and thought it was overall funny. I didn't give it much thought, as kids want to hold the chickens and the rooster was doing his job. The boy was wearing a poofy, fake-down-filled, coat. I was the person who fed the chickens and he would generally ignore me. If my kids came with me, he might get a little agitated, but I would remind him that I was in charge and it usually was nothing. However, I noticed that when my kids wore their poofy, fake-down-filled, coats that sounded and looked the same as that other boys'... the rooster would almost always try to attack them. For me, I want a rooster for fertilization and for protection, I was not looking for a pet. However, I was still getting ready to get rid of him and try another when I had to get rid of the whole flock. Still, the two things that seemed to trigger the rooster was those sort of coats, which I think he remembered... and strangers who did not come to the pen every day.

So keep trying with a breed you like. And when you find a good one, keep him :)

I have an Easter Egger rooster that's now almost 8 years old and has earned his keep due to being gentle, gentle, gentle.
My biggest suggestion would be to get several (at least three, although the more you get, the better the result) roosters and watch. Get the breed you want most, or even try several breeds. As they grow, pay attention to their behavior towards you, but most importantly, pay attention to who starts crowing when. In my experience, the last rooster to start crowing is the gentlest (this is the method which resulted in Parrot, my ancient Easter Egger boy). No matter what breed you get, it will always be hit and miss for nice roosters. If you aren't planning on breeding them, so don't care if the rooster continues the good laying trend, Cochins are the most consistently calm breed that I've had. That being said, only get them if you aren't planning on breeding within your flock for good laying, because they will NOT throw good laying. They also have a ton of issues with lice, so be aware of that. The other breeds that I've found to be generally gentle are Brahmas, Marans, Bresse, Australorps, and Orpingtons. One peace of advice about raising roosters: don't get to familiar with them. I know that sounds counter productive, and I totally get that, but this is coming from lots of "male animal" experience. If you spend tons and tons of time with them, and let them get completely comfortable with you, they will see you as a part of the flock. That means that you belong in the flock hierarchy, of which the rooster wants to be the head, and you will become a threat for his dominance, and he will treat you like a rival rooster (aka attacking you). There is a balance though. Spend time in the flock, let them get used to you, but don't get to friendly with the rooster (do whatever you want with the hens). You don't want to be seen as a predatory threat, so do spend some time out there, but don't slip into being too comfortable or he won't respect you as the lead of the flock. Hopefully that helps! Good luck finding a good rooster, and let us know what you decide on!

Elena Sparks wrote: One peace of advice about raising roosters: don't get to familiar with them. I know that sounds counter productive, and I totally get that, but this is coming from lots of "male animal" experience. If you spend tons and tons of time with them, and let them get completely comfortable with you, they will see you as a part of the flock. That means that you belong in the flock hierarchy, of which the rooster wants to be the head, and you will become a threat for his dominance, and he will treat you like a rival rooster (aka attacking you). There is a balance though. Spend time in the flock, let them get used to you, but don't get to friendly with the rooster (do whatever you want with the hens). You don't want to be seen as a predatory threat, so do spend some time out there, but don't slip into being too comfortable or he won't respect you as the lead of the flock. Hopefully that helps! Good luck finding a good rooster, and let us know what you decide on!

That is exactly opposite of my experience.  The friendliest roosters I have had have always been the ones I spent the most time with, including the one I let ride around the yard on my shoulder while I would be outside puttering around.  The ones I spent the most time with liked everyone, not just me.

I have had chickens on and off for 20 years. Most of the time those have included Dorkings, the Silver-Greys that are most common, but lately some variations with color types within the breed. I have NEVER been attacked by a Dorking roo, whether he was well-handled or ignored. They have always been well behaved and, after a steep learning curve, good with hens. Considering I have had as many as 13 free-ranging at a time, and I let them establish their own hierarchies, they have been pretty well-behaved with each other, too.

One of my Silver-Grey roos, an older cockerel, fought off a caracara earlier this year, taking damage while doing so.  Pointless, as he's been named, continues to be good with the girls, good at policing the other cockerels, and is a good dominant roo for my flock.

I have had other roos over the years. My last EE roo was an accident I picked up from TSC. Handsome fellow, he served his time and, other than an unfortunate side of being a rooster killer and not very nice, it wasn't until he attacked both me and my husband that he was chosen for freezer camp.
The Leghorn roosters I've had experience with started mean and got meaner.
The Dorkings have been variations on smart-ish, and gentle-ish, but none of them have ever attacked me or my husband. They have all been attentive to their hens, and most of them have been brave to the point of death.

(ed. for clarification and exposition, and grammar)

A rooster is the Alpha male who protects his hen. And enjoys some friends-with-benefits

If we want an eunuch who cuddles to us, well, get a dog. Let roosters be what they are - vicious protecters of their flock.

Kaarina Kreus wrote:A rooster is the Alpha male who protects his hen. And enjoys some friends-with-benefits
If we want an eunuch who cuddles to us, well, get a dog. Let roosters be what they are - vicious protecters of their flock.

That's all well and good, but if you could have an alpha male who protected the flock, and knew that it was okay to cuddle, or at least not attack the children, wouldn't that be preferable?
The thing with animals is that they can be trained. They can be managed. And you can select for good traits and not for bad ones.
Defending the flock is fine. Attacking children, or me, is not. I will not keep a rooster who attacks people, but I will keep one who knows when to mind his manners.
Like a Livestock Guardian dog who knows the difference between those it protects and those it defends against, right? There's little difference except in the size and species of the defender.

Kristine Keeney wrote:

Kaarina Kreus wrote:A rooster is the Alpha male who protects his hen. And enjoys some friends-with-benefits
If we want an eunuch who cuddles to us, well, get a dog. Let roosters be what they are - vicious protecters of their flock.

That's all well and good, but if you could have an alpha male who protected the flock, and knew that it was okay to cuddle, or at least not attack the children, wouldn't that be preferable?
The thing with animals is that they can be trained. They can be managed. And you can select for good traits and not for bad ones.
Defending the flock is fine. Attacking children, or me, is not. I will not keep a rooster who attacks people, but I will keep one who knows when to mind his manners.
Like a Livestock Guardian dog who knows the difference between those it protects and those it defends against, right? There's little difference except in the size and species of the defender.

Absolutly on point, could not agree more; I’m interested in having chickens, not ferrel pterodactyls

This isn't as much of an issue for chickens as it is for larger animals, so you don't have to be as careful. Just don't spend EVERY second of the day coddling them. A lot of it has to do with the imprinting phase, which lasts for the first three days of their life. If all they see is you, and you interact with them more than they interact with the other chicks, then they will associate you with their same species. I mostly gave this advice because I wanted people to be aware of the risks of over handling their male animals. Roosters aren't the worst, and it's definitely harder to over handle them, but I have done it in the past (which led to a really mean rooster who would chase me around until I was out of the pen). I've seen tons of videos on social media where people have their "little Buster, my friendly bull," and they were allowing him to be so friendly that he had no limits, which is SUPER dangerous, and no-one seems to understand why. So I guess that's what I was getting at. Don't let your rooster be the one animal who can get away with anything. If he starts being overly pushy about being in your space, and doesn't respect when you tell him to stop, then you're asking for an aggressive rooster. If you let him ride around on your back, and he gets off when you ask him to, and only gets up when you let him, then that's fine. I've had roosters who would do that, and it was delightful! Just don't let it get to the point that they don't see you as the top of the pecking order, or they will be constantly pushing the limits.

You can have two roosters, and castrate one of them. The castrated rooster will protect the chicks, even watching the sky and warn the hen about hawks and other predators. It's better if the two roosters are grown together at the same chicken coop or backyard (same age). This is to avoid the non castrated fighting the castrated one.

* Edit to say that the castrated one will change his bahaviour, being very protective of the chicks.

Sergio Cunha wrote:You can have two roosters, and castrate one of them. The castrated rooster will protect the chicks, even watching the sky and warn the hen about hawks and other predators. It's better if the two roosters are grown together at the same chicken coop or backyard (same age). This is to avoid the non castrated fighting the castrated one.

* Edit to say that the castrated one will change his bahaviour, being very protective of the chicks.

I currently have 8 roosters, all living together. They argue and hop at each other, but Dorkings are great about Not Fighting when there's any other option. They chase each other around the yard - looking very much like a British comedy, which kind of makes sense, I guess. They are English. It's fun to watch them run around like little cartoon ninja or samurai, chasing each other for whatever reason. There's rarely a fight beyond someone hackling up and they hop at each other.

My flock is smaller than I'd like it to be at the moment, but will be growing and I will be adding structures to limit the interactions of different color varieties for a time. There's a reason I have those 8 roosters, after all.

I will be sending a few of the boys to Freezer Camp, and will be watching the flock carefully before they go to make sure the ones I choose to stay on (and there will be at least 4 of those) are the ones I want.
With my breed, and raising the chicks like I do, I haven't had a problem with Dorkings other than they make choices, sometimes, I wish they wouldn't. (Nothing major. Roosting in trees or going broody when I was hoping for eggs.)

Elena Sparks wrote:This isn't as much of an issue for chickens as it is for larger animals, so you don't have to be as careful. Just don't spend EVERY second of the day coddling them.
...
If all they see is you, and you interact with them more than they interact with the other chicks, then they will associate you with their same species. I mostly gave this advice because I wanted people to be aware of the risks of over handling their male animals. Roosters aren't the worst, and it's definitely harder to over handle them, but I have done it in the past (which led to a really mean rooster who would chase me around until I was out of the pen). I've seen tons of videos on social media where people have their "little Buster, my friendly bull," and they were allowing him to be so friendly that he had no limits, which is SUPER dangerous, and no-one seems to understand why.

This is a concern that I wish more people thought over when dealing with any livestock.
I don't cuddle any of my critters unless I want them to live in the house with me. It's bad training. Never let a baby critter do anything you wouldn't want it to do as an adult. I don't care how cute and fluffy the peeping chick is, it doesn't belong near your face. The LGD shouldn't be taught that jumping up on people is okay because it's a furball and "So Sweet!", and the bull calf should be taught that scritches are fine, leaning against people isn't. Draw limits when critters are small and they won't be testing them when they're big.

I wanted to avoid having mean geese. I still made some mistakes in socializing them, but they are mistakes I now know how to avoid and they aren't so dire that I need to get rid of a goose for fear of harm.
My only gander, at the moment, is a randy sod, and tries to court me. It's annoying. I've started teaching him "no", with "goosercise" as the negative re-enforcement part. I tell him "No" firmly, then pick him up and use him as a deadweight for straight arm lifts from waist to shoulder or circles with the same range. It's good exercise for me and confuses and annoys him. He got used to being picked up and carried away to be left somewhere else, so I had to switch things up.
I don't think the same training would work for a rooster who is confused. Maybe a spray of water to re-enforce a stern "no"? But rooster attacks are so quick and generally not as easy to avoid, plus they do damage. I'd be hesitant to keep a person-aggressive rooster, or chicken. Or animal of any sort. Aggressive livestock aren't worth the medical bills to deal with.