To our surprise, one of the hen chicks (pullets) we purchased last year ended up being a rooster! We thought it was kind of funny at first, and I began to research the pros and cons of keeping it. Roosters are good for a LOT of things! They make sure all of the hens roost in the same spot, and that everyone gets a fair amount of the food. They can also be great defenders of their hens from animals who want a meal. They unite the flock, protect them, and make it possible for baby chicks. We decided to keep the rooster, get a collar to quiet its crow a bit, and see how it went.

We had bought one group of chicks and three weeks later got more chicks of a different breed. Because these two groups didn’t grow up together, they were constantly pecking each other and roosted in separate areas of our yard. It is actually illegal where we live to have free-range chickens, so I built an A-frame coop and all of the chickens had to be housed together. They were constantly fighting. Once the rooster matured, however, they realized he was the leader. Everyone followed where he went, shared food, and roosted in the same area. Fast-forward a couple of months and I hear a blood-curdling scream from my 5-year old. Her morning chore is to fill the buckets of food and water just inside the coop door. We finally got her to say that the rooster attacked her, rushing at her with its claws and beak.

After this incident, we decided to switch jobs so that our oldest son had the chicken food job. He was also attacked. We don’t know what triggered the rooster’s aggression…he was never super friendly I suppose. Maybe the silence collar turned him aggressive? Sometimes the chickens get out of the coop when the egg-collection wall gets left open. He attacked our daughter when she was simply playing in the yard and had her back to him. We knew at this point he had to go ASAP. That hatchet on our list needed to be bought, and the deed needed to get over with. Any good things about him uniting the flock or protecting them, etc. were not worth the fear and harm of our children.

I had no idea that our rooster would decide to attack the hand that fed it. To be fair, I have read about very friendly roosters. If you have children, make sure they are a friendly breed, and handle your chicks a lot when they are little so they aren’t afraid and get aggressive!

Make it a great day!   -Jexi