A good lesson or animal cruelty?
By imadriscoll
@imadriscoll (2228)
United States
March 14, 2007 1:45pm CST
I have a good friend who lives on a farm. She's one of the funniest people I know and since we both have children the same ages we have a lot in common.
She recently told me that her 3 year old son has been having problems with a rooster on the farm. The rooster would attack him when he ever he went outside. The rooster didn't bother the other children, just him. This was obviously very frightening to her son and I'm sure that it bother her and her husband as well.
My friend's husband ended up making a really impressive wooden toy sword for their son. They told him that he could use it to defend himself against the attacks of the rooster.
The story goes that the next time they were outside the rooster spied Josiah and started racing towards him. Josiah started to cry out, when his mother yelled, "Your sword, Josie!" Josiah swung his sword and whacked the rooster a good one. The rooster ran off and hasn't bothered Josiah since.
I had mixed feelings about the story when she first told me. I'm not sure that hitting the animal is the best lesson to be taught, but at the same time it could have caused Josiah some real harm... wondering what everyone else thinks?
16 people like this
34 responses
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I hate a flogging rooster, they are territorial, and the rooster for what ever reason decided that boy was a threat. Once they do there is no other way to make a dang rooster stop its attacts unless its the chicken pot on the stove. And thats exactly what my mother would do when we were children and we had a rooster that would not let us into the hen house! So the tap with the boys sword is just comical. The rooster should have ended up chicken and dumplins!
5 people like this
@MySpot (2600)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I can see why you had some mixed feelings about the situation. I agree with most of the previous posters saying that there may have been better solutions to the problem.
I don't believe that a three year old can really decipher between right and wrong, especiallly whenever the parents have suggested and/or permitted such behavior. If he were to hit a dog, the dog may have become even more aggressive and it would make things worse.
Personally, I'd have to get rid of any animal that was terrifying my child!
It sounds like Josiah has taught the bird a lesson but his parents might have taught Josiah animal cruelty.
3 people like this
@jchampany (1130)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I think they did the right thing. A rooster isn't like a dog, cat, horse, etc. You can't really train them. I know, now your going to say what about fighting roosters. Those aren't TRAINED to fight. They just piss them off just enough, attach some knives to their feet and let them go at each other. Anyway, your friend did the right thing as far as the rooster was concerned.
3 people like this
@michelledarcy (5220)
•
14 Mar 07
I think it is a bad idea for any child to be encouraged to be cruel to animals. It would have been much better to have tried to find the source of the problem.
2 people like this
@imadriscoll (2228)
• United States
14 Mar 07
Any ideas of what else they could have done?
2 people like this
@mrsturner (518)
• Canada
14 Mar 07
Roosters can be both mean and territorial. The fact that he hasn't bothered the child again doesn't mean he won't so the parents need to be careful. I don't believe in hurting animals, but if an animal started going after my child they wouldn't survive long. In the case of a chicken - it would soon be barbeque.
3 people like this
@lovesfreedom (1245)
• United States
15 Mar 07
When I was a little girl and would go visit my uncle's farm for a few weeks, he had turkeys that would just terrorize me! As soon as I stepped out the backdoor, here they would come. Mean as a snake they were!
My aunt and uncle told me to face them down, show them who was boss. So I tried this and sure enough I showed them who was boss that day. They were! lol Once again I ended up running to the corn field and hiding.
It did stop one day, though I am not sure why. But on this day, my aunt decided I should be the one to feed them, which I bravely did, even though my heart had jumped from my body and was curled up in the fetal position under the house. My aunt says that they realized i had the food and was gingerly scattering it about. I don't know if that is true, if they indeed realized hey if I chase her she won't feed me, but whatever the reason, I am glad they stopped.
2 people like this
@lovesfreedom (1245)
• United States
15 Mar 07
Oh, I forgot to answer the question. I am a huge animal lover, but to be honest, I did not see this as abuse. To me abuse is a continuing cycle of cruelty to any species. While I hope this is not how this child decides everything to be handled, hopefully the chicken was not really harmed and it won't need to be done again.
I do prefer more humane ways of dealing with things than hitting, but at the same time, we are talking about a child and a rooster here.
2 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I understand why, but I think that a more humane way of handling it would have been nicer, since I am an animal lover.
2 people like this
@imadriscoll (2228)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I think that they would classify themselves as animal lovers too. I think their main concern was for their son.
2 people like this
@primecrimson (1388)
• Philippines
15 Mar 07
This story makes me realized that even animals have feelings too. They knew who are their enemies and those people that do good on them. I guess it's true since my pets always play with me because I always take care of them. However, they sometimes attack my cousin who is always hit them with sticks or stones.
It's still nice to be good to everyone even if their animals or your fellows. Good deeds always pay good things.
1 person likes this
@imadriscoll (2228)
• United States
15 Mar 07
Ok, the boy was not the rooster's enemy, the boy had never done anything to it. I think it attacked him because he saw that the boy was afraid, the boy cries easily which made him a better target. The older sister wasn't afraid of the rooster so it left her alone. Animals (and people too unfortunately) seem to attack those which they feel is weaker then them.
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
15 Mar 07
So what you are saying is that this 3 year old was this roosters enemy...Intersting. Chicken on a farm are not pets, they serve a function food and eggs period. We feed them, keep a good shelter and they reward us with food. When a rooster goes mean , its as someone else stated sunday dinner.
1 person likes this
@damageinc86 (351)
• United States
15 Mar 07
jeeeez guys "i PROBABLY would hit the rooster if it attacked me". What the hell!? Any animal that attacks me that wont kill me I will most certainly beat the sh*t out of. Just because it's an animal means nothing to my well being, and especially a child's. Why is everyone such a p*ssy nowadays?
1 person likes this
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
15 Mar 07
Well the little boy was only three and was probably wouldn't do any real damage to the rooster but the rooster could have really hurt him . I think if I had a rooster like that I would have got rid of it before I let it hurt my child but no one was hurt in the end so as long as they explain that he can't hit animals just because he felt like it then there was probably no real harm done .
1 person likes this
@alienation68 (103)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I don't think thats animal cruelty since the animal was obviously in a position to harm the boy, being 3 years old every little thing that he does can hurt him. as long as he doesnt continue to beat the rooster then I dont see that any harm was done
@greylady (153)
• United States
14 Mar 07
Having Josie defend himself was obviously one option and it seems the rooster got the message.
Keeping the rooster in a fenced in area would be another. If a fenced chicken yard is does not already exist it might be an expense the owner of the rooster would not want.
The good old cookpot is yet another option.
2 people like this
@LilyoftheThorns (12918)
• United States
15 Mar 07
well...I dont think making a WOODEN sword was very good. B.c wood is really sturdy and can hurt a lot. They should have gotten him something with less smack. But also, the bird only got hit once and I'm assuming he is okay. So it is THAT terrible, but some things could have been done differently to cause the bird less harm.
@Kasssy (107)
• United States
14 Mar 07
When I was a child, My grandmother had sort of a farm. She had chickens a few goats and a few cows in the pasture. Hitting a chicken is one of the lightest duties of the farms. We use to wait until the rooster went to the crick before running in to get the eggs, but not a rodent one came into that coop. We had the meanest nanny goat ever. It took 3 of us kids to milk her. We had to pin her up by a tree, hold her legs while the other milked. She would butt you all in the back, for revenge, the rest of the day. One time she had a horse, I can't remember her name. Everyone rode this horse, she was a sweet as pie. My cousin Todd, everytime he got on she threw him off. We use to laugh and laugh. I don't have any part of the farm at my house now, so I hope their children enjoy growing up on theirs. Wish them the best of luck for me and let them know to keep an eye on that rooster!
2 people like this
@sharone74 (4837)
• United States
15 Mar 07
When it comes down to children and the crazy antics of an animal I would sooner allow my child to defend himself from the viscious attacks of this bird, which as I am sure your guessed, is not as amongst the most intelligent of creatures. The bird is lucky that he didn't kill it with that sword. No I do not think this is animal cruelty or should the blame not be laid at the feet of the parents and not the child who was just following the instructions of his parents for his sword.
1 person likes this
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
15 Mar 07
My thought is there must have been a reason why this rooster acted this way, well one problem wa solved I guess the rooster did learn a lesson but did little boy also learn a lesson ...a lesson on how to solve his problems...hmmmm not sure it was a good idea really, this is the age where childrens minds are like a sponge and do more learning than any other time of their lives...
@olaff123 (433)
• Namibia
15 Mar 07
The rooster had to be taught a lesson as well. Remember that a really big rooster is about the size of a three year old. If one whack cured the rooster, that's fine. But a child should be taught not to abuse animals. I don't think it is the case here, but should the boy now go out of his way to attack the rooster, the parents should step in and punish the child.
1 person likes this
@seraphim_1991 (69)
• Philippines
15 Mar 07
Well animals sometimes are controllable and we don't really know how they think. Maybe it is just right that the child do that since he was being harmed by the animal without no reason and maybe hitting it once is just ok because after that it did not bother the child anymore. It will be another case if the child do it in a habit of hitting animals but if he did not, I think it is just ok since he just defended himself and I think that also gives impression to the animal that what it is doing is not right and that fixed it. Don't be bothered.
@romel_ece (1290)
• Philippines
15 Mar 07
I have experience this one before.When I was still 6 years old and every time we visit my grandmother in the rural area I used to play with their chickens and roosters.Then there was one rooster that will attack whoever near him. Then my uncle taught me to just to bring some wooden stick and that rooster will not attack you.I think what Josiah was doing, was just a teaching a lesson to the rooster.In some ways, it help Josiah from being hurt by the attack of that rooster.
@CatSire (5)
• Sweden
15 Mar 07
Roosters are fighters. So him getting a whack by the wood-sword wasnt as bad it sounds.
The solution somewhat romantic, I think. But it is of course important the boys education proceeds, and he is taught that normally he must be kind and careful with animals.
They are also people with feelings... :)
