Jailed "Rooster Killer" from Florida Cries Self-Defense

A Florida resident, 54, was imprisoned for being a one-time rooster killer in his yard in the middle of May of this year. He claimed that he killed the pet rooster belonging to his neighbor out of self-defense.

For aggravated animal cruelty in May, Jacksonville, Florida resident James Nix Jr. was incarcerated for 30 hours. Nix argues that arrestign him was not appropriate for killing a chicken in self-defense.

Nix explained the incident to WJAX-TV and claimed that he was acting in self-defense. He continued by saying that the chicken died and that he was concerned for his safety.

Aggressive Rooster?

Chicken Scratch, a website for breeding and rasiing chickens, says that roosters are typically not hostile, but if one feels threatened, they may become hostile.

According to Hobby Farms, a website that offers guidance and inspiration for back-to-basics living on farms of all sizes, growing fruits and vegetables, and raising farm animals, hens only have tiny buds on their feet, but roosters can develop spurs that are very long, very sharp, and very dangerous. Roosters use their spurs to defend themselves or their hens, be it from rivals and other threatening instances. One of the roosters won't think twice to use his spurs against the owner if he even seems like a threat to them.

The Rooster & The Mailbox

And perhaps that was the source of Nix's anxiety. He recalled opening his mail when the rooster charged at him.

To demonstrate, Nix taps his fingertips on the truck behind him as he recounts his encounter and the noise that he claims the rooster made.

Nix recalled that when he turned around at that moment, a chicken was on the street.

After turning around and making his way back to his house, Nix heard the same noise and noticed that the chicken was already in his yard with its neck flared up.

Spotting Aggressive Roosters

There are warning signs that a rooster may be turning aggressive, according to Pet Keen, a website that claims to provide pet owners with useful and practical advice supported by science and research.

Aggressive roosters may exhibit the following rooster behaviors:

• Rooster spurring is when a bird jumps at a target and attempts to rake it with its spurs.
• Flogging is when the rooster beats the target with his wings as he flies at it.
• When the target appears to be a threat, the rooster will often chase it away from the flock.

Nix asserted that he then took up a "stick" to ward the rooster off. Nix remembered that the chicken jumped at him. At this point, according to Nix, the chicken was unintentionally hit in the head.

Jason Defelice, the owner, was incensed to find his rooster dead when he got home. Four youngsters, ranging in age from 7 to 12, who had seen the incident approached him.

The children claimed that the man driving the blue truck was the rooster killer and beat the rooster with a steel pole.

Defelice shouted at his neighbor while holding up the dead rooster in his hand. Then Nix told his neighbor to go, Newsweek reports.

Defelice called the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Animal Code Enforcement to report his dead bird. On May 30, Nix was arrested for animal cruelty after a police investigation, and he spent the next 30 hours behind bars.

Since chickens die every day, Nix claimed he did not understand why his neighbor had called the police. He also questioned the appropriate send-off for the rooster, claiming that he ought to have fired a 21-gun salute, performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, CPR, or called an ambulance for the chicken.

Roosters Attacking Humans

According to the American Council on Science and Health, roosters occasionally attack kids, hens, and other animals. Many urban areas that permit chickens also restrict the number of roosters or outright ban them.

An aggressive rooster that attacked a young girl in May was seen on a farm's Bing security camera. A rooster charged at a man walking down the street in New York City last year, leaving him bleeding. And in 2019, an Australian woman bled to death after a rooster bit at her leg.

However, two of the four kids present when the rooster was killed sobbed to the police and questioned why the suspect was acting in such a cruel way. The children claimed that Nix wasn't attacked by the rooster.