This shocking footage shows a cockerel attacking a two-year-old girl and knocking her to the ground when she walked too close to the hen house.

The young girl's grandfather was so angry after the incident that the following day he killed the cockerel and turned it into soup for dinner.

In CCTV footage captured in the family's backyard in Bazhong, in Sichuan, China, the toddler was seen walking over to a metal fence next to the pen at around noon, on Tuesday, March 12.

Seemingly perceiving her as a threat to the chickens, the feisty black cockerel charged towards the girl and kicked her in the back.

She was pushed into the fence and then fell crying.

Meanwhile, the bird continued its assault by jumping over her as she lay on the ground, spreading its wings and raising its feathers to display its full size.

Terrified, the child eventually managed to roll over and get back to her feet, ready to run away.

After learning about the incident, her grandfather reportedly became enraged and killed the cockerel. The girl is not believed to have suffered any injuries.