3 Week Old Rooster Question

[Lisa Pedro]

Hi Everyone,
This is the first time I am raising hatchery chicks. I have had chickens before but always let the hens raise their chicks. Well my chicks are 3 weeks old today and the one that I think will be a nice Cochin rooster is jumping at me all the time. He has been doing this for awhile but I did not think of it as rooster behavior. I have never had any of our roosters do this before, chicks or grown, but I have heard people tell me about roosters that do this.
I do pick him up and handle him ( not because he jumped at me) just to get them all used to being handled and he is sweet. But I don't want him to think he can get away with bad behavior. Is there anything I can do?
They are all still in the house and Storm Debbie did not help. Alot of our yard is still very wet and not drying very fast. They have not been outside in the tractor for days. Hopefully we will have the coop built by next week.
I just don't want to be jumped at everytime I am going to walk in the coop, if that is what he is planning.
This picture is from last week, but they look the same. He still looks like a baby at 3 weeks but he is one of the biggest chicks. I am pretty sure that I got a pair of Cochins out of my bantam assortment. Still wondering what color they will be.
Anyway, what go you do about a rooster that is jumping at you? Thanks for your help.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I've never actually had a rooster start any kind of aggressive behavior at only three weeks old. I usually start getting that from them between 6 months and a year when they are going through their raging hormone teenage stage! Is it possible this little one is just after food? Is it actually kicking out at you with it's feet or is it just trying to jump up to perch on you?

 

[Lisa Pedro]

I saw it more as a pecking order thing. He would charge right up to me and bounce off the side of the cage usually near my face. I started wondering if he would do this if he was on the ground. So I closed my office door and sat him on a phone book and he has been a perfect gentleman so far. I just played with him, petted him and he is sweet, but he was also on his own and could only hear the others peeping. Do they try to establish pecking order with their people? Maybe he is over it. He just sat on the phone book. Then I sat him on my desk next to me and he was fine there too. Thanks for the input.