I'm not sure what you are referring to as "better eats". The Grubblies? Seriously? Do you think I wait for him to attack me, and then reward him? I reserve that stuff for when they are behaving nicely.
The appearance of fresh eats is a reward in itself, even if it is the same as already present on the ground.
Instead of pinning him down you could peck him with your two fingers on the head and back as a dominant chicken would do. They usually get the message.
That will insert OP more firmly into pecking order. The roo will be obligated to challenge that social order later. The cockerel would do exactly the same with against a mature cock that had dominated cockerel throughout the cockerel's life. That is despite the cock inflicting much greater damage on the cockerel challenging him than the OP is likely to do. Why do you think the young roo will give the OP ground in light of normal social interactions between male chickens?
The OP already stated that he will not choose this cockerel to stay with the flock. So for me there is no reason to invest any thought in the "later" or "what if when" or even the "if" he will reach maturity at all.
I like this approach as well. It works really well for me. Older hens are great at teaching youngsters some manners.
