Did He Just Try to Flog Me???

[MommaG2023]

I agree, you don't want that many boys, and the pullets definitely don't. Until they're laying they're not ready for mating, so it's stressful for them with just one amorous cockerel, let alone several.
As you remove cockerels, formerly timid boys will get more confident to go after the girls too (testes size is suppressed by the presence of dominant males, so they have less testosterone now than they will have).
If you can't separate the cockerels, I would make your choice of roo as quickly as you possibly can to spare the girls, and just pick one.

Yes I agree. I may have a home for the 9 week old but will have to wait 2 weeks for confirmation. Ozzie is beautiful but because of his temperament I do not feel he would be safe being rehomed with another family. The hard thing for me is I love him and want to keep him, but these are the choices that must be made to have a healthy flock I think.

 

[McChooky]

Since you didn't see much of what happened it's hard to know. What they do with their legs in flight depends on their balance. Two innocent possibilities are that a fright sent him up, or he could have been after a bug.
Not all cockerels are athletic enough to gain altitude vertically so when they do it can be startling.

I had an incident more than a week ago with my gymnastic-hopeful Ameraucana roo...
I was changing the bedding in all the nest boxes and in a bit of a hurry. I opened the door to his pen, popped just my upper torso in, and tossed the clean milk crate nest back to it's spot.
I was congratulating myself on a surprisingly successful toss (lol), when I felt the air being displaced above me. It was completely silent. Jumping backwards, I saw my roo bounce lightly down. He had hovered in the same spot for 30 seconds.
Clearly, I had frightened him as he showed no aggression.
But I try to always keep an eye out around roosters. If they're turning mean they show it in lots of ways and moments. One that's really easy for me to spot is the stink eye. I only keep roos with soft looking eyes.

Yep you know they're up to no good when they give you the stink eye!

 

[Mrs. K]

When you say you love him, remember, and remember fondly, you loved the chick he WAS. That is not the bird he is now, and there is no going back. If all your birds are near to the same age, as in hatched this year, I would recommend a hen only flock.

Get some experience, cockerels and roosters take some experience, and a lot more space than the suggested space for hens. They tend to cause a lot of problems in confinement.

IMO he is attempting to flog you: They are opportunist, you were looking away, seated down, so appearing shorter. He took his chances and then backed off. He will be watching, you will be examining another bird, or carrying something, or something else and distracted, and he will try again.

Mrs K