I've read many many threads on here, and I keep seeing where friendly roos will flip on their owners
You can read a lot of different things on this forum. Each situation is unique. Some people would have you think that every cockerel is a demon in waiting, they can really frighten you. That certainly can happen but a lot of them aren't bad at all. You can read a lot of rules on how you are supposed to handle a cockerel to keep him from going bad. A lot of those posts are contradictory. It is hard to know what to believe.
In my opinion, some cockerels are destined to be brutes, either toward humans or their hens. They are just hatched that way. In some, it is kind of genetic.
Some can be fine but their environment may make them human aggressive. An example: A few years back someone posted that what had been a great rooster suddenly started attacking his five-year-old son. That rooster started going out of his way to attack that boy and no one else. It turned out that the boy had been chasing the rooster's hens. The rooster was protective of his flock. Totally understandable. But he now saw that boy as a threat to his flock and had to be removed.
There have been stories on here where a rooster would attack certain things. Maybe a certain pair of boots someone was wearing or a specific shovel someone was carrying. One woman was attacked if she wore a skirt but not if she was in pants. I can't explain any of these.
I guess I'm just trying to figure out what to keep an eye out for.
Different things. You only have one boy so you don't have to worry about two males fighting.
Cockerels hit puberty faster than the girls. When the hormones kick in they are driven to be the dominant chicken. They express that dominance by mating the ones they want to dominate. The girls are not mature enough for that so they try to avoid the cockerel or run away. So he chases them down and mates them by force. It is not about fertilizing the eggs as the girls are not laying yet. It is pure dominance. Sometimes it is not that bad but sometimes it gets really wild. Pullets can be injured. As long as no one is being injured I don't worry about it too much but I keep an eye on it. I have isolated the boys when it got too wild, even without injury. The more room you have the better. I suggest widely separated food and water stations so the girls can eat and drink without the boy guarding one and keeping them away.
Once they mature enough the girls will start cooperating and he should gain control of his hormones. A mature flock is usually very peaceful. So keep an eye out for how rough it gets as they go through puberty. You may need to isolate him. And see how he behaves when he matures. Some males never grow up and act as a mature male should. Some hens never make it to the point where they cooperate but instead want to be the dominate chicken.
But I think you are mainly worried about human aggression. What mainly defines that to me is when he attacks you. That is usually from behind, they often do not confront you but some can. They run at you and jump feet first, even of they don't have much for spurs. Their beak can be a dangerous weapon too.
So what do you do to try to keep one from becoming aggressive toward you. You can get a lot of different answers to that, many contradictory. Personally I try to walk through a cockerel if he is in my way, same as I do the girls. I don't seek him out to challenge him, just ignore hm as I go where I want to go anyway. Just go about your business. Some people on here will disagree with that.
If I see a cockerel look at me like he is thinking about challenging me I walk toward him. If he backs down fine. But if he starts circling as if he wants to get behind me, I walk him down again. I keep doing that until he does go about his business.
If a young cockerel just feeling his oats attacks me, actually hits me from behind when I'm not looking, I chase him down and catch him. I walk around with him for a few minutes. When I let him go I put him on the ground and hold him down. I use my fingers on one hand to peck at his head. Not to hurt him but to let him know I could. Then I walk away. That is his one chance. If he attacks me (or anyone else) after that he is gone.
Sometimes I need to handle one of his girls. If I can I first catch the rooster and lock him away where he cannot see what I'm doing. Then I catch the hen and do what I need to. I can't always do that but if I can I don't put him in the position where he feels he has to protect his girls.
The majority of my cockerels or roosters do not become human aggressive. Ever. But occasionally one will. I don't accept that.
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