Thank you for the info! It's been hard for me to know because my last rooster would slowly get closer, pretending to eat and act like everything was fine, and then he'd jump and attack when close enough, lol. So I think I'm mostly just wary with this one now because I don't know if he's trying to be tricky when he's bending down to pick up stuff on the ground.
This cockerel will also slowly walk behind me, so I'm paranoid that like my last rooster, he might try and sneak attack. He doesn't seem aggressive so far, aside from a couple nips, but I still think it was just that I moved my hand too quickly around him. But it does make me question intentions. If I'm slow though, he lets me pet him and pick him up. But if the partial circling without much wing motion is flock bonding, hopefully that's all he's doing then!
The best education you can get is to watch your chickens when they think you're not around. Observe all the interactions between them, body langauge, and what noises they make. Try not to anthropomorphize what they're doing, just observe.
You'll find that they actually communicate a LOT, and there's surprisingly subtle distinctions. A couple of my roosters never shut up during the day.
It sounds like you've only ever had one cockerel at a time, so you've missed out on how they act in their "play fights" growing up. This isn't all bad, because you also miss out on when they stop playing with each other.
But that being said, you'll notice that some "nice" sounds they make are actually polite warnings. Some other sounds that are "not nice" to human ears are either neutral or actually friendly.
Learn what agitiated body language is from a rooster: if you see one shaking his head like he's got something in his ear, that's an expression of annoyance. There's also a posture I call the "rigid V" I've seen both hens and roosters adopt when they're agitated: neck and tail held stiff (like a letter "V" if viewd from the side), which is usually followed by chasing and pecking.
There's a sort of gentle cooing sound they'll make while staring at another chicken. This is NOT a friendly noise, but a warning to get out of their personal space NOW.
In general you want your rooster to be friendly, but you don't want him to treat you like a hen, so as others have pointed out if he tidbits you don't accept the gift.
In general my rooster is exhibiting positive behaviors like greetings I'll always acknowledge him, usually with something like "hello sir!" or "good morning sir!" It's like he understands the words at all, the trick is you're setting a pattern where he greets you and you greet him back. I have a couple of roos that have fragile egos and if they greet me and I just blow them off they get put out.
One time I had a rooster greet me when I was heading to the garage to leave for work and I completely ignored him. He ran up behind me and stamped his foot and when I turned around he repeated his greeting, only louder. When I acknowledged him he then walked away muttering.
Another thing that scores favors with roosters is that when you hand treats out, give them to him first so he can tidbit the hens. Tidbitting is one of the primary ways they attract mates, so if you're handing out treats to the hens first you're setting yourself up as a potential rival. If you treat him first and allow him the illusion that he's the one providing the treats, you're no longer a potential rival, you're his "wingman" helping him get laid.
The current alpha rooster in my flock will see me and gather up a couple of his favorite hens and greet me, and if he sees I have treats he'll shoo the hens in my direction while making the tidbitting noise.
Another behavior to avoid with roosters is never lean forward in their direction and make eye contact (like the way some people talk to little kids). If you do that you're unconsciously mimicking the "challenge" pose, and if you do it fast enough they may reflexively react by pecking or spurring you in the face.
If you feel your rooster is doing something untoward: getting into your personal space and acting like you're either a rival or one of his hens, I tend to try dealing with it this way: First thing is I stand up straight with my hands on my hips, elbows out. Then I shake my head (mimcing the head-shake gesture, only slower). If the rooster persists, I'll move them out of my personal space gently but firmly with the bottom of my foot. Most times I don't have to contact them, and if he takes a swipe at you out of instinct or to save face and you're wearing proper footwear he has zero chance of hurting you through a the sole of a work-boot.
