Conspiracy theory against roosters? I LOVE it, but I think it's more a result of people's reactions to the normal "teenage hormone issues" of young cockerels. It seems that only those brave enough to wait out that nasty stage really learn about rooster dynamics. @Beekissed wrote a great overview awhile back. I often refer to it when posters ask for help with a "problem rooster."
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...er-becomes-dinner.844018/page-4#post-12626931
As far as the close confines go, by most chicken-keeper standards, my current set-up is fairly small, especially when it gets divided for males or chicks. Luckily, Nankins don't require much space. With the exception of one Silkie mix pet all of my birds (14, at the moment) are all under 30 ounces (.7-.8 kg). They're also all "flyers," so going "up" gives them more space, hence the high roof.
The coop and run is bigger, than it looks. It's an outgrown playhouse, complete with a swingset and two sandboxes. The main cabin is roughly 8 X 8 feet (2.4m) with a 10+ ft (3+m) peak. Roosts stagger up, so there's a lot of room on the floor and up into the peak.
The adjoining undersides, formerly sandboxes, constitute the run.
When "The Boys" need, their own digs, I use a framed hardware-cloth divider between the two sandboxes and attach a large 3x4x3ft (+/- 1m) coop box for protection ... which they rarely use.
The "Bachelor Pad" has since been pressed into service as a nesting box behind the main cabin, under the old swingset A-frame. Come Spring, if all goes according to plan (although we all know how that sometimes goes) that will become a covered run for the main coop. That means much more space for my fellas. I may have to hatch one more time. I LOVE having a bachelor flock. The antics and "eye candy" are worth the extra effort!
We've been unseasonably hovering in the mid-to-high 20's (F, -single digits, C) here on the US' east coast. We're expecting a one-day hot-spell of 48 (8-ish C,) then a plunge back to the current nastiness. My kids laugh at me, because I walk around muttering, "Only 68 days 'til Spring." Yes, I keep a running count in my head. I want my flips-flops back!
