Creating separate areas

Fishychick

Songster
6 Years
May 8, 2018
73
69
129
Maryland, USA
So, I have four adults - 1 rooster and 3 hens and six babies coming up on two months. Of those six, I am sure 2 are girls, 1 is a boy, and 3 seem to have characteristics of both. They are mixed breeds so they are different sizes, colors, combs, etc. For the 3 that I don't know, one's comb is small and not red (dad has a small comb) but he's getting longer neck feathers and gives me "that look." One is just big. The other one is small but has a red comb (mom has a very red comb too). Anyway, I have a main house of 38 ft2, a main run of 251 ft2, and a separate run of 56 ft2 with what was supposed to be a little house of 27 ft2 that the contractor never finished. The little house has three sides, and the roof has slats so it's not waterproof like it was supposed to be. Anyway, let's assume I have my father rooster and 3 baby boys. Once the fighting starts (~6 months I guess as far as the serious fighting, not the play fighting some of them are doing), I can put the 3 baby boys in the smaller run. I will try to get a handyman to finish off the little house. If I want to keep them all, is it likely that the 3 young roosters will just try to kill each other in there? I could have separate much smaller areas built for each one and let them alternate going out in to a larger area. I love all my chick kids. I don't want them to die. I know, stupid me, I let my hen sit on eggs. But, I just love the babies. Nobody wants roosters (unless they're eating them). They are gorgeous. Their father is mean as the dickens but he'll make sure his sons are put in their place (for now at least) so they shouldn't try to kill me too (I hope!). Meanwhile, one of the adult hens has been brooding nothing for almost two months. I won't let her have eggs too, and she's just not giving up. I pull her off the nest twice a day to force her to eat which she does.
 
Mean, human aggressive roosters are not to be tolerated. This may be anecdotal but their sons are likely to have the same demeanor due to genetics.
Do as you please but any aggressive rooster here was only give a second chance and that was his last day on the planet. It is no fun when you have to constantly watch your back.
I useally have between 5 and 15 roosters. I do have 7 separate housing areas but too many cockerels per pullets is always a problem.
 
I think of the chickens differently than many. I've had five roosters in my life. Three were attackers and two were mostly nice. I used to hug the one. He was raised with his father and eventually turned on his father who I then housed separately but he never was overly aggressive with me. Anyway, roosters will attack people. It is simply a fact. I will not kill one just for doing what they are programmed to do. And yes, it's a pain to have to bring an old snow shovel in with me every time I go in the run to protect myself but killing him is not an alternative. The rooster, Angel, I saved four times on the day he was born. He couldn't get out of the shell. I birthed him in my hand. I had to bathe him because he couldn't move from hardened yolk on him. He exists because of me. I don't know how his sons will behave yet. But, I know they exist because of me, and however they behave, they are doing what chickens do, and it's not my duty to slaughter them for that. And yes, I do eat chicken. But, as my late mother used to say, "But, I didn't know that chicken."

Anyway, I just wanted to know what I could do with the pen to make it work for everybody, and, per usual, I am just getting posts telling me to kill them.
 

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