Inside Specs for Cool Roo BACHELOR PAD

[arazla]

I've seen a lot of threads on starting bachelor pads, but I can't seem to find what the minimum amount of space is for INSIDE a coop with just roosters. Tensions are quite high among my 19-week-old roos. After a couple epic bloody battles, two are already out, with one in a dog crate on our porch and the other in a handmade chicken cart/tractor I bought from FB marketplace. When I bought the cart a long time ago, I thought we could use it for roosters, but now I'm worried it's too small. It's approximately 3 1/2 by 4 feet with maybe 6 x 3 1/2 feet below when you go down the ramp. However, we have lots of predators so need to keep it closed off at night. During the day my partner and I take turns free ranging the roosters with supervision which is taking up way too much time.

We have 4 roosters and 4 hens. Since we moved 2 of our boys out, the main flock has calmed down a little. But most likely we will need space for at least 3 roos eventually. I'd love thoughts on what a rooster coop looks like. My other question is do most people force them to house together or do they do it naturally. The 2 roosters that were banished thus far are not really interacting much. They circle each other, but the smaller one runs away whenever the larger one gets close, which makes me think he is scared and we're not sure if we should throw him in the chicken cart. We're attached, so not culling for now. Moving more towards our own mini roo sanctuary.

This is Asher the Dasher chilling in the cart after a hard day. I'll try to get a photo of the actual cart later.

 

[chooki]

My one is about 2.4m x 2.4m:

Interconnected mesh wire on the inside and pallets connected with screws on the outside. Also 0.5 metre metal mesh skirts outside the pallets to stop digging. Enough for 3 roosters. Farm is unmanned 2-3 days at a time, so far no bird was lost to predators.

We also move the coop every month on to new pastures and the cockerels are allowed to free range whenever someone is on the farm and convenient, which is like 30% - 40% of the days.

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[arazla]

Seems like your inner space is definitely larger then. That's a good idea about pallets. We do have a lot of those lying around, though they wouldn't be high enough to walk under with netting above.

 

[Mrs. K]

Space is always crucial. Adding clutter is good too.

Do know, that even with that, this does not always work. Sometimes it works well, and for years. Sometimes it does not. But more space is crucial. Roosters are just a crap shoot, and the more you have, the greater the chance of it going wrong.

Mrs K

 

[arazla]

Oh gosh, I really want it to work, but I guess there's no guarantees. I'm also wondering whether we could maybe have more than one house in the same run. I do have a large dog house we could convert for example. So when it's bed time, maybe they could go to their separate places, but free range together during the day.