I think a larger enclosure will definitely help, and I would still try to start free ranging if you ever get a chance. We all get bit at some point, I've had to use heavy duty gloves to pick up an angry chicken once.
I bet if you guys will let him free range a little a lot of the aggression will stop. It's like a dog, it seems aggressive in its yard because it's defending it, but when you take it some where new they're more focused on checking it out then being aggressive and defensive.
If he was fine before then that could be it. I've seen people keep them in enclosures pretty small and they haven't had them be aggressive, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be. I've seen snakes become very enclosure aggressive when kept in the racks and be fine when they're taken out. Do you...
Sadly I don't think people will ever understand. I'm still trying to convince my family that veiled chameleons can't change to neon pink just because they walked onto a pair of sunglasses.
I've seen some bearded dragons that just hate being around people. There was one YouTube video that I watched where he had a beardie that was scared and hated people, it took him over a year of gaining trust before she let him start holding her. He said leave the door open to the enclosure and...
The poop isn't too bad since they would rather sleep on top of the coop then in it. It took me 10 years to talk my mom into letting me get a horse. I work 3 times a week scooping 37 stalls to keep him at the barn where we board. Everyone's scared of him because he likes to bite people for fun.
Yeah it's definitely not the stereotypical only in the mornings. My neighbor's are terrible, but it's legal to keep chickens and roosters where I live so they can't do anything about it. This is my revenge for them stealing stuff out of our yard when we're not home lol.