I'm new to this--5 hens (1 is not yet laying, the others are great layers). I've had them about 5 weeks. They have a secure coop with a rather large deep-litter straw floor but I have been letting them out in the morning and letting them free-range in my backyard (just a good-sized city lot, close to a large urban wooded park) all day. They put themselves in to the coop at night and I close it securely. This afternoon, just before dusk, I heard horrible squawking and ran outside to see a hawk lifting off into the air. I believe it was a red-tailed. I found all my girls safe in the butterfly garden, lots of rather dense foliage. It wasn't too hard to encourage them to go into the coop a little early. Now I'm not sure what to do. I LOVE to watch them roam freely through my yard, scratching and pecking at the large pile of leaves and mulch, etc., but I bought these heritage birds as near-adults and they were expensive and they have names and I don't want to lose one to a hawk. I do have a 'chicken tractor' but one hen--a large black australorpe--doesn't really like being in there with her coop mates. I theoretically could string chicken wire across the yard, affixing it to the tall privacy fence posts, but I hear that this may or may not work. So I guess here is my question: how adaptable are chickens? These are not CROWDED into their coop.... will they--I'll come out and say it--be as happy in there if they get used to it? Will egg production drop? Will the eggs be as nutritious if I put fresh greens and edible flowers, etc. in there along with their commercial feed? Maybe I could just put 2 or 3 into the movable coop and leave the other 2 or 3 in the permanent coop? I'm trying to be a responsible person and also not be afraid of the natural cycle of predation. I absolutely could not be doing this without this incredible community of chicken owners. Thanks!
