Thanks so much for all the info!!
The furniture idea sounds like a great one
Only issue though is our front yard is huge and a giant bowl so it would look a little weird having furniture in the middle but I'll definitely figure something out!
And yeah, we have resident Red Tailed Hawks. They actually left for a while after we accidentally cut down their tree but came back a few years ago. They had babies this year.
We definitely do have a lot of plants though.the only issue is the middle of the yard. I'll try to get pictures or a video later.
But hmm, maybe I shouldn't get bantams then. The main reason I wanted them was just cause I think Silkies are hilarious but I'm sure there's standard ones that are similar. If I did I'd probably put them in a completely separate pen and keep them in it or let them out at different times. I think I want to add more LF though next year
My DD & SIL have a much nicer home than our little cottage - they contracted an outdoor stone patio in their center front yard and added patio furniture and it actually looks very nice. I wish I could let my hens in our front yard but it's not permitted -- otherwise I'd landscape it accordingly for their use.
Our resident chicken hawk is back every Spring thru early Summer to have her offspring but I don't mind because she gleans the neighborhood and highway landscape of mice, rats and excess wild birds/doves. After she's raised her offspring the rodent population sometimes returns and we have to put glue traps around at night to catch the critters she missed. She doesn't bother my hens but I know if I had baby chicks she or the crows would pick them off - so I only get older juvenile pullets and wait until they're 5 or 6 months old and at least as big as the adult hens before integrating them outdoors. BTW I didn't used to like crows but our crows are great at keeping the chicken hawk away yet the crows don't bother our adult hens.
I get one new pullet approx every 2 years because some breeds really drop off laying after their 2nd year and I like to keep at least one newer hen around for eggs while the older ones diminish production. I have a matriarch 4-1/2 y/o Silkie that only lays a couple dozen eggs every Spring and quits the rest of the year. I have a 3-1/2 y/o Silkie that is a much better layer thru-out the year, an Ameraucana that only gave us 3 eggs her 2nd year, and a new Breda pullet that just began laying this week. If we didn't add a new pullet this year we would've had a sad year for eggs.
I think ours must come back every spring too because I don't hear them in winter. Except she only just recently left. Unless they leave the babies to find their own way? Cause they migrate right? I'm not sure we could handle keeping them inside that long haha and yeah, crows can be annoying but recently I've also seen so many posts elsewhere and stories/articles about how intelligent they and other birds in the family (corvid, I know it includes ravens and I think jays but not sure what. Else. Crows and ravens are the smartest) so I've definitely come to like them now haha I'm not sure ours keep them away considering the hawks still come back but I've seen them chase them. Sometimes just one,often two or three, chasing the poor hawk all over the sky and making tons of noise LOL I think the hawks must go after their eggs or chicks or something. They sure keep them away though. Haven't seen it in a little while though. 
