Bee's key points to successful and safe free ranging.

this article says it all.
no need to add anything...

This article matches my experiences. A good dog, the right breeds, and natural cover for your chickens, go a long way towards eliminating large-scale loss to predators when free ranging.

Very useful and straight to the point

Good article, practical and pithy, full of useful information, well-organized and articulate. Will look for more from this author.

Excellent info. I'm glad that I read this article before allowing my hens to hatch fall chicks.

This is a great intro to free-ranging - lots of good ideas with some personal experiences thrown in, to boot. Nicely Done!

Excellent information. Thank you.

The dog discussion was a new aspect for me. We are considereing getting a dog, and this article gave me other points to consider.

It is good to have tips on how to safely free range.

Lots of valuable information. I especially found the breed observations interesting and certainly educational. Thanks for putting this together!

That was a great article. Many good points - more on the FENCING needed as I have found out the hard way that 4 inch spaced wire will not keep chickens in. Same for 'flighty birds' in general.

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One reason 'Free Range' does not work. I seem to be blessed with rebels and contrarians. Cannot believe these ingrates decide to lay out in the bushes when I have provided such a nice hen house and nesting boxes. :-(
Amethyst Gem, Americana, Speckled Sussex, EE, OE and Cuckoo Maran - no matter. They prefer to lay in a group nest outside the hen house. Will have to lock them up for a full day to start them over.

About sums it up.

So far I have lost no birds free ranging in 6 years.
The EEs are very good alarm clocks. Lol sometimes better than my rooster.

Thank you for sharing this information. I wouldn’t have thought about the perils of fall chicks.

This is an outstanding article - concise, informative, and even inspiring. An encouragement to those who wish to free-range their chickens. Thank you!

Great information, since all my birds are free range.

Top notch article with commonsense advice about attitude and approaches.
The notes about breed and temperament choices are appreciated - a lot of people do not consider these things when deciding how to "keep" their birds.