When we let out our flock I stay with them.. I use a spray bottle when they get into the garden.. Our border collie love to wrangle up the little peeps.. The rooster gives everyone a head's up when something flys above.. Not that he would be able to protect if a hawk decided to swoop down. When he does his call for
"take cover" I look to see what type of bird.. So far no hawk's.. We have a ton of shade in the back.. Now when the sparrows come our BCM chases them off.
If you don't have time I would get a good dog. Also I here that crows are good at keeping preditors at bay.. Put out corn.. I will post up a list from another member..
Thanks! I never leave my chickens to free range alone anymore. a bobcat got two of our cockerels and after that I just couldn't leave them out alone anymore. We are in the middle of a wilderness area so there is no sure way to keep wild animals out.
It's great fun to hang out with them though, they take me on hikes all over the place!

I'd love to have Silkies, I just want to make sure they will be safe and happy here. I'm thinking it might happen!
We have hawks, eagles and all sorts of other predators out here, so I am not going to risk them being alone anymore, although we also have many crows that nest around here and they are great for shooing hawks and things away from the area. I feed them all the time to keep them coming back. Lol!
Our chickens are very flighty and very alert, but they are too precious to me to risk any more loss. I was heartbroken over our two that were lost.
Our cockerel is really good about watching for danger, he sees things all the time that I would never have noticed, he makes me a more observant person. Chickens are awesome, I'm so glad we decided to bring them into our lives. Thanks very much for your advice, I am so grateful for this forum and the people who come here.