Best Breeds For Free Ranging?

[McChooky]

I live close to the road in an annexed portion of city limits in a small town among anti chicken neighbors so I rarely free range my birds. Having said that we also have a lot of chicken eating bob cats .This is my biggest deterrent because my place is under a canopy of trees(my coops blends in well and can't be seen from the road)I give eggs away for goodwill and it seems to work.I never get complaints but if I did I'd just move

 

[Sylvester017]

@AGeese -- electrify your fence if you're going through the expense of erecting one anyway. The added expense of training, vaccinations, vet bills for dogs might cost more than keeping poultry. I've had some chickens live longer than any dog we had. Locking up our hens at dusk and not opening again till dawn has saved our hens from raccoons, possums, coyotes, etc, and that's here in the city 'burbs!

 

[AGeese]

I'll always have dogs. The birds are locked up at night and free range by day and a coyote howls just as I'm typing.

 

[Sylvester017]

I'll always have dogs. The birds are locked up at night and free range by day and a coyote howls just as I'm typing.

Yep, every owner's environment has different wants and needs. For us, our large neighborhood predators (raccoons, 'possums, coyotes, cats) are night hunters or dusk/dawn hunters and locking up hens at night omitted the need for dogs for the last 13 years. As for wily aerial predators which swoop down using their talons on prey we interfered with a lot of flight space area with added patio roofs and pop-up canopies that provide shade also. I used to wish we were living back on a farm again to have livestock/poultry but now that we have our city/'burbs yard it's been much easier to keep our birds predator-safe. Nothing is ever a 100% guaranteed method but has worked for us so far.

ENLISTING THE HELP OF A FRIEND TO REPLACE A CANOPY COVER EACH YEAR

I'VE SEEN THE HENS USE THE DOG HOUSES AROUND THE YARD TO HIDE IN. SURPRISINGLY THEY NEVER LAYED AN EGG IN THEM.

HUMMING BIRD RESTING UNDER CANOPY SHADE.

PATIO ROOFS AND CANOPIES RESTRICT HAWK FLIGHT. ONCE A FLEDGLING HAWK FLEW INTO THE SIDE OF THE DOG-KENNEL WIRE PEN AND KNOCKED HIMSELF OUT!

LOTS Of PATIO ROOFS AND CANOPIES TO BLOCK AERIAL SPACE PLUS PROVIDE SHADE.