Did I pick right breeds?

[Bluegrasschicken]

Hi, I am in Lexington, KY. We have hot, humid summers and cold winters. I have 4 Buff Brahma Bantams and 4 Porcelain D'uccle Bantams arriving in early May. I picked them for their gentleness and looks for the most part! I have 6 and 8 yr old daughters that will want to hold and interact the chickens quite a bit. We live on a horse farm and animals are a huge part of our life. Will the weather be too extreme?

Also, if I buy a coop with a run.....they still need or will at least be happiest having free range time, correct? How many hours per day should I let them out and how much risk are aerial predators? We also have plenty of foxes and coyotes. Do I need to stay with them ( I would think so...but that would limit free range time)? Will they wander off far from the coop? We have 4 board fence so they can easily escape, although all our neighbors are also horse farms....more worried about losing them and not being able to close them in for the night! Is that a real worry?

Thank you!

 

[chickenlittle21]

If you are going to free range them then let them out from dawn to dusk, I don't reccomend free ranging them, though. They would still be perfectly happy in a coop with a big run. If you are going to free range them you still don't have to worry about them not returning to the coop. They will come back to the coop at night for shelter.