I grew up a lot like that in the hills and ridges of East Tennessee. Our chickens were never locked up, some roosted in trees outside the hen house even in below 0*F weather. Most chickens laid in the hen house but I'd find eggs in the hay loft or maybe in brush piles. Several times hen's would nest somewhere unknown and appear with a bunch of chicks. We would go years between predator attacks, usually a fox or a dog, never a raccoon, possum, or skunk. Occasionally a snake would eat some eggs. It's not that the predators were not around. When they got so thick they were causing a problem, a neighbor's sons and my two younger brothers declared war on skunks. I'd already left home. They killed 56 skunks that summer.
One of the differences between then and now is that I could only see one other house from our yard. Now you can see several. I could walk in several directions over the hills and never see another house. That's not the case now. The land used to be farmed, which meant the fields were kept clear and not allowed to be overgrown. Fence rows were kept cleared. The woods were trees with not much brushy undergrowth to hide animals. Now the fields and fence rows are overgrown with brush, which is perfect habitat for certain predators and certain prey animals, so the number of predators has increased and they live closer to people, both because they have more places to hide and more prey animals to feed their young. They are attracted to areas people live in because of all the easy food they get from people's trash. Coyotes have also expanded into that territory, both because the food supply for them has increased and the large predators that used to outcompete them have been killed off.
This just talks about one area, possibly pretty close to what your grandmother's place, but it shows how habitat has changed and with it animal distribution. Many people in suburbia would be amazed at how many raccoons, possums, foxes and other predators thrive near people. These predators have plenty of places to hide in the storm sewers, parks, empty lots, and abandoned housing. They get a lot of easy food from people's garbage. And they are not afraid to go around people's houses, especially at night when we don't see them. That's where the food is.
I think another thing that has changed is people's attitudes. My parents kept several chickens to provide eggs and meat. They were not pets, they were livestock. They did not get individual names and I seriously doubt Dad knew exactly how many chickens he actually had at any one time. They foraged off the land, getting supplemental food only when snow covered the ground. The loss of an occasional chicken was not a catastrophe, was factored into the equation, but did signal you needed to stop that specific predator since he knew where an easy meal was and would be back. Now, for most of the people on this forum, chickens are pets. We know exactly how many we have and can probably identify each one. The loss of one chicken is a big deal.
So habitat has changed, predator distribution and feeding habits have changed (it is easier to get a meal from people's garbage than catch it in whatever wild is left), and our attitudes about our chickens have changed, especially comparing your grandmother's situation and most of the people on this forum.
Anyway, that is some of my thoughts and opinions. I've kind of enjoyed typing it up. Thanks for posting the topic.
