Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.
1muttsfan, she lets them free range during the day only, we suffered the losses when we let them free range and they were too young. The first 4 (out of 6) are doing well now and have just started to lay. We once had let them into the pen and went to town, came back,,, NO chickens, looked around and they were pecking at bugs on her car, the girls figured out the fence was just something they could fly over. Thanks to BYC and a little experience we don't let them free range unless we're home.
Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be a participant of chicken raising, but these jokers are really neat.