Letting the chickens out of the run?

[Gonzo_MN]

My flock is nearly four months old and doing really well (21 birds). I have 2 1/2 acres and would like to let them run around the yard during the day. I was thinking of letting them out of the run shortly before dark, just to see if they'll return to the run/coop when it got really dark. My yard is surrounded by pine trees on three sides. I live near a pretty busy road. Is it likely the flock will return to the coop at night? Will they wander way away from the coop? I'd have to go down there each night to close it up and turn on the fence since I have a lot of predators around, but that's no problem. I just want to let them run around more.
Thoughts?

 

[ghulst]

They will return.

 

[RachelFromTheBlackLagoon]

I just let mine out for the first time this afternoon. They did not venture very far from the coop and if they were startled by something they immediately ran back inside.

 

[Uppity Peon]

I have been letting min out. Mine are a little younger too. They don't go far. The run was a little depleted of fresh grass. As soon as they got into fresh grass they were happy. After a little grazing most of them go back to their favorite shady corner in the run, but some stay out and rest under the pine trees under a picnic table.

They venture farther now than they did at first but always come back to the coop and the picnic table for rest. And they always go back to their roosts as usual at dusk.

 

[Gonzo_MN]

Thanks for the feedback everyone

I let them out about an hour before sundown, and they did exactly what you all said. They milled about outside the run, tried their wings out a little more, and ate grass. As it grew darker, they worked their way back into the run. The last few outside the run made a mad dash inside when a doe and her two fawns ran out of the pines and into my orchard. You would have thought a wolf was after those poor hens