Molting and egglaying

[rosemarythyme]

The run we built is big enough for up to 15-20 chickens, we only have 8.
They do seem bored. My hubby is looking into getting them a feed bag I can place lettuce and apples in, and some bird activity toys.
I'm not sure about letting them free range yet, I'm worried they will get lost in the woods and not come to me at dawn to go into their coop. We do have coyotes.

How big would that be? 20 chickens = roughly 200 sq ft, if going by minimum recommendation.

I'm personally not a fan of food as "entertainment" - a little bit is okay, but clutter: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140 and piles of dried leaves or litter to dig through last longer without affecting nutrition.

I also don't free range as we have a lot of wildlife passing by the house due to natural water.