Welcome to BYC from California wine country in the Western Sierra Foothills!
My large-ish flock ranges freely on two-thirds of an acre, fully fenced and with lots of tree cover. The only losses I've suffered were youngsters picked off by the neighbor's cat. That is, until a friend of mine stayed for a month with her 64 pound dog... That cat didn't know he just wanted to play but it worked. Hehehehehehe.
Nowadays, the whole danged flock alerts to the cat's presence on the outside of the fence; all the ducks gabble, the ganders honk and the tom turkey gobbles any time they see it. Pretty funny, really. 23 ducks all standing tall and facing the same direction, hollering like crazy. Rusty (the cat) now scurries past on the road, with the whole flock in a cacophony the entire distance. No more sauntering by, checking out ways to get into the yard. It's especially funny because MY cat walks amongst the flock all the time and has even napped in the sun with some chickens.
I have two Barred Rocks and a White Leghorn in my very mixed flock of fifty hens & pullets, three roosters, 23 ducks, four turkeys and two ganders. I started with eight "pullet" chicks in 2009 - one turned out to be an accidental rooster. This was when I lived on rental property; I am so glad I was able to move up here onto my OWN property!
You are SO gonna love the different and individual personalities of your chickens. Both are great laying breeds. The BRs are very friendly.
