I am just starting my third year raising chickens. It has been an adventure. I have many different breeds. I think of my chickens as pets with egg benefits. Although the chickens are fenced in, we have almost 20 acres for them to roam. Even with fencing, it has been difficult to keep predators out.
and Welcome To BYC! X2, if you let your birds more or less free range, chicken safe dogs seem to be among the best forms of protection. You might want to check out the Predator forum also, lots of threads on dealing with various predators. 
