Please tell me I didn't do something wrong...

[WillieBoy]

Nope, you did nothing wrong...chickens love free ranging and it very healthy for them, not to mention great eggs..
As mentioned, losses go with free ranging and yes it does suck.My girls are not happen when there in a run or coop( except at night)...I let them run all around most of my property after i know they are pretty much done laying for the day.If i let them out to soon, i get fewer eggs,and don't feel like egg hunting in the bushes daily...
Yep, it goes with the turf, the chickens know the dangers out there as the mature. Yet, they go running to freedom when given the chance to range.
So, i say...let them go, some aren't going to live as long as we'd like, but there happy and free. You did nothing wrong....in my opinion.. Sorry you lost one of your girls...

 

[Beekercat]

Thanks everyone - I feel somewhat better now, and I always knew that letting them out had risks, but knowing something could happen and having it happen are two different things.

For now, I'm going to expand the run and add some treats and toys and keep them in there unless I can hang out with them outside. It's like they know what they're missing now, though...poor things gather by the side of the run when they see me coming. I would love to think it's my sparking personality that they are excited about, but I'd totally be kidding myself; it's all about those sunflower seeds and getting to run outside!

Why did it have to be the only one that was actually laying though??

 

[buckabucka]

Why not build a chicken tractor? We have lots of predators here, especially hawks. The flock goes out in the tractor most days (when one of us is home). They enjoy being moved around on the lawn, and usually are happy to return to the run later in the day. It's kind of a compromise.

 

[geebs]

She may have run off to make a nest...I have one missing....I keep finding a broody poop outside the door of the run....So I KNOW she is on a nest...Another couple of weeks and I will have babies.