tame -vs- free range w/ games?

[ALS1104]

im raising 4 little american gamefowl chicks, and i've been handling them every day and feeding them treats out of my hand so they will be tame. i was originally going to let them free range when they got older since they're pretty smart and self aware with predators around, but i got to thinking, making them so tame and comfortable with being handled and seeing my dog and all that, am i ruining their instincts to protect themselves? or will they distinguish a difference between my dog and fox? do yall tame your free range birds or raise them with minimal contact? i have a fox with a taste for chicken so i want them to stand a good chance but ive read that games will get wild easily, so i really want to keep them as tame as possible...


thanks in advance!

edited to add pic:

 

[sumi]

I've no experience with game fowl, but all the chickens I've hand raised retained their instincts when it came to predators. If you have a fox problem it would be better to take the necessary steps to protect them and not rely too much on their survival instincts though. My birds were quite predator savvy, but we still lost quite a few. Remember that most predators are skilled hunters and they've learned to outwit their prey. And foxes are very clever beasts!