I have been 100% free ranging for the last 15 years. If you are set up correctly it can be mostly safe. There's always a risk, it just depends on how you feel about the risks.
I have lost a few birds here and there over the years but nothing devastating. I have close to 100 chickens. Most don't travel far from the shed, others, especially the younger birds will follow the tree line, and stick to cover, going up to 300 feet away. There is always at least one rooster accompanying a group of hens as a lookout.
We keep the surrounding fields cut down for good line of sight. There's trees and buildings for cover. Mine also have goats and donkeys in the pastures. The donkeys work well for keeping predators away too.
I hardly ever see any poop, it's mostly in the lawn or field. I see zero behavioral problems with free ranging. My chickens are mentally and physically better off. In the warmer months my feed bill is cut in half.
You do need to be proactive if a predator does come around. They need to be removed permanently. I have lost a few to coyote, and a fox. A hawk killed a duck one year but couldn't take it. Otherwise I don't have problems with them.
If you decide to free range you need to be willing to lose birds, especially as you figure out what works and what type of critters you need to worry about. If you start, it can be hard to pen them back up, often you will see more aggression as they know what they are being denied.
I have lost a few birds here and there over the years but nothing devastating. I have close to 100 chickens. Most don't travel far from the shed, others, especially the younger birds will follow the tree line, and stick to cover, going up to 300 feet away. There is always at least one rooster accompanying a group of hens as a lookout.
We keep the surrounding fields cut down for good line of sight. There's trees and buildings for cover. Mine also have goats and donkeys in the pastures. The donkeys work well for keeping predators away too.
I hardly ever see any poop, it's mostly in the lawn or field. I see zero behavioral problems with free ranging. My chickens are mentally and physically better off. In the warmer months my feed bill is cut in half.
You do need to be proactive if a predator does come around. They need to be removed permanently. I have lost a few to coyote, and a fox. A hawk killed a duck one year but couldn't take it. Otherwise I don't have problems with them.
If you decide to free range you need to be willing to lose birds, especially as you figure out what works and what type of critters you need to worry about. If you start, it can be hard to pen them back up, often you will see more aggression as they know what they are being denied.