Trying to get an idea of how many out there do free range vs chicken runs/enclosed.

[BDutch]

We rarely have hawks where I live. Lost one bantam hen to a buzzard.
Some chickens did disappear. More likely by a fox than a hawk.

I dont free range my chickens the whole day. Only when we are @ home , if possible for more than 2 hours each day.

If I let the chickens free range a very long time, day after day, they tend to go further away from home and the risk of predation increases. We can’t keep roosters (city rules/neighbours close by).

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

This I'm pretty emotional about. We let our sick hen free range because she kept eating the bedding, and making her crop problem worse..she free ranged with at least one rooster..we NEVER had an issue...she passed away due to her crop issue..but our coop was attacked by a mink/weasel we aren't 100 percent on which one..and the predator took out our flock in one night.. we have replaced our flock and my husband is actively sealing up our coop which is roomy but we won't let them out in the run without us out there. I can see benefits to both. When waddles free ranged her and the rooster always stayed close to the long weeds beside the woods unless they were at our house portion and even then they like hanging out under our wrap around porch..

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We free range most of the time now, with virtually no losses to predators. Our last two losses were to a neighbor's dog and he has since gotten rid of it. We lost a cockerel to a hawk several years ago because he brought up the rear to do battle while the rooster and rest of the flock sought shelter in the coop; and several years prior to that a hawk or hawks got most of our hatchlings. But we only have hawks in the spring so now we make sure not to have chicks outside while hawks are in the area, so no worries. Our three dogs keep coyotes away and I suspect also deter raccoons as well. The chickens go out well after sunup and get locked up at dusk.

 

[Appalachickens]

Now that my girls are big enough, I've been free-ranging them every day. I'm home, but sometimes working so not really where I'd know if there was a problem. We have loads of predators. The aerial ones are mostly hawks, but there are also owls and bald eagles around. So far, no issues, but the chickens have lots and lots of cover and they will run for it if they ear anything suspicious. Wednesday, I saw this guy not too far from the coop.

 

[Guardihen]

Beautiful! Thanks for the comment.

 

[Seaslug]

Nature abhors a vacuum... all the world is habitat for something, and my guess is that we kid ourselves if we think that we know what is really out there in "our" backyards.

 

[McChooky]

After my hawk attacks, I was looking into what everyone else was doing....

Netting is your friend...

 

[McChooky]

I have a hw cloth covered coop and run combo for my chickens and have never lost anything in it at night. My chickens free range during the day until dusk (what time I let them out changes with the weather and seasons so predators never know when they're out)Smaller flocks aren't as noisy and don't attract as many predators.Common sense.

 

[Appalachickens]

I have a hw cloth covered coop and run combo for my chickens and have never lost anything in it at night. My chickens free range during the day until dusk (what time I let them out changes with the weather and seasons so predators never know when they're out)Smaller flocks aren't as noisy and don't attract as many predators.Common sense.

I have the same coop/run combo with HC, and also let mine out every day. For me, the timing has more to do with how hard it is raining (because I have a bit of a walk), and also if I have plans in the evening. I'd argue, though, that changing the time makes no difference - the predators know exactly when they are out. That's their job. I see pros and cons to smaller/larger flock sizes as well. Strength in numbers, for one. When my cat poled his head in the coop to check out the hen that was laying, another hen ran up and pecked his tail, chasing him off. Another time I watched all 13 of them advance on the cat as a group and he ran. They can be pretty coordinated as a larger flock.

 

[Yardmom]

We free range. A few years back we had a young Eagle take chickens, but to the best of my knowledge have not had a hawk take one. If no chickens are in site by the coop, looking up a hawk is often seen. The birds know to head under the brush.