When and How to Let Flock for Supervised Free-ranging?

[hihuckleberry]

My chickens all free range with an average fence...4ft maybe? They can escape and go as they please, but they never fly up and out. They will squeeze through the gates, though In my area, this had been a non issue.
It all depends on the type of predators/protectors you have. Mine are let out in the morning and are unsupervised all day. But I have dogs on patrol and they are quite large. The chickens return to their coop, as they know it's a safe spot, roosts, nest boxes etc. They wander quite far and always come back. I don't let them in my garden hope this helps!

Yes so helpful thank you! I'm in a very urban area and the only predators we have are raccoons and alley cats. I would be worried about leaving them unsupervised because of the cats, mostly thinking that the cats would chase the chickens up into the trees or give reason for them to fly away. Hoping they will think of the coop and yard as home, and not want to fly over the fence. I have plenty of weeds and grasses for them to eat!