I have a pop door on the side of my coop, that opens into the free range yonder. I almost have them trained to go in and out of it. If they free range, I let them out by this door, but I keep the pop door open from the coop to the run.
My hope is that if a predator shows up during the day, while they are freeranging, they will run to the coop, go in the pop door, and then have access to the run if need be. Not a perfect solution, but if my neighbors dog gets off his chain, which he manages once or twice a year, I know he can't get in that pop door. I think of it as an escape route, won't protect them from everything, but makes it safer for them.
It's not hard to put in a little door, but chickens being chickens, it takes them awhile to figure it out. I still laugh when I let them out, and there are a couple in the run, scrambling around trying to figure out how everyone else got out.
My pop door to the wild yonder isn't on the ground, it's about halfway up, with a ramp leading to it.
Just a thought for you.
