We have a similar mixture of terrain here and their coop is tucked into the edge of the forest for summer shade (deciduous trees so they get lots more sun in the winter -- it works great). I started off with free-ranging under close supervision near roosting time and got them trained to return to the coop for scratch at the sound of a bell. I then expanded their range time and they expanded their range. It worked beautifully for months and they were covering about 5 acres all together. Other than poop here and there, you couldn't tell there were chickens around. Sure, they have a few favorite dustbath spots but they tend to be in places like under the deck where it doesn't matter that there are divots, It was chicken paradise. And then two disappeared without a trace. Probably the foxes, maybe a coyote or a hungry dump & run dog. And then those hawks that had been minding their own business out patrolling the farm fields decided that ground-birds might be an easier catch than rabbits. Three attacks, one loss. A juvenile golden eagle started hanging around. In short, we're back to closely-supervised ranging only because there are simply a whole lot more predators in our little utopia than we'd guessed. I'm very glad we put up a good-sized, secure run.
And in case you're wondering, the rooster did a fine job of sounding the alarm. He even attacked a hawk that had the nerve to attack a hen while I was 20 yards away painting a shed and our dog was playing fetch! There's just only so much a rooster can be expected to do when the predators get so bold.
And in case you're wondering, the rooster did a fine job of sounding the alarm. He even attacked a hawk that had the nerve to attack a hen while I was 20 yards away painting a shed and our dog was playing fetch! There's just only so much a rooster can be expected to do when the predators get so bold.
