All our hens are totally free-range on about 1.5 acres. For the most part they stay in sight of the big coop (which is a small barn divided into four sections which allows us to segregate new batches of chicks.) They all lay in the nesting boxes, and all go into the coop to roost at night with no problem. A good rooster will alert the flock to danger. We've lost hens to hawks, foxes and dogs.
The red-tailed hawks have picked off some bantams but generally leave the large hens alone. We did have a migrating pair of Ferruginous hawks take up residence for a couple of weeks and they were very serious predators. They took out a big rooster who was doing his job protecting the flock and a hen. We kept everyone inside for about a week until the hawks moved on.
Dusk and dawn are dangerous times. I've read that you should expect to lose 10% of your flock to predators if they are free-ranging - we have never had losses this big. Stray dogs have been as big a problem as hawks or foxes.
Janet - Healdsburg CA
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