Instar8, you've had a wide range of answers and by now you can probably see that there are as many different experiences with free ranging as there are people who have tried it. For your situation, this is what I would suggest: build as large a secure yard as you can afford. I mean Fort Knox! It must be covered with welded wire or hardware cloth if it is to be secure from predators. On days when you are home to supervise, let the chickens out to free range. This will conserve the "resources" within the pen. On days you have to leave for work before dark, keep the chickens in their secure pen. They will go into their house at dark and you won't have to worry that something will get them. You will lose the odd bird if you free range, but MOST mass losses occur when the birds are confined in an insecure house or yard. I have been free ranging my chickens for four years and the WORST losses I have had were two pullets in the same week. We have all the usual predators around: raccoons, foxes, coyotes, weasels, mink, fishers, hawks... but we also have an abundance of voles and cottontails that are easier prey than the chickens. A good rooster who free-ranges with his girls earns his keep. He cannot protect them from predators, but he does keep them together and keep them from wandering too far.

Thank you! I'm saving this info so I can do this sometime in the Spring, whenever the weather decides to warm up :) !! pkponder ...do you have a picture? Would love to see it. I want to include a Birdhouse and a Birdfeeder. My Birdfeeder is very large and I hung it last summer and was still out till recently when it needed seed and found out the thing broke at the top where you take it off to add seed ... so I'm mounting it on a pole and it will be just fine that way. It is VERY heavy so I can't have a tall pole for it. I included a picture of my bird feeder. It is 13 x 13 and has 9 feeding stations, 11lb capacity. I want to have a birdhouse separate but not too far away. Have an idea to put these alongside our ramp ... will look nice with some vines I think. :) Also, I know this bird feeder can be pole mounted because a couple people told me about how to do it. I saved that info and it says The pipe needs to be no wider than 7/8 of an inch. Anyway, looking forward to mounting that and I have to find a nice bird house to also mount on a pole. We have lots of cats around here (including ours that goes outside) and squirrels, so I might have to figure a way to keep them out.

Herons sometimes spear fish, leaving holes and marks on them, but other times will snatch with those ugly beaks of theirs. The only way it would have dropped the fish would be if something startled it away or the fish was too big to consume. I'm thinking the fish are probably jumping. Fish will jump for a variety of reasons. They will jump if parasites are bothering them (i.e. flukes, etc), but they will also jump if there has been a sharp change in ph, which irritates their skin. Test the water and see what your readings are. If the ph is low, add some baking soda to bring it up. I also use koi clay, which contains beneficial minerals. I had jumpers this spring, which stopped when I adjusted the ph and used the clay.

How beautiful! I would have to be sure squirrels could not get to it. There are baffles for shepherd's hooks, and domes for protecting from snow and rain and squirrels and hawks. I would hang it on a porch hook or patio hook and I would definitely take the door off so that nothing should get trapped inside by accident. You are so lucky to have it. Please let us know what you decide, maybe this summer? And a picture, I hope. More expert birders than I will answer you soon, I am sure.