How old do chickens have to be before you can free range them?

Should I buy them as very young chicks and raise them personally? Or can I just buy adult hens? What's the difference? Why should I raise them rather than buy them? There's three adults and one teenager living in the house. I'm the teenager and will...

So we have about 20 chickens. And, if the economy were to collapse (not trying to get into politics) we had to be 100% resistant on our chickens and the food we grow on our land, we obviously wouldnt be able to give our chickens there feed everyday....

I want to get a chicken coop :) I would love to have the chickens free-range, but there are hawks in my neighborhood and I dont think I could bear it if one of them was caught. How ...show more

I have 5 free range hens. They have a coop and a pretty big backyard all to themselves. I keep water out there at all times. But with all the grass and bugs they eat I haven't actually been feeding them chicken feed for about 3 months. I give them leftovers...

Can they all inhabit the same pasture? Of course you would need a coop adjacent to the pasture for the chickens only, but the shelters for the other animals could also be integrated. ...show more

I have chickens on fenced 2.5 acres. Some neighbor's dog got 3 of them. I will shoot next time I see the dogs in the yard. What about other predators.