Thanks for your comment. Yes I agree with you I grew up in a family of meat eaters and over the last four or five years I have all but stopped eating meat. I didn't go all the way vegan but I do try to make sure others sentient beings are cared for in a humane way if I'm going to be consuming them. When I was in town I had a decent size backyard and the chickens had the run of it. I'm leaning towards completely free range. My big concern is predators. We only have one dog so far and he's still a pup. That is my main concern and reason I may fence them in. If I continue to be able to get chicks this way then I will definitely do free range and not worry about a fence. They can fend for themselves like the rest of the animals if that's the case. I also like the idea of free-range because then I will be feeding them less food and they will be eating what is natural to them.