4 hens killed in less than one month-- trying to prevent predators

This is the part of homesteading I wasn't prepared for.
The first two I lost were my favorite meat birds. If you remember, "princess" was one of them, the large white bird, and the golden one was also killed. I can only imagine that they were the easiest target since they were so heavy and slow.
This is my fault. I didn't realize how secure chicken runs need to be. I really want to let them free range when we move to the new house, but I can't imagine how to avoid all of these predators given our remote, mountain location.

[@victoriakennedy4811]

the white fur probably means it is a possum they used to hide under out hen house to get the eggs. They also eat the chickens too. You really need to get rid of the chicken wire as it is easy to break and they can see the hens - they need a coop that can be locked at night also.

[@victoriakennedy4811]

first I lost two chickens to dogs of neighbours and also neighbours poisoned one of my chickens with weed spray I am now not letting them out of my sight the two left. The council does nothing but slap them on the wrist and their dog ate my pet - if I had killed their dog it would be WW3 but that is what happens - the thing is you cannot let the predators see the chickens and that means you need a coop off the ground with no way to see inside and also a fence around so that they cannot see into the fenced area also you need to have wire all around and under the fence to stop digging and hawks also from above a cover on top. That is what I have seen as the best way to prevent this and you have to separate the hens that peck the blood from the others - they need to heal in a separate area in a barn or shed, hope this helps.

[@HHHomestead]

Thank you for the helpful tips. So far we haven't had any trouble since reinforcing the wire. But, we will be building a whole new set up when we move to the new house.