If you're fortunate enough to get their approval, some conditions might also be raised and you'd best ensure that you meet them once you already have chickens prowling your backyard. Asking for approval is a very noble gesture, and prevents a rift from developing between you and your neighbors. Choose The Breed Of Your Flock Wisely. When building a backyard chicken coop then it is important to determine first the number of chicken intended for the coop. When that is decided already, raise the planned chicken coop above the ground to keep them healthy and for easier cleaning and maintenance. Consider Ventilation Chicken droppings contain ammonia and create dampness inside the coop. Chicken are actually more productive when they nest on smaller boxes. A box that could house four chickens at a time is good. Smaller is better. When nesting boxes are smaller, there is also less room for the chicken to kick around the straw or wood shavings, creating less mess and keeping the straw where they should be. Grits are bought in any farm and poultry supply store, the grit is then mixed with the chicken feed that aids digestion. Normally, healthy foraging chickens will swallow small pebbles. They know what to select and what is good for them. However if the chicken is not let out of the coop for long periods, they miss this digestion aids. To do that, roast eggshells in your oven until they are brown, pound it (not too powdery), and mix it with their meal. One of the few things that you do not have to feed chickens is preparing grit from oyster shells. Oyster shells, even when prepared in similar fashion to those of the eggshells will always have rugged and sharp edges. Once they penetrated the scales, the scales would lift and will cause lameness in the chicken. Unlike the red mites, scaly-leg mites come from infested ground. Brushing the chicken leg with warm soapy water to rid the mites and then painting the leg with a mixture of methyl and olive oil in equal parts plus half a part of kerosene will kill the mites.