A coop that is dry and free of draft (but still ventilated) is very essential to maintaining reasonable heat within the shelter. One thing to avoid is barring the door since chickens love to go outside and exercise every once in a while, even during winter. Make it a point to clear the coop's surroundings of snow in order for your chickens to have the luxury to venture outside whenever they feel the urge to do so. The other type is pellets. Pellets have three categories. First is the starter mash or layer mash, the second is the crumbled pellets that are recommended for feeding the pullets and the third is the pellets. There is no difference in composition and nutrients present. The difference only lies in the manner of fineness and coarseness of the feed. This is sometimes complicated as when other chickens see blood, they could help peck the hapless chicken until most feathers fall or seriously wounded. Ample space rules that out. When building a backyard chicken coop then it is important to determine first the number of chicken intended for the coop. BROODING There comes a time in the cycle of a hen's life when it starts to stay in its nest box without moving much. This is called brooding, which can cause your hen to stop laying eggs for some time. It takes about two to three weeks before the hen can snap out of its "catatonia" and start laying eggs again. Even when the chicken can do with yesterday's water, the water supply nonetheless should be as clean and uncontaminated as possible. Maintain ample spaces for hens. A layer would need 4 to 5 square feet in moving space. When hens are crowded, irritations between hens occur that leads to pecking and fighting disturbing egg production. First though, a good chicken nest box must be planned to get the chicken lay eggs in manners that are most productive. The basics are the same. You build a box, put in some straw or wood shavings and when the time comes so too the eggs. But when there is low egg production chances are something must be done to improve the nest box.