There's a consensus among chicken owners that the eggs their flocks produce is safer since they have full control of their poultry's diet intake. Raising your own chickens ensures that your flock is getting a balanced intake of proper nutrients and vitamins paramount to producing eggs safe for human consumption. Place wood shavings in the floor of the box, if there are none, layers of newspapers will do. To insure cleanliness and prevent the chicks from diseases, remove the top sheets of the newspapers every day. The chicks will also need a heat lamp. A good way to do this is to hang a 60-watt light bulb near a corner of the box about eighteen inches from the chicks. Building your own chicken coop shouldn't be expensive. Some owners spend up to $300 by purchasing a ready-made chicken coop, but keep in mind that you don't really have to spend that much if you are aware of all the important elements that a fully functioning coop requires. More often than not, you can get everything that you need in your own house! They are fun to have around, are a good food source, and are low maintenance. If you have an ample backyard the idea of keeping chicken may have occurred to you but needed a little more information before getting started. Of Hens and Roosters You do not need a rooster. Keeping a rooster is a matter of choice but not actually a necessity. Space Provide enough space for chickens. Chicken could be irritable creatures when the mood strikes them and that could be just about anything. When they are, quarrels will start. When blood is drawn, the blood will strike the fancy of other chickens in the henhouse will start pecking at the bloodied chicken sometimes to death. Very young chicks though will need a heat source. In place of the mother hen, that provides the heat by gathering them under the wings, you will need a lamp as their source of heat. You will also want a place to keep them. Young chicks would fit well in a shoebox or something similar so long as there are small openings for ventilation.