The large variety of suggestions speaks so much about personal experiences and thereby the preference. In building chicken nest boxes, there are designs that stand out in view of practicality and function. First though, a good chicken nest box must be planned to get the chicken lay eggs in manners that are most productive. The crumbles are milled to rough consistency and are ideal for young chickens and the pellets for the full grown. Chickens could get by very well with one measure of mixed corn with one measure of pellets. If you can throw in other food, they will pretty much eat that too and if they do, there is no cause for worry. 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. If the lamp is lower than that, cover the lamp with a piece of cloth to control temperature. A good way to know whether the temperature is right is when the chicks congregate beneath the lamp when they roost. However, it doesn't mean that it's safe to neglect the environmental conditions that determine the well-being of your poultry during the cold months. Heat conduction plays a critical role in the wintering of your poultry. Placing a bed of sawdust or bundles of straw in the coop helps in keeping them warm just in case huddling together is not good enough to handle the cool temperature. The fence should be high enough that even high leapers can't jump over it, and its bottom buried deep enough (20 inches at the very least) under the ground to prevent predators from burrowing underneath. PROPER FEEDING AND WATERING Just like with any livestock, chickens need a well-balanced diet and a daily intake of water. The chicken house should also be made of materials sturdy enough to withstand different weather conditions and it should have ample ventilation. 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.