In fact, you could be placing yourself in harm's way. Raising chicken in urban areas are more of pet raising. Commercial? Just don't. When you are in a rural location with ample backyard space, keeping chicken is a capital idea. Capital, literally. You see, there is fancy chicken fencing, state of the art fencing and if you could afford electric fencing that is fine too, it would keep the chooks out and hem the chicken in. Scaly-leg mites You will find scaly-leg mites in between the scales of the leg of the fowl. 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. There is not much study to support this but the fact is man will only be preyed upon when a predator is starving and there is nothing else available, when a predator is sick and is unable to hunt or is very old that their movement and ability has been limited, when the animal is threatened with its back to the wall and escape routes are closed and sometimes when a man is mistaken for another identity. Crowding can also lead to lots of fighting inside the coop, and will eventually run the risk of some chickens getting seriously hurt. Remember that each chicken should have a two square foot of shelter and a three square foot of run area, so take note of the amount of space you have in your back yard when choosing the amount of chickens you want to raise. For a cleaner and healthier environment, design the floor to accommodate deep litter. This is normally done by piling three to four inches of wood shavings under the floor. Most people will design or make allowances for a feeder and water container and supply system, often though it is convenient to purchase the system in a local farm supply store. And the fact that they're organic makes your crops free from harmful chemicals. It's also a plus that your chickens feed on bugs and insects that incessantly wreak havoc on your crops. Chickens Make Good Pets. The hens, especially the "bantam" types, are docile in nature, not to mention that they are total beauts!