How we research

1. Research-based, labeled honestly

Every guide starts with primary documentation: manufacturer specification pages, manuals and replacement-part diagrams. Where we have not used the product ourselves, the guide says research-based comparison in plain language — no stock-photo lifestyling, no invented anecdotes. If we ever buy a product to test, we'll say what we bought, how long we used it, and what failed — until then, every guide stays a research-based comparison.

2. The sizing standard we hold products to

Marketing capacity ("up to 10 hens!") usually assumes cramped conditions. Published space guidance actually varies by source: extension figures run from roughly 2 square feet of indoor floor per bird (with real outdoor access) up to 4. The national eXtension poultry resource — the land-grant universities' shared extension service — recommends "a minimum of 3–4 square feet/hen indoor and 10 square feet/hen outdoor" for laying hens. We hold every coop to the top of that range — 4 square feet of interior floor per standard bird plus 8–10 square feet of run — and we say so plainly: sellers rate boxes at the bottom of the range, so we rate at the top. Bantams and large breeds are scaled accordingly. When a box claims more birds than the math supports, our table shows both numbers.

3. Community cross-check

Specifications lie by omission. For every shortlisted product we check recurring failure reports in the largest keeper communities (BackYardChickens.com forum, r/BackYardChickens) and note pattern complaints — warped panels, brittle plastic in cold climates, sensor doors that trap birds — as explicit trade-offs in our picks.

4. Sources and updates

• Every guide ends with a source list naming the specific pages used — not just a brand's homepage — so you can check the claim against the source.
• Load-bearing specifications are checked against the manufacturer's current published specs before publication, not quoted from memory or other reviews.
• Prices are shown as ranges with a "verify current price" link, because prices move.
• Seasonal guides are re-checked on a published date; every page shows when it was last reviewed.
• Corrections from readers are verified and fixed publicly — the log lives at /corrections/. Tell us what we got wrong.

5. Money and conflict-of-interest rules

• We take no free gear. No free samples, no sponsored posts, no paid placements.
• Affiliate links, once active, are disclosed at the top of the page (FTC style) and marked rel="sponsored nofollow".
• Rankings are set before links are added. If we can't stand behind a product, it doesn't get a link, however good the commission.
• When we drop a pick, the guide says what changed.

6. Where our images come from

Diagrams and illustrations are drawn in-house, and they carry every product comparison. General photographs of chickens and coops are licensed stock images, used as scenery. Community evidence always links back to the original thread. If we ever buy a product to test, our own photos will be captioned with when we bought it.