How we choose products
We donât test products in our own yard. So here is exactly how a product ends up in a Backyard Coops guide.
We start with what the hens need
Every guide begins with the needs of a small flock. We take space and airflow and predator advice from university extension services. That sets the bar a product has to clear. A coop sold for six hens should give each one about 3 to 4 square feet of floor inside. When a listing promises more birds than the floor can hold we leave it out or we say so plainly.
We read the specs
Next we read the makerâs listing and the manual when we can find it. We look at the real floor size and the materials and how the thing opens for cleaning. We look at the wire. Chicken wire keeps hens in but it wonât keep a raccoon out. If a run relies on it we tell you.
We read what owners say
Then we read owner feedback and the notes keepers share in their own communities. We look for problems that come up again and again. Roofs that leak. Latches that slip. Thin wood that rots in a wet winter. One angry review does not sink a product. A pattern does.
We check every link
Each shop link goes to a real product page on Amazon. Before a product goes in we check that the page shows the product we named. Product cards show text only. The lead photo on a guide is an illustration from an openly licensed source with credit. It does not show the exact product.
What we leave out
We skip products with thin listings that donât give a floor size or a material. We skip anything we canât match to a real product page. Nobody pays for a place in a guide and we donât accept free products.
How the money works
Some links are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a small commission. It never decides what goes into a guide. Our affiliate disclosure has the details.
Keeping guides current
The date at the top of each guide shows when it was last updated. Each guide ends with the sources it used. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and weâll fix it.