Editorial Standards
How Flockmath decides what numbers to publish, who is accountable for them, and how we fix mistakes.
Who writes and maintains this site
Flockmath’s calculators and guides are built and maintained by Taimoor Zayad (Founder & Editor, Flockmath). We are transparent about what we are: a small, hands-on operation building poultry tools and working to ground every figure in published, authoritative sources — not a veterinary practice. We do not pretend otherwise.
How figures are sourced
Every calculator now carries a Sources block naming the specific publications behind its figures, with outbound links, and stating plainly which numbers are our own judgment rather than published guidance. We make no blanket claim about institutions across the site, because there isn’t one true answer: chicken space and feed figures rest largely on cooperative-extension publications, quail figures on Mississippi State, and the cost calculators on market pricing and government data, because extension services do not publish backyard budgets. Where authorities give a range, we show a range rather than a single false-precise number. Where a figure is a welfare minimum, we label it as a floor, not a target. Where no published figure exists at all, the page says so instead of implying one.
Review and accuracy
Welfare-sensitive figures (such as space per bird, brooder lamp clearance, and roost height) were the priority in the verification pass, and several were corrected as a result. When the calculator and the surrounding text disagreed, the text was reconciled to the calculator, or the constant was changed where the source showed the calculator was wrong. Each tool records the date it was last reviewed.
AI use and source verification
Flockmath’s calculators were drafted with AI assistance, and the figures were not originally checked against the source publications they were attributed to. That is the reason this page exists, and we would rather say it than let the site imply a rigour it did not have. All twenty-three calculators have now been through that verification — two passes each, one over the constants the tool computes with and one over the prose, FAQs, and reference tables around it, since those carried their own unchecked figures. Each now cites its sources on the page. Some of the corrections were figures wrong in the unsafe direction. The brooder calculator specified an 18-inch heat-lamp clearance, and computed 12 inches for a 100 W bulb, against Penn State’s 20-inch minimum from flammable material — bedding auto-ignites at around 212 °F. The water calculator raised intake by 1.75× in heat when the published floor is 2× and the range runs to 4×, under-sizing water in the one condition where running dry is dangerous. Three calculators reduced housing space in hot weather, which no source supports. Where no authoritative source exists for a figure, we say so plainly rather than implying one.
Corrections
If you find a figure that is wrong for a documented setup, tell us through the contact page. We would rather fix a number than defend it. Substantive corrections update the affected tool and its “last reviewed” date.
Advertising and independence
Some pages carry clearly labelled advertising. Ads never influence the figures a calculator produces or the recommendations in our guides. Any affiliate or sponsored relationship, if one ever exists, will be disclosed prominently on the page where it appears.
Not veterinary advice
Flockmath results are estimates intended to support good husbandry decisions. They do not replace advice from a qualified veterinarian for a specific animal or situation.