A round wall around the heat keeps day-old chicks close to the warmth and out of the corners, and a ring built well lasts many batches.
Halaal Farms Ghana team16 June 2026 · 15 min read
Most first-time keepers do the same thing. They clear a corner of a spare room, put a heat source over it, and tip the box of chicks onto the floor. For the first hour it looks fine. Then the birds find the edge of the enclosure, crowd into one corner and pile on top of each other. The ones underneath get crushed, and some of them never get up.
A brooder ring is the simplest fix. It is a round wall of board, zinc, bamboo or mesh set around the heat, high enough that the chicks cannot climb out in the first weeks. Inside it, the warmth stays where you put it, the birds stay near their feed and water, and you can see the whole flock from the doorway without moving anything.
You do not need anything fancy. A ring that you build carefully from cheap materials will do more for your first box of chicks than an expensive wooden house that is too small or too cold at the edges. This guide shows you how to build one, what each material does well and badly in Ghana, and how to keep it for the next batch.
Be clear about the job before you buy a single sheet. A ring that does its job is cheap to make. A ring built without that clarity is wasted money, however good the material is.
Notice what is missing from that list. Looks do not count. A round ring made from offcuts can outperform a neat box that is too small, too low or too closed to let the heat spread out.
You can build a ring from what most hardware shops in Kasoa, Accra or Kumasi stock, or from what is already sitting in your store. Every choice has a weak point. In our heat and humidity, the weak point usually decides how long the ring lasts.
Galvanised or zinc sheet makes the sturdiest wall for the money. It holds its shape, a chick pushing into it does not tear it, and it wipes clean. Its weak point is the cut edge. Wear gloves when you bend it, and fold or tape the top edge so no chick cuts a foot on it.
Plywood works well for the base, because that is where the litter sits and where spilled water soaks in. Use a sealed or painted board. Untreated plywood swells and peels within a few wet weeks, and the peeled layers trap dirt you cannot scrub out.
Wire mesh needs care. Thin chicken wire is cheap, but rats push through it and young chicks get their toes caught in the gaps. A heavier welded mesh costs more, but it holds its shape and keeps rodents out. Keeping rodents out matters more than the small saving on the wall.
Cardboard is the cheapest option and useful only for the first few days. It soaks up water from a knocked drinker in minutes, goes soft and gives mould a home. If you use it, change it often and plan the sheet or mesh ring before the chicks are a week older.
Bamboo is common in many parts of the country and makes a light, inexpensive frame. Tie the joints with binding wire rather than nails, because nails pull out when the chicks lean on the frame. Seal the cut ends, since split bamboo lets in draughts and harbours insects.
| Material | Works well for | Weak point | Reuse across batches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galvanised or zinc sheet | Main wall, holds shape, wipes clean | Cut edges can cut chicks and keepers | Very good if the joins are kept dry |
| Sealed plywood | Base where litter and water sit | Swells and peels when wet | Good for a few batches if repainted |
| Welded wire mesh | Wall where you need air and a view | Costs more than thin chicken wire | Very good and stays rodent-proof |
| Cardboard | The first few days only | Soaks through and grows mould | Not reusable |
| Bamboo frame | Light, cheap, easy to move | Splits, harbours insects if not sealed | Fair, if it is dried and sealed |
The ring is only as good as the heat inside it. Hang the bulb, or set the gas brooder, so it warms one part of the ring and not the whole thing. Chicks need a warm side and a cooler side they can walk to. A ring that is hot all the way round gives them nowhere to go, and they start to pant and spread out against the wall.
Check the height as well. A heat source hung too low can scorch feathers and burn a chick that climbs close to it. Hung too high, the warm zone is too thin to reach the feed and water. Set it, then watch the birds for an hour. If they all crowd under the heat, it is too cold. If they all sit at the far wall with their beaks open, it is too hot or the heat is too far away. Their behaviour is the thermometer you carry with you, so trust it as much as the one on the floor.
For the week-by-week targets, read brooder temperature week by week. For the heat source itself, bulb, gas or charcoal explains what each one does well and where it fails.
The same ring behaves differently in the harmattan, in the rains and during a power cut, and it helps to plan for all three before you start cutting.
In the harmattan, from roughly December to February, the air is dry and dusty and the nights turn cold, particularly in the north-facing rooms and on open verandas. Dust gets through every gap, so the ring needs to close tightly at the base. Cold nights mean the heat has to work harder, and a wall with draughts through it will drain the warmth faster than you expect.
In the rainy seasons the floor stays damp for days. Damp litter and damp wood are a problem together, because they keep the air close and heavy. Raise the base on bricks or a wooden frame so water does not sit under it, and keep the drinkers on the far side of the ring from the heat so spilt water does not reach the warm spot. For more on this, see humidity and draughts in the brooder.
Power cuts are a fact of life for many keepers. If your ring depends on an electric bulb, have a plan for the night the lights go out. A gas brooder or a charcoal source can carry the chicks through. Charcoal is the one to watch most closely, because it gives off fumes, so keep the room ventilated and never leave it burning in a closed space. Our guide on brooding through power cuts in Ghana covers the backup options in more detail.
Size the ring for the chicks you actually have. A box of 50 chicks is our minimum order, and it is the easiest starting point. One box fits in a ring of modest size, but only if the ring is wide enough for the chicks to spread out during the first week. Chicks grow fast and spread quickly, so a ring that is comfortable on day one can be crowded by day five.
If you buy two boxes, you have two options. You can build one larger ring, or two smaller rings with a gap between them so the heat and the feed do not fight each other. The second option is easier to clean, because you can rotate one ring while the other is in use. Whichever you choose, watch the birds on the second and third morning. If they bunch up in one part of the ring, the ring is too small or the heat is in the wrong place.
For a planning figure, the chick cost is simple arithmetic. Each box of 50 Ross 308 or Cobb 500 at the from-price is GH₵1,000, so two boxes are GH₵2,000 before transport. Confirm the current price with the farm before you budget, because the figure we give you is a from-price and the hatch date and delivery cost are confirmed before any payment.
You will need a measuring tape or a length of string, a peg, tin snips or a sharp knife, pliers, binding wire and a punch or drill if you are fixing sheet metal. Work on a flat patch of ground, not on the litter, and wear gloves for any cutting.
Put the chicks in once the ring has been warm and quiet for a full day. Do not rush them in on the morning of arrival, when you are tired from the road and the birds are still unsettled from the box.
A ring is a small expense next to the chicks it protects, so do the sums with your own numbers. Our from-prices for October 2026, per box of 50, are these. Ross 308 or Cobb 500 start from GH₵1,000 a box, which is GH₵20 each. Sasso starts from GH₵650 a box, or GH₵13 each. Kuroiler and Noiler start from GH₵550 a box. Plymouth and Barred Rock start from GH₵350 a box. These are from-prices, so confirm today's figure with the farm before you plan around it.
Now look at the losses. Well-managed flocks run mortality of about 3 to 5 per cent. Poor management can push it to 10 to 20 per cent. Those figures cover the whole grow-out, not just the brooder, so the ring only helps with the early part of the bill. Still, on a box of 50 imported broilers, 3 to 5 per cent is about two birds, and 10 to 20 per cent is five to ten birds.
At the from-price of GH₵20 each, every bird you lose is GH₵20 of chick money gone before a single bag of feed is opened. A ring that stops even a few of those losses has earned its place. Write down what your materials actually cost, add the screws, wire and paint, and set that against the birds you would otherwise lose. That is a better basis than any rough estimate, including ours.
A ring lasts only if you clean it properly after each batch, and cleaning is the step most keepers skip when the next box is already on the road. Start by taking out every piece of litter and carrying it away from the next batch. Scrape the base, then wash the wall and the board with soap and water to remove the dried droppings.
Let everything dry fully in the sun before you add any disinfectant. Wet surfaces dilute the disinfectant and slow its work. Use the product at the strength on its label and leave it for the contact time the label gives. Our guide on choosing a disinfectant explains which products suit which surfaces.
Store the ring dry and off the ground. Rust starts at the cut edges and the joins, so look at them after every batch and wire-brush any spots before they spread. Keep the ring away from the feed store, because rats are drawn to a dry corner with a bit of spilt bran in it. If you keep the feed and the ring in the same room, read rodents, feed and the diseases they carry before you shelve anything.
During the harmattan, cover the stored ring with a clean cloth or sheet. The fine dust gets into every joint and then into the next batch, and it is much easier to keep off than to clean out later.
The same few faults come up again and again, and they are all easy to prevent before the chicks arrive.
Most of these problems show up on day one or day two. Walk round the ring at dawn and at dusk for the first week, and fix any fault the same day. A small problem caught early costs you an hour. The same problem left for a week costs birds.
You can, if the container is clean, round and free of any chemical residue. Check that it has not held paint, fuel or pesticide before you use it. Cut or smooth the top edge so a chick cannot catch a toe on it, and make sure there is a way to get the drinkers and feed in and out.
A sound zinc or welded-mesh ring can serve many batches if you clean and store it properly. Replace it when the joins loosen, the rust goes through the sheet, or the plywood base swells and stays swollen once dry.
Yes, for the brooding stage the rules are the same. Once the birds are big enough to leave the ring, take it down, clean it and store it. The house takes over from there.
Call us on 024 915 1503 when you place your order. We can talk through the set-up, the heat source and the timing. For a local inspection, the district office of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture can also advise.
Finish the ring, run it empty for a day and check the heat before you place your order. When you are ready, send the order form on the site or call 024 915 1503. We confirm the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost before any payment. For the space the whole brood needs, read how much brooder space each chick really needs. To keep the first days calm, the brooder guard and chick spread guide shows how to stop the flock bunching in one corner.
Written by the Halaal Farms Ghana team. We hatch and import day-old chicks at Opeikuma, Kasoa, and deliver to all 16 regions. This article is general guidance for farmers. For diagnosis and treatment of sick birds, speak to a vet or your district veterinary office.
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