A day-old chick is shaped by the road as much as the hatch. Plan the route, the timing and the brooder before the box leaves Kasoa.
Halaal Farms Ghana team12 July 2026 · 11 min read
A day-old chick cannot tell you it is cold, thirsty or stuck in a hot vehicle for half a day. It can only show you later, in the box, in the first 48 hours. That is why the journey from the hatchery to your brooder matters as much as the hatch itself. A good batch can be weakened by a bad road, a long wait in the sun or a van that stops for every bump.
This guide explains how day-old chicks reach small farms in Ghana, what happens before the box leaves us, the choices you have for collection and delivery, and what to check before you pay. The farm is in Opeikuma, Kasoa, and we deliver to all 16 regions. The details below are what you need to plan for, whichever route you choose.
Think about what a chick is going through. It has just left the egg, it is not feeding yet, and it is relying on the energy it still carries. Heat stresses it. Cold catches it. Dust gets into the box and the lungs. A jolt in the wrong place can injure a leg. None of this shows up as a bad chick when it is handed over. It shows up on the second morning, when one corner of the brooder is clustered and the others are standing back.
The weather in Ghana adds its own variables. In the hot months the box can become an oven if it sits in the sun on a bus park or a pick-up bed. In the harmattan, the nights are cold and the air is dusty, and a chick arriving in a dry, dusty wind needs a warm, still brooder straight away. Our guide on how weather changes feed and water needs covers the seasonal side in more detail.
The lesson is simple. A shorter journey in good conditions beats a longer journey in bad ones. When you choose a route, you are choosing the conditions your birds will face.
The work starts in the incubators and carries on through the sorting room. Chicks come out of the hatch, are sorted, counted and boxed in ventilated boxes of 50. Every batch is vaccinated before it leaves. We tell you what was given, so you can record it in your farm book from day one. Our piece on why our chicks leave vaccinated explains the reasoning.
The box is the first thing that protects the chick on the road. It needs to hold the birds without crushing them, let the air move, and stay closed. Count the box before it leaves, and count it again when you receive it. If the numbers differ, you need to know which side made the difference, and the record protects both of us.
Before you order, confirm the hatch date. A date that is fixed and kept is far better for transport than a date that moves three times. Once the hatch date is agreed, plan the collection or delivery time around it, not the other way round.
Small farms use a few different routes. Each one has a different risk profile, and the cost of each will depend on distance, the vehicle and the season. Here is how the options usually compare, and what to confirm before you choose.
| Route | How it usually works | What to confirm before you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Collection from the farm in Opeikuma, Kasoa | You come to us, load the box yourself and drive to your brooder | The collection time, the hatch date, and what happens if the road is slow or the weather turns |
| Delivery by the farm to your town | We arrange transport from the hatchery to your location, within the regions we serve | The delivery cost, whether it is in the price or added, and the expected arrival window |
| Public transport to a regional town | The box travels by a bus or STC service and you collect it at the bus park | Who collects, the bus park address, the time of arrival and whether the box is labelled clearly |
| Your own vehicle from a regional point | You make the trip yourself and plan the rest of the day around the chicks | Your travel time, the route in the heat, and how quickly you can reach the brooder |
Choose the route on the basis of the chicks, not the cheapest line on your sheet. A low delivery cost that means a box sits in a hot van for a day is not a saving. Ask the farm what the likely arrival time is, and what happens if the schedule changes. Those answers matter more than the fare.
If you collect, plan the trip before the morning of the hatch. Arrange a clean, flat floor in the vehicle so the box does not slide. Keep the box out of the sun. Put a cover over it if the day is hot, and keep the windows partly open for air. Drive gently, avoid sudden stops, and take the shortest sensible route.
Do not leave the box on a bus park or in a parked car while you do other errands. Get the chicks to the brooder as soon as you can, and do not stop for a long chat on the way. In the dusty season, close the vehicle windows where the box sits so the air carries less dust into the chicks.
Bring a second person if you can. One person can drive, and the other can keep an eye on the box and the chicks on the way. It is a small cost that prevents a lot of worry.
The most common mistake we see is not on the road. It happens when the box arrives and the brooder is still being cleaned. Set up the house a day before. Check the heat source and run it for a few hours so you know it works. Put down clean litter. Set out the drinkers with clean water and the feeders with the first feed, so the chicks can find both as soon as they step off the paper.
Put a second heat zone in the corner of the house, so chicks that move away from the lamp have somewhere to go. A chick that is too hot or too cold will show it in how it crowds or spreads. Our guide on the first feed and water covers the first day in detail.
Keep the house closed and quiet on arrival. Open the box in a warm, still place. Do not let the chicks sit in a draught while you count. Count, check, and record, then leave them to settle.
Dead on arrival chicks are replaced free in the next hatch. To make that work, record what you receive on the same day. Write down the date and time you opened the box, the number of live chicks, the number of dead chicks, and any obvious problem, such as a chick with a damaged leg or a box that was wet or crushed. Keep the box until the count is confirmed.
Be realistic about what a count can show on the first morning. Some chicks look weak when the box opens and recover within a few hours of warmth and clean water. Others do not. Record what you see when the box opens, then record again after the first day, so the notes show what actually happened rather than what you feared.
Tell us in writing, by the form or by email at support@halaalfarmsghana.com, as soon as you can. Clear records speed up the replacement and keep the batch record clean. Vague reports, days later, are very hard to settle fairly for anyone.
We deliver to all 16 regions of Ghana. Distance changes the plan. A town close to Kasoa and a town in the far north are not the same trip, even on the same day. In the north, expect a longer road and plan the brooder for a later arrival. Our guides on delivery to the regions and ordering chicks from the northern regions go through the steps for each case.
Whatever the distance, the cost has to be confirmed before you pay. Ask for the figure in writing, and ask whether it covers the box alone or includes a second leg, such as a motorbike from the bus park to your house. Those questions avoid surprises at the bus park.
Put transport on its own line in your batch costing. Divide the total delivery cost by the number of birds in the box to see what it adds per bird. Here is an example, and it is an illustration only, not a quote. Suppose the delivery cost to your town is GH₵200 for one box of 50. That works out at GH₵4 per bird. At the from-price of GH₵20 for a broiler chick, the transport adds about a fifth to the cost of each bird. A bigger box, or a route that cuts the trip, changes the figure.
If you collect your own chicks, count your fuel and your time as well. Half a day away from the farm has a real cost, even when no money leaves your pocket for transport. Add it to the sheet next to the fuel, so the comparison with delivery is fair.
Use the number you are actually given. The same method works for your own fuel and time if you collect. Our guide on costing a broiler batch line by line shows where the transport line fits in the full sheet.
They can travel with care, but the heat is a risk. Keep the box shaded, keep the vehicle moving, and avoid leaving the box standing in the sun. If the hatch date falls on a very hot day, plan the route for the cooler part of the day, and talk to us about timing before the hatch.
Keep the box, count the live and dead chicks, and take a clear photograph of the box and the chicks. Tell us the same day by form or email. Dead on arrival chicks are replaced free in the next hatch.
Ask us before you pay. We confirm the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost in one message, so you know the full figure before any money changes hands.
Yes. Payment is by cash, mobile money or bank transfer. Nothing is paid on the website, and we confirm the terms with you before you pay.
Planning the route is the last step before the box leaves. Send the order form on our site or call 024 915 1503 with your town and your hatch date. An order starts with a message, not with money. We confirm the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost before you pay, and you can pay by cash, mobile money or bank transfer. Read ordering day-old chicks, step by step for the full sequence, and see our broiler day-old chicks for the breeds we supply. The farm is in Opeikuma, Kasoa, and we are happy to talk through the best route to your town. You can also write to support@halaalfarmsghana.com.
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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