Follow one batch from 21 days in our incubators at Kasoa to the first hour in your brooder, and what to check at each step.
Halaal Farms Ghana team28 July 2026 · 10 min read
Most people see a box of chicks at the gate and think the work started at the farm. It started three weeks earlier, when an egg went into one of our incubators at Opeikuma, Kasoa. Everything that reaches your brooder is the result of a hatch that was planned, run and checked before the box was filled.
Our incubators hatch under 5,000 chicks a week. That number is a ceiling, not a promise for any particular week. What comes out of the incubators in a given week reflects what was set in the weeks before, which is why hatch dates matter so much to a buyer. A chick cannot be produced on the day it is wanted. It has to be planned from the eggs up.
This article follows one batch from the incubator to the brooder. It is written for the buyer who wants to understand what happens in the middle, so that the first week on the farm makes sense when the box arrives.
An egg spends 21 days in the incubator, held at about 37.5°C. Temperature is the setting that matters most in the room. A few degrees out for a few hours can do damage that does not show until the chick is supposed to hatch, or until it is a week old and not doing well. That is why temperature is checked as a routine, not when someone happens to remember.
In Ghana, power is a planning question for any hatchery. Power cuts, which people here call dumsor, do not check the calendar, and an incubator that goes quiet for a while is a serious matter. Good hatcheries plan for it, and the buyer should be able to ask how the farm handles it. The question costs you nothing and tells you a lot.
The egg does most of its work quietly. There is little to see from the outside until the last days, when the chick starts to make itself known. Those are the days that need the most attention from the people on the farm, because the chick is close to hatching and the conditions have to be right for it to come out well.
Once the chicks have hatched, they are sorted, counted and boxed. Each step matters, and each one is a separate check.
Sorting is a visual job. Each chick is looked at, and the ones that are not fit to ship are kept out of the box. The count matters as much as the sort. A box of 50 that holds 47 is a short order, and the buyer is entitled to know exactly what is inside before the box leaves the farm.
The box itself is the chick's shelter for the whole trip. Our chicks travel in ventilated boxes of 50, and the air holes are there for a reason. A box that is sealed tight, stacked too high or left in a hot corner puts the chicks at risk before they reach any buyer. Once a box is loaded, the journey starts, and every hour in a closed space counts against the birds.
The minimum order is one box of 50 chicks. That is the smallest unit we ship, and it is the box we count.
Every batch is vaccinated before it is boxed. The reasons, the diseases covered and the questions to ask are set out in our article on why our chicks leave vaccinated. For this journey, the point is simple. The vaccination is part of the batch, so it travels with the chicks from the moment they are boxed, and the record of what was given should stay with the batch.
That is also why vaccination is not something to repeat casually at the farm without advice. Ask us which vaccines were given to your batch before you decide anything else on the day the box arrives.
We deliver to all 16 regions of Ghana. Many regional orders travel by STC or by bus, and the trip can be long. A box is not a parcel that can sit in a cool room at a transport stop. The heat, the time on the road and the way the box is loaded all decide how the chicks arrive.
Three things help the journey go well. Plan the collection or the arrival so the box is not left waiting in the sun. Make sure someone is ready to receive it at the other end. And confirm the delivery cost before you pay, so that the trip does not turn into an argument on arrival.
Delivery cost is one of the three things we confirm before payment, along with the price and the hatch date. The order does not get paid for until those three are agreed. That is the whole point of the order process: an order starts with a message, not with money.
| Stage | What the farm checks | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Egg set in the incubator | Temperature held at about 37.5°C through 21 days | Nothing. This is our work. |
| Hatch and sort | Chicks sorted, and those not fit to ship kept out of the box | Ask for the hatch date when you order. |
| Count and box | Ventilated box of 50, count confirmed | Check the count when the box opens. |
| Vaccination | Done before boxing, batch record kept | Ask which vaccines were given. |
| Transport | Box loaded with air, not left in the sun | Plan collection so the box does not wait. |
| Arrival at the brooder | Chicks received in good condition | Count, look and report dead-on-arrival chicks quickly. |
The box is the chicks' home for the trip, and the first thing they need when it opens is quiet and warmth, not handling. Open the box in a calm place, with the brooder already warm and the water and feed ready. Chicks that have been travelling need to drink and settle. Crowding them to count again and again only adds stress.
Then look at the chicks as a group. Are they spread around the brooder, or piled into one corner? Are they moving, standing evenly and calling normally? Our guide to reading chick behaviour in the brooder explains what the crowd and the spread are telling you, and why a pile in one corner usually means something in the house is wrong.
Count what you received against your order. If a chick is dead on arrival, report it to us as soon as possible, with the hatch and delivery details. Dead on arrival chicks are replaced free in the next hatch. The sooner we hear, the easier it is to sort out.
The first day's routine is about water, feed and heat, in that order. Our guide to feeding day-old chicks in the first 24 hours goes through it step by step.
The journey works best when the brooder is ready before the order is confirmed. A buyer who waits until the chicks are on the bus to think about heat, space and guard is taking a risk that could have been avoided. Plan the house first, then the date.
Space and heat are the two things most often rushed. Our guide to brooding space per chick in Ghana covers how much room a batch needs, and the guide to setting brooder temperature by week shows how the heat should come down as the birds grow.
A simple way to think about the money is this. Suppose you order one box of 50 broiler chicks. At the from-price of GH₵1,000 per box, the chicks alone cost about GH₵20 each before feed, housing, labour or delivery. That figure is an illustration from our price list, not a quote. Confirm today's price and the delivery cost on our price page before you commit.
A good order is one where nothing about the batch is a surprise. Before any money changes hands, you should know the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost, and you should have a clear idea of what the box will contain when it reaches you. Those are the three things we confirm, and they are worth confirming with any supplier.
Ask for the hatch date in writing, even if it is only a message. The date determines when your brooder has to be ready, and a date that moves without warning is the most common reason a buyer ends up with chicks in a house that is not set up. If the date changes, ask what the new date is and how it affects the delivery cost.
Ask about the delivery route. If your birds are going to a regional town, ask how the box will travel and who will be waiting for it at the other end. Ask what happens if the box is delayed, and how dead-on-arrival chicks are handled. A supplier who can answer those questions plainly is one who has thought about the journey.
Ask, too, about the vaccines, the count and the replacement rule. The vaccines were covered in our earlier article, and the count is confirmed when the box is opened. The replacement rule is simple: dead-on-arrival chicks are replaced free in the next hatch. Know it before the box arrives, not after.
Many buyers find that the first delivery is not the last one. A second box for the same season often arrives on a different date, so plan the space for the whole order, not just the first box. Keep the water and feed for the second wave on hand, and make sure the house is ready before the second box is on the road.
An egg spends 21 days in the incubator at about 37.5°C. The chick is then sorted, counted, vaccinated and boxed before it leaves the farm.
Our incubators hatch under 5,000 chicks a week. Actual output in a given week depends on what was set earlier, so ask us for the hatch date for your order.
One box of 50 chicks. That is the minimum we ship.
Report it to us as soon as you can. Chicks dead on arrival are replaced free in the next hatch.
No payment is taken on the website. Before you pay, we confirm the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost, and you pay by cash, mobile money or bank transfer.
If you want a batch that follows this path, send the order form on the site or call 024 915 1503. An order starts with a message, not with money. We will confirm the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost with you, and only then will you pay. If the brooder is still on the drawing board, read our guide to starting a poultry farm with 500 birds in Ghana first. For the shop side of the order, see how to order day-old chicks. 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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