How layer feed changes from the first chick crumble to the ration a hen eats once she is laying, and where switches go wrong.
Halaal Farms Ghana team28 September 2026 · 11 min read
Pick up any feed bag in a Kasoa feed shop and the first thing printed on it is the stage it is made for. Starter. Grower. Layer. Plenty of farmers read the brand and the price and skip the stage. This guide is about not doing that. A layer flock does not need one feed from the first day to the last. It needs the right feed at each stage, and the switches between stages are where most feeding plans go wrong.
A chick has a small gut, a body that is laying down its frame, and very little capacity to eat. A pullet is a bigger bird that has to build a sound body and a healthy reproductive system before the first egg. A laying hen is a working factory that uses calcium every day to make shells. Each of those jobs asks something different of the feed, and the same bag cannot do all three well.
That does not mean a small farm needs a long shelf of feeds. A farm can run three or four feeds across a flock's life, and some combine two stages where the feed shop only stocks one. The point is not the number of bags. The point is that each bag matches the birds in the pen on the day you open it.
Money makes the point sharper. Our Hy-Line Brown day-old chicks start from GH₵23 each on the price list, or GH₵1,150 for a box of 50, and the other layer breeds we supply are priced in the same way. Feed is more than half of what a poultry farm spends. A bird bought cheaply and then fed on a careless programme will lay less than one fed well, and the feed bill will still arrive every month.
In the first weeks the chick needs feed it can find, pick up and digest. That usually means a crumble or a fine starter, not a coarse mash the chick has to fight through. The first days matter more than most farmers expect. Our guide on feeding day-old chicks in the first 24 hours covers the set-up, and the rule that matters most is simple: feed should be in front of every chick, and the chicks should be eating it.
Watch the feeder. If you see feed left on the tray and chicks crowding around the water, the feed may be too coarse, or the trays may be too high for the youngest birds. If the chicks stop eating and sit bunched under the heat, check the brooder before you blame the feed. Heat, draughts and crowding often show up in the feed trough first.
Keep the starter in use until the chicks have grown out of it. Do not switch because a neighbour says it is time, or because the price of the bag went up. A feed change at the wrong point costs growth, and the cost is hard to see until a few weeks later, when some birds look smaller than the rest of the pen.
The grower stage is where the bird builds its frame. Feed at this stage should support steady growth of bone and muscle without rushing the bird toward lay. This is the stage where farmers are tempted to hurry things along, because the birds look big and the eggs feel close. Hold the line. A pullet with a weak frame or a thin body will struggle to carry eggs later, and it will lay less than it could.
Weigh a sample of the birds at regular intervals and compare the figures with the growth curve in the breed guide. A small, randomly chosen sample is enough to show the direction the flock is taking. Do not weigh only the biggest bird, and do not weigh only the smallest. Keep the record. Our guide on body weight and frame before first egg explains what to look for.
Stay on the grower feed that the breed guide matches to this stage. Read the label on the bag, which says what it is made for, and check it every time you buy, because the brand on the front can change while the stage on the back stays the same.
This is the switch that matters most. The bird is close to laying, and the feed that suits her now is not the feed she ate as a grower. Timing follows her development, not the calendar, and the breed guide tells you when it is time. Ask the farm for the guide for your breed before you order, so the switch is not a guess.
Calcium is the reason the timing matters. Layer feed carries calcium for eggshell formation. Introduce it too early and a bird still growing can waste it, or be put under strain. Introduce it too late and the first eggs can come out thin, while the bird catches up on her shells. The balance is in the timing, and you control it by reading the stage on the bag and watching the eggs.
Many farmers keep a separate shell or grit feeder on the side so the birds can take what they need. That lets each hen regulate her own intake, which suits a flock that is still settling. Our guide on calcium, grit and strong eggshells explains the choices, and it is worth reading before the first egg lands in the box.
Once the flock is laying, the layer ration does the daily work. It has to supply enough energy to keep the hen going, protein for the eggs, minerals for the shell and vitamins for everything else. Read the bag for what is in it, and check the label for the stage it is made for. The more you understand the label, the less you need to rely on the brand name. Our guide on reading a poultry feed label in Ghana goes through the terms, and the one on energy and protein explains what the figures mean.
Measure what the flock eats. Put out a known amount in the morning, and weigh what is left the next morning. Do that for a week before you decide a feed is wrong. A feed that seems to disappear too fast may be spilt or wasted, not eaten. Our guide on measuring feed intake gives a simple method you can run with a bucket and a scale.
Keep the layer feed consistent. A flock that is used to one ration handles it well. A flock that gets a different bag every few weeks spends its energy adjusting, and the eggs pay for it. If you must change, do it gradually over several days, mixing the old and new feed in growing amounts until the new one is all the birds get.
A 50 kg bag of poultry feed broadly sells for GH₵400 to GH₵470, depending on the brand and the season. That works out at roughly GH₵8 to GH₵9.40 a kilo before transport, which is an estimate from the bag price, not a quote. Confirm today's figure with your feed shop before you budget, because maize is a large part of most feeds and its price moves through the year.
Storage is where a lot of feed is lost. In Ghana the damp of the rainy season and the dust of harmattan both bring mould and weevils to open bags. Keep bags off the floor, away from the wall, out of the rain and out of reach of rodents. Use the oldest bag first. Our guide on storing feed to stop mould and weevils goes into the detail, and the rodent guide covers the disease risk that comes with contaminated feed.
Keep a simple record: the date you opened each bag, its brand and stage, and how long it lasted. A feed that runs out faster than the one before it is a sign to look at waste, storage and feeding practice before you blame the bag.
Use this table as a planning sheet. The stage names follow the bags you will see in the shop, and the timing is set by the bird and the breed guide, not by the calendar. Check each switch against the flock in front of you before you make it.
| Stage | Main job | What to look for on the bag | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chick, first weeks | A fast, even start and a steady appetite | Starter, usually crumbled or fine | Coarse mash the chicks cannot easily eat, or changing feed too early |
| Grower | Frame, body and skeleton | Grower feed for growing birds | Hurrying the bird toward lay, or staying on starter too long |
| Pullet, pre-lay | Readiness for the first egg | Pullet or pre-lay feed, with the layer switch on a plan | Switching to layer feed too early or too late |
| Layer | Steady eggs and strong shells | Layer feed with calcium, plus shell grit or oyster shell on the side | Calcium left out, feed changed on impulse, or feed stored damp |
You can try it, but each stage asks for something different, so a single feed usually compromises either growth or laying. Ask your feed mill whether they make a range you can switch between at the right points. Simplicity in the shed is worth less than a clean switch at the right time.
Calcium goes in with the layer stage, and the timing is set by the bird and the breed guide, not by the age on a calendar. Ask us for the breed guide with your order, and read our calcium guide before the first egg.
Measure intake for a week, weigh a sample of birds and check the eggs. If feed use is steady and growth and laying are on track for the breed, the feed is probably fine. If not, change one thing at a time and write down what happens.
A 50 kg bag broadly sells for GH₵400 to GH₵470, depending on brand and season. Confirm today's figure with your feed shop before you budget, because the price moves with maize.
An order starts with a message, not with money. Send the order form on our site, or call 024 915 1503 and tell us the breed, the number of birds and your town. 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. If you have not chosen a breed yet, our guide on Hy-Line Brown for Ghana conditions is a good place to start. For the monthly picture of what a laying flock costs to feed, read Budgeting Feed for a Laying Flock, and for the mixing side, see Mixing a Simple Layer Ration at the Farm. Step-by-step ordering is on our order page.
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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