The decisions to settle, the numbers to know and the protections built into our order, for a first batch of day-old chicks in Ghana.
Halaal Farms Ghana team3 April 2026 · 9 min read
The first order is the one people think about longest and know least about. Most first-time buyers are not worried about the birds. They are worried about paying for something they cannot inspect yet, and about what happens if the box arrives and things go wrong. Those are fair worries, and most of them are answered by settling a few decisions before you write to us.
This guide takes the first order one decision at a time. It assumes you have not raised a batch before, or that you have only kept a few birds at home. It does not assume you know what a hatch involves, or why a box holds fifty. By the end you should know what to decide, what to ask, and what we confirm before any money moves.
Every first order comes down to a handful of choices. Work through them in order, because each one shapes the next. The table sets them out with the question to answer for each.
| Decision | The question to answer | Why it changes the order |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Are you raising meat, eggs or both? | Whether you need broilers, layers or a dual-purpose bird |
| Breed | Which breed fits the house and the feed you can buy? | The price per box and the feeding plan you will follow |
| Number | How many birds will you keep at the end? | Whether one box of 50 is enough, or you need more boxes |
| Date | When do you want birds ready to sell or to lay? | The hatch date you ask us to confirm |
| Brooder | Is the house warm, dry and tested now? | Whether the box can arrive on the date you want |
You do not need perfect answers. A rough answer to each is enough to start, and we can talk through the rest on the call. A first-time buyer who has answered all five is ahead of most people who send a message that says only that they want chicks.
One box of 50 chicks is the minimum order. For many first-time buyers it is also the right size. It is large enough to teach you the whole cycle of a batch, from the first morning to the day the birds leave, and small enough that a mistake does not wipe out a season's money.
The price depends on the breed. Our list gives from-prices per box of 50, so a box of local hatch Plymouth or Barred Rock starts at GH₵350, while a box of imported Ross 308 or Cobb 500 broilers starts at GH₵1,000. Those are starting figures. The price you are quoted on the day is the one that counts, so ask for it.
Keep in mind that losses happen even in a good batch. Well-managed houses see mortality of around 3 to 5 per cent, and poorer houses see 10 to 20 per cent. On a box of 50 that is roughly two birds in the good case, and between five and ten birds in the poor case. Plan for the good case, and treat anything worse as a reason to look at the house, the water and the feed, not as bad luck.
An order starts with a message, not with money. There is no payment on the website, and nothing is taken from you until we have agreed three things. The first is the price. The second is the hatch date. The third is the delivery cost. Only when all three are settled do you pay, by cash, mobile money or bank transfer.
This order rule is the one most first-time buyers are glad to know about. It means you can ask every question you have, compare the figures with your plan and step away if the numbers do not fit, all without having paid anything.
We also tell you what was given to your batch. Every batch is vaccinated, and the note of what was given belongs in your records. Keep it with the box details, because it is the first thing a vet will ask about if the flock has a problem later.
Good questions make a first order easier. Ask these before you send money, and write the answers down:
The last question matters most to a first-timer. A brooder is often ready a few days after the plan says it should be. Tell us the truth about it. A date that moves by a few days is far better than a box that arrives at a house that is not yet ready for it.
The first message is where most delays start. A message with the details lets us answer in one reply, and that is the quickest route to a confirmed order. Include the following in your order form or on your call:
A short message like that is the best first step. It tells us what to plan, and it tells you what we need to confirm before any money moves.
Most of the work for a first order happens in the week before the box is due. Clean and disinfect the brooder if it has been used before. Check the heat source by daylight, and again after dark. Fill the feeders and test the drinkers with water. Have the starter feed in the house rather than in the store. Write the expected arrival date and the time the collector is due in a notebook.
Set up the place where you will count the box. A clean, flat floor with room to spread the chicks is ideal. Keep the box out of direct sun until it is opened. Have someone free for the first hour, because that is when the count is made and the first decisions about warmth and water are taken.
Plan for the box arriving a day early or a day late. Confirm with us the day and time it is due, and keep the brooder ready for two days rather than one, so that a small change in the road does not catch you without feed or water in place. A box that arrives early can wait in a clean, shaded, closed room until you are ready. A box that arrives late should be checked on arrival, and the count written down, before anything else happens.
If you are new to the work, read the guide on feeding day-old chicks in the first 24 hours before the box comes. Reading it the evening before is better than reading it on the morning the chicks arrive, when your attention is on the box.
Three protections should give you confidence in the order. The first is the confirmation step: no payment until price, hatch date and delivery cost are agreed. The second is the dead-on-arrival rule: chicks dead on arrival are replaced free in the next hatch, provided the count is made on the day and reported to us. The third is the vaccination note, which tells you what was given to the batch and gives your records a clear start.
None of these replaces good management. They do not keep a house warm at night, and they do not fill the feeders. What they do is make the first order a sound decision rather than a gamble, and that is what a first-time buyer needs most.
The box price is only one line in a first batch. A first-time buyer who budgets for the box alone usually runs short by the third week. Before you order, write down every cost you can see: the chicks at the confirmed price, the delivery cost, the feed for the full run of the batch, the drinkers and feeders if you do not already own them, a heat source, and the simple medicines your vet recommends for your area.
Then add a reserve. A reserve is not a sign of doubt. It is the money that keeps a batch going through a bad week, a rise in feed prices or a power cut that lasts longer than expected. Many first-time growers find that the reserve is the one line they wish they had planned for. Keep it in a separate place, so it is not spent on something else in the same month.
Pay for the box only after the three confirmations are in your message thread, by cash, mobile money or bank transfer. Keep the receipt or the transfer record with the vaccination note and the batch details. A first batch is a learning exercise, and a clear money trail makes the next order far easier to plan.
The feed guides on this site set out the working sums for each stage, and the price on the day is always the one that counts. Use those sums to build your budget, then check the bag price where you buy before the feed is ordered.
No. Many of our buyers are on their first batch. Tell us your plan honestly, and we will help you choose a breed and a size that fit it. The minimum is one box of 50.
No. The price, the hatch date and the delivery cost are confirmed first. Payment is by cash, mobile money or bank transfer, and only after those three things are agreed.
Chicks dead on arrival are replaced free in the next hatch. Count the box in the first hour, record the live and dead numbers, and tell us the same day.
That depends on your market and your plans. Our beginner's guide on broilers, layers and cockerels sets out the choices, and we are happy to talk through your situation on the call.
When your five decisions are settled, send the order form or call 024 915 1503. Start with the town, the breed, the number of boxes and the week you want the chicks. We will confirm the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost, and you pay only after those are agreed.
If you want a checklist of the common first-batch errors before you order, read common first batch mistakes. For the step-by-step order process, see ordering day-old chicks, step by step, and for the choice between meat birds and layers, broilers, layers or cockerels for beginners.
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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