Heat comes off a chick in stages, and the day you switch it off by the calendar is often the day a flock starts to slide.
Halaal Farms Ghana team19 September 2026 · 11 min read
Most of the setbacks farmers tell us about after the first week happen on one afternoon. Somebody decides the chicks are big enough, switches the lamp off, and by the evening the flock is piled in a corner with its feathers ruffled and its feed untouched. The birds were not too young for the change. They were given it all at once.
Weaning off heat is not a single day. It is a run of small decisions, and the house, the weather and the birds each have a say. This guide covers how to read the flock, how to step the heat down, and what to watch on the nights that follow.
Weaning here means moving the birds from heated conditions to the temperature of the house around them, without a sudden drop. The lamp, the bulb or the gas brooder is not switched off because the chicks have reached a particular age. It is reduced because the birds have grown the feathers and the body to cope with the air they are in.
Feathering is the signal to trust most. A chick that is covered over its back and wings holds its own warmth far better than one still in down. Feathering is uneven across a flock, though, and the late ones need watching. A bird that is full on the back but bare on the breast is not ready in the same way as a bird that has filled out all over.
Weight matters too. A chick that is growing steadily can usually handle a cooler house than one that has stalled. If the weights are flat for a week, the problem is almost never the heat alone, and turning the heat down will make things worse, not better.
Before you change anything, check the flock against these signs. You want to see most of them, not just one:
If one or two of these are missing, hold off. A date on the calendar is a poor reason to switch off the heat from a flock that is still crowding together at night.
Do it small small, over several days, and do it in the warm part of the afternoon so you have daylight to watch the birds. Three methods work well on most farms:
Pick one method and stick to it, so you know what changed if the flock reacts. Make one change, then leave the birds alone for a full day. Watch what they do at night, not just in daylight. The day is easy to read. The night will tell you whether the change was too big.
Most weaning trouble shows up overnight. A house that was comfortable at four in the afternoon can feel like a different place by two in the morning, especially when the rains are passing through or the harmattan wind has started. Chicks that are still settling will find the coolest corner and pile into it.
Before you go to bed, do a last walk. Put your hand at chick height in the corners. Check that the guard is not blocking the lamp or sitting on a bird. Look at the pile, if there is one, and spread the birds back out with your hands. If the pile forms again after two rounds of spreading, the house is too cold for that stage. Bring the heat back for another day or two, then try the change again with a smaller step.
Power cuts add a second problem. A brooder that depends on a single bulb can lose its warmth fast on a cool night when the grid goes off. Our guide to brooding through power cuts covers backup options, and it is worth reading before the rains set in.
Different birds reach readiness at different speeds, and the decision looks different for each one.
| Bird | What usually decides the timing | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Broilers, Ross 308 or Cobb 500 | House temperature, feathering and weekly weight. Broilers go to market at 6 to 7 weeks. | Huddling on cool nights, and a flock whose weight stops climbing |
| Sasso, Kuroiler, Noiler | Feathering and the weather. These birds stay on the farm longer than broilers. | Patchy feathering on some birds and losses in the cool early mornings |
| Plymouth Rock or Barred Rock, Australorp | Feathering and body weight, as these birds grow more slowly | Corner piles and birds that lag behind the rest of the flock |
| Layer pullets, Hy-Line Brown, Bovans Brown, Lohmann Brown | Full feathering, and the move to the layer house before point of lay | Stress from moving, and a dip in feed intake after a feed or house change |
Broilers are a special case in most Ghanaian houses. They are usually sold at six or seven weeks, so there is little time for a long weaning, and the house temperature does much of the work. The real risk is letting the house turn cold at night while the birds are still growing. Local birds and pullets are different. They stay on the farm for longer, so the change is slower and each decision carries more weight.
A flock in Tamale in the harmattan faces cold nights that a flock in Kasoa may never see. If you are raising birds in the north, plan the weaning around the coolest weeks of the year, not around the first warm afternoon.
Heat takes energy, and so do growing feathers. When the lamp goes, the birds do not automatically eat more, and some will eat less for a day while they adjust. Keep feed available all the time, and set the feeders at a height where the birds can reach them without climbing. Keep the drinkers clean and within reach. A chick drinking less than its neighbours is usually the first to show a problem.
Weigh a sample every week. Pick ten birds at random, weigh them, and write the average down. A flock that stalls for a week after a heat change needs looking at. Check the feed, the water, the litter and the house before you assume it is disease, because most stalls have a dull cause.
Dehydration is the quiet risk here. Birds that are cold and crowded often drink less, and a bird that has stopped drinking declines quickly. Our guide to chick dehydration signs and fixes goes through what to look for, and the same signs apply after a weaning change.
A flock that stops growing for a week still eats. Feed is more than half of what you spend on a broiler, and a 50 kg bag broadly sells for GH₵400 to GH₵470 depending on the brand and the season. Every extra week in the house is feed going in with no weight coming out.
Our Ross 308 and Cobb 500 chicks start from GH₵20 each, or GH₵1,000 for a box of 50. As with the rest of this guide, these are the from-prices for October 2026, so confirm today's figure with us before you budget. Well-managed flocks lose around 3 to 5 percent of their birds, and poorly managed ones often lose 10 to 20 percent. Those are illustrative figures. A loss of 10 percent on a box of 50 is five chicks, or GH₵100 at the from-price, before counting the feed those five birds would have eaten.
The cheapest protection is the weekly weight sample and a calm, slow change to the heat. Neither costs anything beyond your time.
Most of the setbacks we hear about trace back to a short list of habits. None of them is rare, and all of them are easy to avoid once you have seen them.
If you recognise one of these in your own house, fix that first. A single habit can undo a good flock, and removing it usually costs nothing.
It is safer to decide by the birds. Use the calendar as a reminder to check, then look at feathering, behaviour and weight before you change the lamp.
Feathering is only one signal. If they pile at night, the house is still too cold for them. Bring the heat back for a day or two, check the draughts and the guard, then try a smaller step.
Most broiler flocks are sold at six or seven weeks, so the house temperature does most of the work. Still check the birds at night and watch the weight, because the risk is a cold house, not a long weaning period.
A sample of ten birds every week is enough for most small farms. Record the average and compare it with the week before. A flat week is the signal to look at feed, water and the house.
Plan the weaning before the chicks come, not after. Read our notes on setting brooder temperature by week and night checks during brooding, and decide which birds you are raising and when they will leave the brooder.
When you are ready, send us the order form or call 024 915 1503. 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. Our price page and the how to order guide show the steps.
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.
A weekly weighing routine for broiler farmers: how to pick an honest sample, the weights to compare against from day 7 to day 42, the average and uniformity sums, and what to do when the flock is behind.
Feed cost per kilo of broiler depends on how much feed each kilo takes and what you pay for it. These ten habits lower both without starving the birds or buying additives.
Heat kills the heaviest broilers in the last days before sale. This guide explains why, shows the signs in order, and sets out the house, stocking, water and feeding changes that prevent it, plus an afternoon emergency plan.
