Agona Swedru is close to our hatchery on the map and quite different on the ground. Kasoa is dry coastal savannah. Swedru, about 40 km to the north-west and inland, is in the forest belt, with cocoa, oil palm and plantain around it and a good deal more rain. The chicks are the same. The road they travel and the house you put them in are not.
Two roads from Kasoa to Swedru, and why it matters which one is used
| By Bawjiase | By the Winneba junction | |
|---|---|---|
| Route | North-west from Kasoa to Bawjiase (16 km), then on through Agona Kwanyako to Swedru (26 km) | West along the Accra to Cape Coast highway to the Winneba roundabout (30 km), then north to Swedru (about 20 km) |
| Distance | About 42 km | About 50 km |
| What to know | Both sections were in poor condition for years. Reconstruction of the Bawjiase to Swedru section started in 2020 and of the Kasoa to Bawjiase section in 2022 | The highway is being rebuilt as a dual carriageway, with diversions and dust until the work is finished |
With a clear run the shorter road takes about 50 minutes. When the Bawjiase road was at its worst, drivers told reporters they avoided it and went round by the Winneba highway. Conditions on both roads keep changing as contractors work, so the honest planning figure is an hour to an hour and a half, and the honest advice is to ask. When we confirm your order we tell you what we know about the road that week.
The route matters for the chicks in one way. A rough road shakes boxes and a slow one heats them. A newly hatched chick lives off its yolk for two to three days, so an extra half hour costs it nothing in food. Jolting, dust and a hot cabin are what tire chicks on a journey this short. Boxes should ride flat, inside the vehicle, with air moving round them.
Coming to Opeikuma yourself from Swedru, Nyakrom or Nsaba
At this distance many Agona farmers will prefer to collect. Collection at the farm is by appointment. Ask for a morning time, leave Swedru early, and you can be back with the chicks under heat before the hottest part of the day. You see what you are buying and count the boxes with us before you leave. The page for buyers collecting in Kasoa has a list of what to prepare.
If you hire a taxi or a pickup for the trip, agree with the driver beforehand that the boxes travel in the cabin and that he will not stop along the way. If it rained heavily overnight, ring us before setting off, since that is when an unfinished road is at its slowest.
If you would sooner not travel, we put the boxes on a bus or cargo vehicle to a station in Swedru that is agreed with you before dispatch. The delivery cost is confirmed before you pay. Be there ahead of the vehicle. Open the boxes and count as soon as you have them, and if any chicks are dead, tell us at once. They are replaced free in the next hatch.
Agona, Breman and Akyem towns that can collect in Swedru
Agona Nyakrom, Agona Abodom and Bobikuma are in the same municipality as Swedru. Agona Nsaba, the capital of Agona East, and Agona Kwanyako and Agona Asafo on the Bawjiase road are a short ride away. Breman Asikuma lies to the north-west, and Akim Oda is further north across the Eastern Region boundary. Farmers in all of these can collect at the Swedru station agreed for their order. Bawjiase itself is nearer to Kasoa than to Swedru, so farm collection is the natural choice there. Towards the coast, see our page for day-old chicks in Winneba.
Rain in two seasons: brooding in the forest belt
The Agona area has a wet semi-equatorial climate. Published profiles of the municipality put the rainfall at about 1,000 to 1,400 mm a year, with peaks around May to June and again around September to October, and describe the natural vegetation as moist semi-deciduous forest. Kasoa, where the chicks hatch, gets something like 750 mm. A brooder that works on the coast can fail here for one reason: water.
Chicks do not mind rain they never touch. What harms them is litter that stays damp. Wet shavings give off ammonia, which stings eyes and lungs, and warm, damp litter is where coccidiosis builds up. Our articles on keeping the floor dry from day one and on recognising coccidiosis go into this, and a vet or the municipal veterinary office should see any flock passing bloody or very loose droppings before you buy a single drug.
In practice, for a house in or near Swedru:
- Give the roof a wide overhang. Forest-belt rain arrives with wind and blows in through open sides.
- Hang curtains you can lower fast. Feed sacks stitched together do the job. Drop them on the side the rain is coming from and lift them again when it passes.
- Lift the floor. Build it above the surrounding ground and keep clear of low land beside the Akora river and the smaller streams.
- Keep shavings dry before you need them. Sawdust and shavings bought in the wet months are often damp already. Sun-dry them and store them off the floor.
- Expect to brood a little longer. Rainy nights are cool and cloud keeps the mornings cool too. Let the chicks' behaviour, not the calendar, tell you when to reduce heat.
Monday and Thursday: selling around Swedru's market days
Swedru is the trading centre for the Agona towns and villages. It has two main markets, the Central market and the Mandela market, and the market days are Monday and Thursday. The town is known for the plantain trade, and its population was already above 55,000 at the 2010 census.
The municipal assembly's own profile says commercial animal farming in Agona West is very low, with only a few poultry and livestock farms. Our reasoning from that: a good share of the eggs sold in Swedru probably comes from outside the municipality, and a local farmer who can offer fresh crates on a fixed day has something traders want. It is reasoning, so test it. Walk the markets on a Monday, ask egg sellers where their crates come from and what they pay, and only then decide how many birds to keep.
Other buyers to speak to are the chop bars and food sellers round the lorry stations, and the schools, among them the town's two public senior high schools. For festive sales the dates that matter locally are Christmas, Easter and the Akwambo festival in August. Cocoa adds its own rhythm. The main cocoa harvest in Ghana runs from about October into the new year, so farming families in the villages tend to have money in hand just when Christmas birds are sold. That is general knowledge of cocoa districts, not a survey of Agona.
Maize, cassava and palm kernel cake close at hand
Feed is the largest cost on any poultry farm, and Agona farmers are nearer to some ingredients than most. Maize and cassava are among the main food crops of the municipality. Oil palm is a major tree crop, and processing palm kernel oil is a local trade, which leaves palm kernel cake as a by-product.
Two cautions go with that advantage. Palm kernel cake is fibrous, so it can replace only part of a ration, and it should be used fresh. And maize bought cheaply at harvest in a humid district must be dried properly before it is stored, or it moulds. Mouldy maize carries aflatoxin, which damages the liver and slows growth without always showing on the grain. Read our guides to buying and storing maize and soya and to aflatoxin and mouldy feed before you fill a store.
If you would sooner not mix your own, we sell finished starter, grower, finisher and layer feed at the farm. The price is given when you ask, because it follows maize and soya costs. Whatever you feed, keep the bags on pallets and away from walls. In Swedru's humidity a bag on a bare floor draws damp within days.
Birds that fit a cocoa and plantain district
What you buy should follow who will buy from you.
- For village compounds: Sasso, Kuroiler and Noiler chicks are hardier than broilers, manage on simpler housing and sell live. Sasso starts from GH₵ 13 a chick, Kuroiler and Noiler from GH₵ 11.
- For Christmas in the cocoa villages: white cockerel chicks start from GH₵ 3 each. They are cheap to buy and slow to grow, taking about four to six months, so chicks for December need to be in the brooder between about June and August.
- For the town's egg trade: layer chicks start from GH₵ 23 and begin laying at about 18 to 20 weeks.
- For Easter, Akwambo and Christmas tables: broiler chicks start from GH₵ 20 and are ready in about six to eight weeks. Count back from the date and have buyers agreed first.
All of these are starting prices checked on 2 October 2026. They change, so use the price list or ask when you order. Chicks are packed 50 to a ventilated box, one box is the minimum, and each batch is vaccinated at the hatchery before it leaves. Ask which vaccines were given so your vet can plan what comes next.
Ordering for Swedru and the Agona area
Fill in the order form on this page or call 024 915 1503. Tell us the type of chick, the number of boxes, your town and whether you will collect at Opeikuma. We come back with the price, the hatch date and, if the boxes are being sent, the delivery cost. Nothing is paid on the website, and you pay by cash, mobile money or bank transfer only after those points are confirmed. Advice before and after your order is free, and you are welcome to visit the farm by appointment.
Questions from Agona Swedru
Which road do chicks take from Kasoa to Agona Swedru?
There are two. The direct road runs north-west from Kasoa to Bawjiase and on to Swedru, about 42 km in all. The other follows the highway to the Winneba roundabout and turns north, about 50 km. Which one a driver uses depends on the state of the Bawjiase road at the time, so we tell you what we know when your order is confirmed.
How long is the journey to Swedru, and can I collect at the farm instead?
Allow an hour to an hour and a half by either road. That is short enough for collection at Opeikuma to be a real option: book a morning appointment, count your chicks at the hatchery and drive them home before midday. If you have no vehicle, boxes can be sent to a station in Swedru agreed before dispatch.
Does Swedru's rain make brooding harder than on the coast?
It changes what you guard against. The Agona area receives roughly 1,000 to 1,400 mm of rain a year with peaks around May to June and September to October, well above Kasoa's total. The main risk is damp litter and the diseases that follow it. A wide roof overhang, a raised floor, rain curtains and a dry store of shavings solve most of it.
Which days should I plan egg and bird sales around in Swedru?
Monday and Thursday are the market days at the Central and Mandela markets. Have eggs crated and birds selected the evening before, and tell regular buyers which day you will be there. Outside market days, chop bars, food sellers and schools in the town are the steadier customers for a small farm, so speak to them before your birds are ready.
Can I use palm kernel cake from local oil processors in poultry feed?
Yes, in moderation. Palm kernel cake is a by-product of the palm kernel oil processing done in the Agona area, but it is high in fibre, so it can only replace part of a ration, and less for young chicks and broilers than for older birds. Use it fresh, because stale cake turns rancid. Ask for advice before changing a feed formula.