Sefwi Wiawso, capital of the Western North Region, is about 400 km from our hatchery at Opeikuma, Kasoa, by the Kumasi and Bibiani road. A bus needs eight to ten hours to cover it. We will say it plainly: that is a long day for a newly hatched chick. It is done safely when three things are fixed before the boxes leave Kasoa: the hour of dispatch, the route, and who is standing at the station when the vehicle arrives.
Two roads into Sefwi, and why the route is settled first
The main trunk road into Sefwi runs from Kumasi through Bibiani and Sefwi Bekwai. The municipal assembly gives the distance from Kumasi to Wiawso as 156 km, and a vehicle that travels from Kasoa by way of Kumasi covers about 400 km in all.
On the map there is a shorter line. It leaves the coast road, runs north-west through the Central Region to Dunkwa-on-Offin and comes into Sefwi Bekwai from the south. Depending on the roads taken it measures roughly 320 to 355 km.
Which of the two your boxes travel depends on the bus or cargo vehicle available for your hatch date. Ask us for the route, the departure time and the expected arrival before dispatch, and confirm again by phone on the day, because on a journey this long a delay of an hour or two matters. The delivery cost depends on the town and is confirmed before you pay. The general method is on our page about sending chicks across Ghana.
What eight to ten hours in a box means for a chick
The yolk a chick draws in just before it hatches feeds it for roughly two to three days. That is what makes a Sefwi delivery possible at all. But the clock starts at hatch, not at dispatch, and chicks do best when they reach water, feed and warmth within a day or two. Every hour between the hatcher and your brooder counts against that.
| Stage | What happens | Your part |
|---|---|---|
| Hatch day at Opeikuma | Chicks are vaccinated at the hatchery and counted into ventilated boxes of 50 | Station agreed and brooder already built |
| Dispatch | Boxes are handed to the vehicle, best in the late afternoon or evening | Phone us to confirm the departure time |
| On the road | Eight to ten hours, ideally through the cool of the night | Light the brooder before you set out for town |
| Arrival | The vehicle reaches the agreed station, ideally around dawn | Be there before it, count each box, phone us about any dead chicks |
| Last leg | Station to farm | Shade, moving air, no stops on the way |
| First hour home | Chicks go under the heat | Water first, feed a little later |
On the road, a hot, airless box kills more chicks than an empty crop does, and that is the case for sending Sefwi orders by night. Even so, expect the chicks to arrive thirsty and tired. Dip the beaks of the first few into the drinker so the others copy them, and keep visitors out of the brooder for the day. The plan for the first 24 hours gives the order of work.
Chicks that arrive dead are replaced free in the next hatch, so count at the station and call us straight away. A replacement has to make the same journey, though, which is one more reason to get the timing right the first time. If losses continue after the first two days, read why chicks die in the first week and call your vet.
Wiawso on the hill, Dwinase below: the last leg home
Wiawso began as a hilltop town. Dwinase, in the lowland beside it, is where the main market and the lorry terminals are. The exact station is agreed with you before dispatch, but wherever it is, plan how the boxes get from the terminal side of town to your farm.
Many Sefwi farms are in cocoa villages off the main road, reached by motorbike, tricycle or shared taxi. For that leg:
- keep the boxes flat and tie them loosely, so the sides are not crushed and the air holes stay open;
- shade them with a light cloth held clear of the holes;
- keep them away from a hot exhaust and out of a closed car boot;
- go straight home, even on a market day.
Where you are along the road also matters. A vehicle coming from Kumasi passes Bibiani, about 64 km before Wiawso, and then Awaso and Sefwi Bekwai, about 20 km before. If you farm in one of those towns, say so on the form. Asawinso is north of Wiawso; Juaboso, Bodi and Akontombra are an hour or more further west. Enchi is about 84 km to the south-west and more than two hours away on that road, so for Enchi please talk to us before you decide. Farmers on the Ashanti side of Bibiani may prefer the Kumasi page.
Cocoa money sets the calendar in Sefwi
About 80 per cent of the municipality's working population farms, and cocoa is the main crop. Cocoa income comes in a season. Purchases of the main crop open in the second half of the year, in recent years between August and October, and the heavy buying runs to about January. A smaller light crop is bought around the middle of the year.
Our reasoning from that, for a poultry farmer:
- December is the peak. Cocoa payments and Christmas arrive together. Broilers take six to eight weeks, so chicks for the Christmas market should be in your brooder from late October to early November.
- Book before the money comes. Many people decide to start poultry when the cocoa payment arrives, and that is the same time farmers all over the country are ordering Christmas broilers. Send the form some weeks earlier.
- Birds eat in the lean months too. A layer flock started on cocoa money must still be fed through the middle of the year. Work out the feed bill for the whole cycle with the poultry profit calculator before you order.
- Sell on market days. The assembly's profile lists Tuesday as market day at Dwinase and Thursday at Asawinso. Confirm locally, then aim to have live birds ready for the market days just before Christmas.
Ninety per cent humidity at night: brooding in the Sefwi forest
Sefwi Wiawso is in the moist semi-deciduous forest. The assembly records 1,524 to 1,780 mm of rain a year with peaks in June to July and September to October, temperatures between 25 and 30 °C, and relative humidity of about 90 per cent at night falling to about 75 per cent by day.
The night is where chicks are lost here. Air that damp, at the low end of the temperature range, chills a chick quickly, and wet litter makes it worse. Keep heat going through the night for the first weeks and have someone look in after dark and before dawn. If you brood with a charcoal pot because the village has no mains power, leave a gap high in the wall or curtain for the fumes to escape.
This is timber country, so wood shavings are usually easy to find. Take them only from untreated wood, and dry them in the sun before use: shavings from a damp heap are wet before the first chick steps on them.
A poultry house under cocoa or forest trees stays cool, but it also stays damp, and the leaf litter around it shelters snakes and rats. Build in a clearing where air can move, keep the grass short, and see our notes on keeping pests out of the poultry house. From about December to February the harmattan brings drier air and cooler nights even this far south; the article on brooding through the seasons covers the adjustments.
Birds for a cocoa household, birds for a business
The assembly describes livestock farming in the municipality as small in scale beside cash crops. From that we reason that much of the chicken and many of the eggs eaten in Sefwi are brought in, and so is most poultry feed. Before you choose a bird, find out where you will buy feed and what it costs landed in Wiawso. We sell poultry feed and quote on request, because at this distance haulage is a large part of the figure.
- Sasso, Kuroiler and Noiler are hardy dual-purpose birds that can find part of their food around a compound. They suit a household that wants meat and eggs without a full feed bill. Sasso starts from GH₵ 13 a chick, Kuroiler and Noiler from GH₵ 11. More on the Sasso, Kuroiler and Noiler page.
- Broilers (Ross 308, Cobb 500, from GH₵ 20) need bought feed from the first day to the last. They make sense for the December market if your feed supply is certain.
- Layers (from GH₵ 23) give eggs daily once they start, but that is commonly 18 to 20 weeks after arrival. It is a long commitment for a first project.
All of these are starting figures as they stood on 2 October 2026; the price page carries any change. As an example sum only, one box of 50 Kuroiler chicks at GH₵ 11 is GH₵ 550 for the chicks, before delivery.
One hatch date, several farms: ordering from Sefwi
The minimum order is one box of 50. Because the journey is long, it is practical for neighbours to order for the same hatch date, so that one person meets the vehicle and one trip brings the boxes back to the village. Each farmer still tells us what they want.
Fill in the order form with the birds, the number of boxes, your town and the week you prefer, or call 024 915 1503. We confirm the price, the hatch date, the delivery cost and the station before you pay. Cash, mobile money and bank transfer are all accepted, and the website does not take payments. Ask what vaccinations your batch received at the hatchery, and give that to your vet or the district veterinary office so they can plan the rest.
Questions from Sefwi Wiawso
How many hours do chicks spend on the road to Sefwi Wiawso?
Usually eight to ten hours by bus or cargo vehicle. By the Kumasi and Bibiani road the distance from Kasoa is about 400 km; a shorter line through Dunkwa-on-Offin is roughly 320 to 355 km on the map. Ask us which route the vehicle is taking and when it is expected before the boxes leave.
Is it safe to send day-old chicks as far as Sefwi Wiawso?
Yes, with planning. A chick's yolk reserve lasts roughly two to three days, so the hours are within its limits, but heat and stale air in the box are real dangers. That is why an evening departure and a dawn collection help on this route. Count the chicks on arrival; any that arrive dead are replaced free in the next hatch.
Where in Sefwi Wiawso will I collect my chicks?
At a station agreed with you before dispatch. Wiawso itself sits on a hill, while the main market and the lorry terminals are in Dwinase in the lowland beside it, so plan how you will carry the boxes from the terminal side of town to your farm, especially if you live in a village off the main road.
When is a sensible time to order chicks in a cocoa-growing area?
Count back from when buyers have money. Chicken sells best in December, when cocoa payments and Christmas meet, so broiler chicks should arrive from late October to early November. That is also the busiest booking period, so send the form weeks ahead, and set aside feed money for the whole cycle before the chicks come.
I live at Juaboso, Akontombra or Enchi. Can you still send chicks?
We can send to a Sefwi Wiawso station, and you carry them onward. Juaboso and Akontombra are an hour or more beyond Wiawso, and Enchi is over two hours to the south-west. Tell us your town when you order so we can discuss honestly whether the total time is acceptable and which arrival hour gives the chicks the best chance.