Short answer: A family flock of three to eight hens gives eggs most weeks, and a bird when you need one, if the coop is clean and the feed is steady. The catch is the minimum order. We sell day-old chicks in boxes of 50, so most families share a box with neighbours or look for grown birds locally. Keep the coop away from the kitchen, and wash hands after handling the birds.
Key takeaways
- Plan for three to eight hens for a household, not fifty.
- Share a box of 50 day-old chicks with neighbours, or buy grown birds from a known source.
- Keep the coop out of the kitchen and away from where children sleep.
- Wash hands with soap after handling birds, eggs or the coop, and before eating.
- Feed a complete layer ration first and give scraps last, in small amounts.
Six hens sounds small until you try to buy them
Six hens sounds like a small job. Then you go to buy six chicks and find out that the smallest order is a box of 50.
We say this plainly because a family does not need fifty birds, and a family that lands with fifty chicks in the back yard usually gives most of them away in a hurry. Our minimum order is one box of 50 day-old chicks. That suits a commercial start, where the box is the unit of work. It does not suit a household that wants a dozen birds and a few eggs. Know that before you plan the coop.
Four ways a family can start a small flock
Each route has a job it does well and a trap it sets. Here they are side by side.
| Route | How it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Share a box | Five families split a box of 50 chicks, about 10 each | Agree the split, the vaccines and the handover before the box arrives |
| Grown birds locally | Buy young or laying birds from a farm or a market | Ask for the health history, check for mites, and do not mix in unknown birds |
| Broody hen | A hen sits on eggs and raises the chicks herself | You need a hen that goes broody, a quiet nest and a lot of patience |
| Full box, sell the extras | Keep the whole box and sell or give away the spare birds | Needs a buyer or neighbour ready on the day the chicks arrive |
Sharing is the route that tends to work best for families, because the cost and the work both split. Put the arrangement in writing with the families you share with. Settle who collects the box, who takes the first night in the brooder, who keeps any cockerel, and who gets the first eggs.
How many birds a household really needs
Hens lay less than people expect during the harmattan and the moult, and they stop when they go broody. Plan for a few more birds than you think you need, and never count on a single hen.
| Household | Hens | Eggs a day in a good season |
|---|---|---|
| Two or three people | 3 to 4 | 2 to 3 |
| Four to six people | 6 to 8 | 4 to 5 |
| Seven or more, or eggs to sell | 10 to 12 | 7 to 9 |
In a good season a laying hen gives an egg most days, a little less than that in the heat. The figures above assume hens in their first laying season and fed properly. Older hens lay less, and the numbers fall as the year goes on. The how many eggs a hen lays guide goes through breed and age differences.
Where to keep them: a shed, not the kitchen
A family coop should sit at the back of the yard, away from the kitchen door, the washing line and the room where children sleep. Chickens carry bacteria on their feet and feathers, and dust from a dry run ends up on everything nearby. Keep the coop clean and dry, and keep the birds out of the house.
Give each bird about 0.3 square metres inside the coop, with roost bars and one nest box for every four or five hens. If the yard allows, add an outdoor run fenced against dogs. The cheap chicken coop guide shows how to build one from materials you can find locally, and the feeders and drinkers guide covers the water side.
Feeding: layer ration first, scraps last
Buy a complete layer ration for laying hens, or a grower ration for birds still growing. Keep it in a sealed bin off the floor, and fill the feeder each morning. Scraps are a treat on top of the ration, not a substitute for it. A family that feeds only bread, rice and leftovers ends up with thin hens and few eggs.
Give scraps last, in small amounts, and remove what is left within an hour. Cooked rice, peelings and green leaves are fine. Salty food, mouldy bread, rotten fruit and anything fried in old oil are not. The kitchen scraps guide has a fuller list. Change the water every day, because a dirty drinker is the quickest route to a sick hen.
Children and chickens: hygiene first
Children love chickens, and chickens do well with the attention. The risk is in the handling. Birds can carry salmonella in their droppings and on their feathers, even when they look perfectly healthy. A child who holds a chick and then eats with the same hand has done the riskiest thing in the yard.
Set three rules and hold to them. Wash hands with soap after touching birds, the coop or the eggs, and before eating. Keep food and drink away from the coop and the run. Supervise young children around the birds until they follow the rules without being reminded. Egg collection is a good job for a child, with a basket and a wash afterwards. The egg washing guide shows the right way to clean eggs before they go into the kitchen.
Neighbours, noise and the cockerel question
The cockerel is the reason most backyard flocks end up in an argument with a neighbour. He crows at dawn and sometimes before. You can keep hens without him. They will lay without him, but those eggs will not hatch. If you want chicks from your own hens, you need one cockerel for roughly every ten hens.
Talk to the neighbours before the flock arrives. Tell them how many birds you plan to keep and whether there will be a cockerel. A neighbour who knows the plan is far more forgiving than one who hears the first crow and has to ask. The cockerel farming guide covers the male birds in more depth, including what to do with the extras.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Brooding the chicks in a shed
The first weeks need heat. A brooder can be a corner of the shed, boxed in with a wall of cardboard or timber, with a heat source above the chicks and a thermometer at chick height. Start warm, then raise or lower the heat by watching the chicks. The brooder ring guide shows a layout a family can build from a few sheets of cardboard and a lamp, and the first 48 hours guide covers arrival day.
Keep the brooder away from the kitchen and the children's sleeping room. Chicks in a house make dust and smell, and the smell is worst in the first month. Move them to the coop once they are feathered and the weather is warm enough. Ask your vet when that is for your area and season.
Mistakes families make with their first flock
- Keeping birds in the kitchen, or in a room where people sleep.
- Feeding bread and leftovers as the main diet, then wondering why the eggs are small.
- No roost bars, so the birds sleep on the floor and get cold and dirty.
- Leaving the coop open at night because the birds seem safe in the yard.
- No plan for the hens that stop laying, so the flock grows and nobody knows which birds to keep. The spent layers guide helps with that decision.
Checklist for a family starting out
- Agreed number of birds, and a clear plan for who gets the box if you share it
- Coop built or bought, with roosts, a nest box for every four or five hens and a lock
- Brooder ready with heat, a thermometer and a clean corner away from the kitchen
- Layer ration and grower ration kept in a sealed bin off the floor
- Drinkers and a feeder that small children cannot knock over
- Soap and water by the coop, and a rule that nobody eats near the birds
- Neighbours told the number of birds, and whether there is a cockerel
- Your vet's number written inside the coop door, and the Halaal Farms number, +233 24 915 1503, for chick orders
Questions farmers ask
How many chickens should a family start with in Ghana?
Three to four hens suit a household of two or three, and six to eight suit four to six people. That gives a few eggs most days in the first laying season. Twice that is only worth it if you want eggs to sell or have a large family. Start with fewer hens than you think you need, and add a few once you know the coop and the routine work.
Can a family buy just a few day-old chicks from you?
Our minimum order is one box of 50 day-old chicks, so a family needs to share a box with neighbours or look for grown birds locally. We can help you plan the split, and the batch record comes with the box. Call or WhatsApp +233 24 915 1503 to talk the split through before you order.
Are backyard chickens safe to keep around children?
Yes, with rules. Children should wash their hands with soap after handling birds, eggs or the coop, and before eating. Keep food and drink away from the birds, and supervise young children closely. Birds can carry salmonella even when healthy, so the hygiene routine matters more than the breed.
How much feed does a backyard hen eat?
A laying hen eats roughly 100 to 120 grams of layer ration a day, so six hens need under a kilogram. Give scraps on top in small amounts, never instead of the ration. Keep the feed sealed off the floor, because damp feed goes mouldy quickly in the rainy season.
Do I need a cockerel to get eggs?
No. Hens lay without a cockerel. You need one only if you want fertile eggs that will hatch. Roughly one cockerel for every ten hens is the usual ratio. A single cockerel in a small yard can be loud, so talk to your neighbours first.
Which breed is best for a family flock?
Calm birds that lay steadily suit most families. Plymouth Rock, at GH₵7 a chick on our list, is a common choice for a dual-purpose flock. The best backyard chickens guide compares breeds on temperament, egg output and how they handle small spaces.
What do I do when a hen stops laying?
Check the obvious causes first: a broody hen, a moult, illness or a poor diet. If she is older and has stopped for good, you can keep her as a pet, give her to a neighbour, or use her for the pot. The spent layers guide covers the choice, and the decision is yours to make.
