Ordering Day-Old Chicks: Deposits and the Process

Work backwards from the day the brooder is ready

The most common ordering mistake is working forwards. A farmer finishes the house, then phones the hatchery and asks for chicks that same week. Chicks cannot be produced to order in a week. A chick takes 21 days from egg to hatch, and the eggs must be set in the incubator long before anyone sees a chick. Setters run at around 37.5 °C for the first 18 days, and the eggs then move to the hatcher for the final stage. So the real order date is three weeks before the day you need the chicks, not the day you feel ready.

Try it with a real date. If your brooder will be ready on 2 December, the eggs for those chicks were set on or about 11 November. That is why the December rush starts in November, and why demand around Christmas fills the calendar early. A farmer who orders in the first week of December is asking for chicks that were never set in the incubator.

Write your target date on the calendar first, then count back. Everything else in this guide depends on that date.

Step one: choose the breed and how many boxes

Start with the job the chicks will do. Broilers are for meat, layers are for eggs, a dual-purpose or local-type bird suits a mixed family flock, and Sasso is a free-range line that grows a little more slowly than a broiler and suits a range system. If you are unsure, the breeds page sets out what each one is for before you commit to a price.

Once the breed is settled, work out the number of boxes. A box holds 50 chicks, so the box total is the price per chick multiplied by 50. The starting prices below are "from" prices, updated on 18 October 2026, and they are confirmed at order.

The table is a starting point. The figure on the written quote is the one you pay, and if the quote and the table ever disagree, the quote wins and you should ask us why.

If you are buying meat birds, the broiler day-old chicks page explains what we supply for that job. Layer buyers should read the layer page before choosing between brown and white lines, because the two are not interchangeable in a laying house.

Minimums, and the line where orders are quoted one by one

The minimum order is one box of 50. Orders of 1,000 chicks or more are quoted individually, because at that size the hatch plan, the dispatch and the delivery have to be worked out with you rather than read from a price list. If you are planning a large house, call before you settle on the number. Our bulk day-old chicks page explains what changes at that scale.

Here is how the numbers grow for the two breeds most buyers compare:

Notice what the table does not include. It does not include delivery, and it does not include any deposit. Those two lines come from your quote, and they can change the money you actually pay, so read the quote before you do the arithmetic in your head.

What belongs on the written quote

The quote protects both sides of the order. If it is not on paper or in a message you can keep, it is not a quote, and you should not pay against it. Before any money moves, make sure these lines are on it:

1. The breed or line, named exactly as it will appear on the batch record.
2. The number of chicks and the number of boxes.
3. The price per chick and the box total.
4. The hatch or dispatch date you have agreed.
5. Delivery or collection, and the delivery cost.
6. The deposit amount, if one applies to your date, and when the balance falls due.
7. The payment methods and the account name the money goes into.
8. The dead-on-arrival rule, in one sentence.

Ask for the quote in writing even on a small order. We confirm the price at order, so the figure you pay should be the one on the page you were sent. If a line is missing, ask for it to be added before you pay, not after the chicks are on the way.

Deposits: what they are for, and what to ask

A deposit holds a place in the hatch for your date. Chicks do not sit on a shelf waiting for buyers. When you ask for a date, the hatchery commits eggs, incubator space and time to it, so the buyer's share of that commitment is the deposit and the rest is the balance. Whether your date needs one, and how much, is written on your quote. We will not give a deposit figure in this guide, because it depends on the breed, the date and the quantity.

Ask four questions about any deposit, from any hatchery:

• What is the amount, and what exactly does it secure?
• When is the balance due, and how do I pay it?
• What happens if I need to move the date?
• Is the deposit refundable, and if so, under what conditions?

Get the answers before you pay. A hatchery that will not answer those questions in writing is asking you to take the whole risk alone. A good hatchery will answer them plainly, and it will be just as clear when the answers need to change.

Paying by mobile money, bank transfer or cash

We accept mobile money, bank transfer and cash. We do not take online payment. Whichever method you use, keep the proof, because the proof is what lets us match your money to your order quickly.

Before you send any money, look at the account name. If the name on the account does not match the business on the quote, stop and ask. It may be a simple mistake, or it may be someone pretending to be a hatchery, and either way you want to know before the money leaves your phone.

Confirm the delivery cost before any money moves

We deliver to all 16 regions of Ghana. The cost depends on where the chicks are going and the route they take, so it is confirmed with you before payment. You can also collect from the farm, which removes the delivery line altogether. That is worth considering if you live near Kasoa and can bring a vehicle that carries boxes level and steady.

Ask for the delivery figure on the quote, then ask what happens if the chicks have to go to a bus station or a drop point rather than your door. A changed route is a reason to talk, and the cost should be on the quote before you pay, not added on the morning of dispatch.

The full details of how we deliver, and how the boxes travel, are on the delivery page. If you are based in or around Kasoa, the Kasoa page covers collection and short local runs.

The timeline from quote to dispatch

An order runs on a timeline, and each side has a job at each stage. The table below is the pattern we work to. Your own dates will shift with the season, so use it as a shape rather than a fixed calendar.

The step most people rush is the second one. The date only becomes solid once the money is agreed against a written quote, so do not wait until the week before to sort it out.

What to have ready before dispatch day

Chicks wait for nobody. Have the brooder warm before the box is due, with the water and feed in place, the record sheet on the wall and a phone that will be answered. Name one receiving contact, with a number, in case the person who placed the order is out on the farm when the vehicle arrives. A box left on a roadside while the buyer hunts for a phone is a box that gets worse by the minute.

Our guide to setting up a brooder ring covers the physical layout, and the imported day-old chicks page is the place to read about birds that come in from abroad, where the timing and paperwork are a little different.

If you are planning several batches, put the dispatch days in the calendar now. Staggered boxes are easier to manage than three boxes arriving on the same morning into one brooder.

Ordering mistakes that cost a week, or a flock

These are the errors we see most often when a buyer's first order goes wrong. Each one is avoidable with a few minutes of checking.

• Ordering a breed you have not planned housing or feed for.
• Settling the quantity by feel, then finding that one box leaves you short of a full house.
• Paying before the quote is written down, so there is nothing to check the payment against.
• Assuming the price on a website or an old message still applies to the date you want.
• Forgetting the delivery cost, then paying the balance short and waiting for the rest.
• Calling in the first week of December for chicks to be brooded that week.

The last one is the most expensive. In the run-up to Christmas, the calendar fills early and the chicks that were set three weeks earlier are the only ones that exist. Ask for the date you need well in advance, then plan the brooder around it.

How to place your order with us

Use the order form, or WhatsApp +233 24 915 1503 with the breed, the number of boxes, your location and the date you need the chicks. We will reply with a written quote. You can also email support@halaalfarms.com, and farm visits are by appointment if you want to see the hatchery first.

If you are not sure which breed suits your site, read the breed guide before you order. A quote for the wrong bird is still the wrong bird, however quickly it arrives. Our frequently asked questions answer the questions most buyers ask before their first order, and the where to buy page sets out how buyers in different areas usually get their chicks.

For buyers who are still comparing suppliers, our guide on how to choose a trustworthy hatchery lists the questions to ask before you pay anyone.

Questions farmers ask