Short answer: A layer farm asks for money for about eighteen weeks before it pays anything back. Plan the house and the buyers first, rear the birds to a target weight, and price the whole first year before you order. Our hatchery in Kasoa sells Hy-Line Brown day-old chicks from GH₵23 each, and the smallest order is a box of 50.
Key takeaways
- Budget for about eighteen weeks of feed, labour and power before the first egg.
- Plan about seven hens per square metre on deep litter, then add room for nests, feeders and a walkway.
- Switch to layer feed when about 5 per cent of the flock is laying, not on a fixed date.
- Find your egg buyers before the flock lays, and agree a weekly collection route.
- Keep the batch record and a weekly weight check through the rearing months.
Decide what you are building before you order
Most people who start a layer farm plan carefully for the first egg. The farms that struggle are the ones that planned nothing for the eighteen weeks before it.
Write down three things before anything else. How many hens you want in the house at peak. Which breed you can buy reliably, in the box size you need. And who will buy the eggs every week, by name, at a price you have agreed. If you cannot answer that third question, you are not ready to order chicks. A flock of 300 that lays well is worth nothing if the eggs sit in the store because nobody agreed to collect them.
For a first farm we tend to suggest somewhere between 200 and 500 hens. Under 200 and the fixed costs, meaning water, power, the house and your own time, weigh too heavily on each egg. Over 500 and you need help on the farm, a proper egg store and a buyer who takes eggs in volume.
Decide on the house type early too. Deep litter is the easier start for most beginners. Cages hold more hens per square metre and give cleaner eggs, but they cost more to build, and a ventilation mistake hurts more birds at once. Read the battery cage vs deep litter comparison before you draw a plan.
The calendar from chick to first egg
Here is how the months usually run for a flock started from day-old chicks. The weeks are typical. Your flock will move a little either way, and the birds set the pace, not the calendar on the wall.
| Stage | Weeks from arrival | What you are doing |
|---|---|---|
| Build and test | Before chicks arrive | House finished, brooder heated, feed and water on hand |
| Brooding | 0 to 4 | Chicks kept warm and fed starter, vaccinated as your vet advises |
| Growing | 5 to 10 | Move to grower feed, check weights, sort out weak birds |
| Pullet rearing | 11 to 17 | Keep weights on target, prepare the house, watch light and feed |
| Point of lay | 18 to 20 | Switch to layer feed once about 5 per cent of the flock is laying |
| Peak lay | Roughly 26 to 40 | Egg numbers at their highest, and the time you need buyers lined up |
Eighteen weeks of cost before income is the number that surprises people. Our hatchery sends day-old chicks, so the rearing time, feed and labour are yours from the day the box is opened. If your cash plan depends on the exact week, the layer start-of-lay guide goes deeper on timing.
Housing: floor space first, roof second
On deep litter, plan about seven hens per square metre. For 300 hens that is around 43 square metres of floor. That figure is the bare floor, before nest boxes, feeders, drinkers and a walkway. Most first-time builders forget the walkway. A house sized exactly to the birds leaves you climbing over them to collect eggs, and the hens that get trodden on or pushed off the feed stop laying.
For 300 hens we would plan around 60 square metres and be glad of the extra. Ventilation matters as much as space. The coast is hot and humid for much of the year, and the harmattan brings dust and cold mornings from December to February. Open sides with airflow, and a roof that keeps rain off the litter, will do more for your flock than any fan you buy later. The ventilation guide shows how to check airflow before the birds arrive.
Before you buy the first chick, check that the house has:
- A roof that keeps the litter dry through the rainy season
- A door you can lock, and wire or mesh that keeps dogs, rats and snakes out
- One nest box for every four or five hens
- Perches or a raised area if your system uses them
- Room for a feeder line and a drinker line that you can reach without walking through the litter
Buying the birds: breed, box and the arrival check
Our starting prices for layer chicks are GH₵23 each for Hy-Line Brown, and GH₵25.50 each for Hy-Line White and Bovans Brown. Lohmann Brown is quoted on request. These are starting prices, and we confirm the price in writing before you pay. A box of 50 Hy-Line Brown is GH₵1,150, and one box is the smallest order we take.
Brown birds are the safer bet for most beginners. Egg buyers in Kasoa and Accra often ask for brown eggs, and a brown shell needs no explaining. White birds are lighter and eat less per egg, which matters when feed is your biggest cost. Choose the bird your buyer wants first and the feed economics second. The brown vs white eggs comparison covers the market side in more detail.
When the box arrives, count the chicks before you sign for it. Note any dead on arrival and send us a photo on WhatsApp on +233 24 915 1503 the same day. Dead on arrival is replaced free in the next hatch. Keep the batch record we send with the order. It lists the vaccines given at the hatchery, and your vet will ask for it the first time a bird looks off.
Rearing to point of lay without wasting feed
Rearing is where most layer farms lose money without noticing. A pullet that grows slowly eats the same feed as one that grows on target, and it starts laying later. The aim is steady weight across the flock, not the biggest bird in the pen.
Start warm and bring the heat down gradually, following the brooder temperature chart for the week you are in. Chicks that huddle at the edge of the brooder are telling you it is too cold. Chicks that stand well away from the heat, panting, are telling you it is too hot. Watch the birds, not only the thermometer.
Weigh a sample of birds every week. Pick about one bird in twenty at random, weigh them on the same scale, and write down the average. If the flock falls behind target for two weeks running, look at feed, water and crowding before you blame the breed. Follow your vet's advice on the booster schedule for the vaccines we give at the hatchery, because timings depend on your flock and the disease pressure near you.
Do not step up the light during rearing. Early light brings pullets into lay before their bodies are ready, and then they stop. The lighting program guide sets out when to change day length and why the timing matters.
Feeding and watering once the hens lay
A laying hen eats roughly 100 to 120 grams of layer feed a day. Use 110 grams as your planning figure. For 300 hens that is about 33 kilograms a day, so a 50 kilogram bag is gone in a day and a half. Work that number out before you sign any feed contract, because it tells you how much cash the flock needs every week.
Water is the number people forget. A hen that drinks less eats less, and her eggs suffer with it. Count your drinker places against the flock, clean them every day in the first month of lay, and check that the supply does not run dry in the afternoon heat. Shell quality, and the question of grit and oyster shell, is covered in the calcium and oyster shell guide.
Fill the feeder in the morning and check the trough again before you lock up. Wet, mouldy feed in a corner is money you have already spent, and it can make birds sick. Store feed off the floor and out of the rain.
A worked first-year example with real starting prices
Here is a rough first-year picture for 300 Hy-Line Brown hens, using the starting price for the chicks and a planning figure for eggs. Treat it as the order of magnitude, not a forecast.
| Line | Working | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Chicks, Hy-Line Brown | 6 boxes of 50 at GH₵1,150 a box | GH₵6,900 |
| Eggs in one peak month | 300 hens at about 85 per cent lay, 255 eggs a day for 30 days | About 7,650 eggs |
| Crates from that month | 7,650 eggs at 30 to a crate | 255 crates |
| Gross at our listed crate price | 255 crates at GH₵50 | GH₵12,750 |
| Feed for the same month | 33 kg a day for 30 days, at your own bag price | Your figure |
The gross looks generous until you take the feed out. At 33 kilograms a day, feed is the biggest monthly bill, and it moves with the market. Ask your supplier for this month's price and use that, not last year's. The example shows one thing clearly. Chicks are a one-time bill, feed is a monthly bill, and eggs only pay if the flock lays on time and every crate sells. Peak lay is short. For most of the year the flock sits below the peak figure, so plan your cash for an ordinary month, not the best one.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Find the buyers while the birds are still growing
The best time to find buyers is during rearing, when you still have months to go and nothing to sell. Walk the shops, the bakeries, the hotels that serve breakfast and the households who buy eggs by the tray. Ask what size they want, how often, and at what price. Write it down. A buyer who agrees to a weekly route is worth more to you than a one-off order from a stranger in December.
Sell by grade. Small, medium and large eggs do not fetch the same price, and a crate with mixed sizes invites a buyer to pay for the smallest. The egg grading guide sets out how the grades usually work. Keep the eggs cool and clean, and tell your buyers how long they will keep. The table egg storage guide has the detail.
Keep the numbers too. A daily count of eggs collected, eggs sold and feed used tells you more than any forecast does. Start with the sheets in the record keeping guide.
Four mistakes that sink first-time layer farms
- Buying to the house, not to the buyer. The number the building holds gets ordered, and then nobody is waiting to take the eggs when the peak arrives.
- Stepping up the light too early. The birds come into lay on the calendar you gave them, not the one their bodies can manage.
- Ignoring the weekly weight. A flock 150 grams behind target at week 12 rarely catches up by point of lay.
- Running out of layer feed on the switch day. Buy the layer bags before the switch, not on it.
Checklist before the first chick arrives
- House finished, dry and ventilated, and tested with a full day of feed and water in it
- Brooder heated and checked at chick height, with a spare heat source ready
- Chick starter, grower and layer feed ordered, with a date for each switch
- Drinkers and feeders counted against the flock size, plus a spare drinker for the first week
- Buyers named for the first eggs, with at least one price agreed in writing
- Vaccination plan agreed with your vet, using the batch record as the starting point
- A sheet for daily eggs, feed, deaths and weights
- Our number saved, +233 24 915 1503, and the order form at /#order for the next box
Questions farmers ask
How much money do I need to start a layer farm with 300 hens in Ghana?
The chicks alone for 300 Hy-Line Brown come to GH₵6,900 at our starting price, confirmed when you order. The larger sums go on the house, drinkers and feeders, and about eighteen weeks of feed, labour and power before the first egg. Write that total down line by line before you borrow, and add a margin for feed prices moving. Buyers and lenders will ask for it.
How long does a layer farm take to make money?
Usually more than a year from the day the chicks arrive, because you carry about eighteen to twenty weeks of rearing cost first. After that the flock lays through its peak and into the months that follow. How soon you break even depends on the price of feed, the number of eggs sold each week and whether every crate sells. Run the first-year example with your own numbers before you decide.
Should I buy day-old chicks or birds already at point of lay?
Day-old chicks cost less per bird, and you control the rearing, but you carry the rearing risk and the time. Birds already at point of lay cost more, and you start earning sooner, but you need to trust the source and check the health history. Our advice is to rear your own if you have the house and the patience, and to read the point of lay guide if you are weighing the other route.
How many hens fit in one square metre?
On deep litter we plan about seven hens per square metre of floor, which keeps the litter workable. That is before nest boxes, feeders, drinkers and walkways, so the house needs more floor than the hen count alone suggests. Cage systems hold more birds per square metre but need more careful ventilation and daily checks. Start from seven and adjust with your vet or extension officer.
When should I switch to layer feed?
Switch when about 5 per cent of the flock is laying, which for brown hybrids usually falls around 18 to 19 weeks. Do not switch on a date alone. A late flock on layer feed too early wastes money, and an early flock kept on grower feed lays less than it could. Change over a few days where you can, and keep the trough fresh each morning.
What breed should a beginner choose for a layer farm in Ghana?
Hy-Line Brown is a common first choice because it is widely available and gives the egg size and colour most markets ask for. Bovans Brown is a close alternative at the same starting price, and Lohmann Brown is quoted on request. Whichever you pick, buy from a hatchery that gives you a batch record and a clear dead on arrival rule, and compare the options in the best layer breeds guide.
Do I need electricity for a layer house?
Not always, but you do need light for the birds to find feed and water, and a steady light programme keeps laying even. Where the power cuts often, plan a backup for the lights and the water pump. The lighting and electricity guide sets out what to power and what you can leave off on a simple setup.
