Day-Old Chicks for Agona Swedru and the Central Region Interior

Agona Swedru and the Central Region interior

Agona Swedru is a market town in the Central Region, and the farms around it are a mix of family plots and larger holdings. The land supports crops such as maize and cassava, so many households already know how to handle a seasonal rhythm of planting, harvest and lean months. Poultry fits into that rhythm well. A flock can be sold when money is needed, kept for the family table, or raised to meet a regular demand from neighbours.

Our hatchery is in Kasoa, which is in the same region, so the chicks do not have to cross the country to reach the interior. That is one reason keepers in the area choose us. The other is that the breeds we sell suit the way people here actually farm, whether that means a free-ranging flock or a closed house with a steady feed supply.

Why Sasso suits a farm with land

Sasso is a dual-purpose bird, and our Sasso chicks are hatched locally rather than imported. The starting price is GH₵ 13 per chick, or GH₵ 650 for a box of 50. Sasso birds usually grow more slowly than a fast broiler and forage well, so they fit a farm where birds can move about on open ground and pick up part of their diet from the land. That slower pace is not a fault. It is the trade you make for a bird that suits a looser system.

Sasso is also a sensible choice when you want birds for both meat and eggs. Keep the flock for a meat sale at the end of the cycle, or keep some hens for laying. The dual-purpose chickens page explains how keepers plan for both goals, and the breeds page lays the options out side by side.

Ross 308 when you want a faster cycle

Ross 308 is the imported broiler many keepers choose when they want a shorter, more predictable cycle and a bird that carries a fair amount of meat at the end of it. The starting price is GH₵ 20 per chick, or GH₵ 1,000 a box of 50. Ross 308 needs a closer feed programme and a house that can hold the birds dry and warm, so it suits a keeper who can manage a set routine.

Decide before you order whether the birds will be penned or allowed to forage. A Ross 308 flock on open ground will not perform the same way as one in a house with controlled feed. Choose the system first and the breed second. The broiler chick page covers the buying side, and the broiler profit calculator helps you test the sale week against your feed costs.

Sasso and Ross 308 side by side

These two breeds answer different questions, and the table below sets out the basics. Your written quote will confirm the figures for your order, and delivery is quoted separately before you pay.

If the table leaves you undecided, the full price list shows the other breeds we supply, and the poultry calculators hub has tools for testing each option.

Local farming around Swedru and what keepers buy

Keepers in the interior often buy most of their inputs from town. That means feed from a local store or a bigger seller in a regional market, and sometimes a mix of home-grown grain and bought feed to stretch the budget. Cassava peels and maize can be part of a diet for some systems, but they do not replace a balanced feed for a flock that needs to grow quickly. Talk to your feed seller about what suits your birds before you mix anything at home.

Some keepers sell birds at the local market, while others sell to a neighbour or to a buyer who comes to the farm. Ask the buyers in your own town what size and colour they prefer before you decide on a breed. A breed that sells well in one town may move more slowly in the next.

Delivery from Kasoa to the interior

We deliver to all 16 regions, and the interior towns of the Central Region are part of that. Chicks are dispatched on the day they hatch, so the delivery date and the hatch date need to line up. Tell us the date your house is ready and we will plan the hatch around it. The delivery cost is quoted in writing before you pay, so you know the full figure before the crate leaves Kasoa.

Chicks can travel about 48 hours on the yolk they carry, which gives a normal road journey room to work. Keep the crate out of direct sun and away from wind when it is unloaded. On arrival, count the birds with the driver, then message us the same day with the count and a photo of the crate. Chicks found dead when the crate opens are replaced at no cost in the next hatch. The delivery page has the detail, and the delivery guide covers the steps for receiving an order.

Ordering for an interior town, step by step

Ordering from a town away from the coast works the same way as ordering from anywhere else. Have these details ready before you message us, and the quote will come back complete.

1. Choose your breed, Sasso or Ross 308, and the number of boxes of 50.
2. Give the date your house will be ready, or the week you want the chicks.
3. Tell us your town, your farm location and the nearest landmark.
4. Choose your payment method: mobile money, bank transfer or cash.
5. Check the written quote against your message, then confirm.

Orders go in by WhatsApp or phone. If you want to visit the Opeikuma hatchery first, farm visits are by appointment. The frequently asked questions page covers the common points about ordering and payment.

The first week in a village house

A village house may be built from local materials, and that can be a good thing if it is dry, well ventilated and raised off wet ground. The first week is the one that decides how the rest of the cycle goes. Warm the house a day before the chicks arrive, lay clean dry litter, and set the feeders and drinkers where the chicks can reach them without climbing.

Watch the birds closely for the first few days. Look for chicks that are not feeding, huddle at the wall, or stand apart from the group. Note them, check the water and the heat, and call your vet if the problem does not clear. Keep a simple daily log of feed, water and temperature, because the patterns that show up in the log are what you will use to fix the next batch.

Water on an interior farm

Water is the easiest thing to forget when you are busy with feed and housing, and it is the one a flock notices first. Find out where your water comes from before the chicks arrive. A borehole, a well, a stored tank or a supply from the town will each behave differently in the dry months, and you need to know which one you rely on and how much it gives on a hot afternoon.

Keep the drinkers clean and full, and check them more than once a day when the weather is hot. Dirty water sitting in a drinker can carry disease into a flock quickly, so wash the drinkers regularly and keep the water source covered. If you carry water by hand for a small house, plan the trips so the birds never go a whole day without it. A flock that is thirsty will not eat well, and that slows the whole cycle down.

Vaccination and the records you keep

Before they leave us, chicks receive vaccines for Marek's disease, Newcastle disease, Gumboro (IBD), infectious bronchitis and coccidiosis. A batch record comes with the order. In the interior, where a vet may be some distance away, that record is especially useful. Keep it with your farm notes so whoever treats your birds has the starting history in front of them.

Plan your own follow-up work with the vaccination schedule calculator, and check the timing with your vet. A calculator gives you dates to discuss, not a plan to follow without advice.

Protecting the flock from predators and the sun

Predators are a constant worry in open country. Dogs, snakes, rats and raptors all find free-ranging birds, and the young ones are the easiest prey. Keep a secure night shelter, close it every evening, and check the perimeter for gaps. A foraging flock also needs shade during the hottest part of the day, so give them a covered area with clean water close by.

Heat is the other big threat. Birds that are crowded in a hot shed or left in full sun can lose condition quickly. Open the vents, spread the birds out, and bring water to them rather than making them walk far to find it. A little planning in the hot months prevents a lot of losses.

Selling your birds in the local market

Once the birds are ready, the sale is the next job. Start talking to buyers early, while the flock is still growing. Ask what live weight they want, whether they prefer cocks or hens, and whether they will collect from the farm or need you to bring the birds to market. A buyer who knows the date in advance is far more likely to come back for the next batch.

Keep your sale prices in a notebook alongside your feed and chick costs. That way you can see whether each batch covered its costs before you decide how many chicks to order next time. The guide to starting poultry farming in Ghana walks through the planning steps from the first order to the first sale.

Questions farmers ask