Day-old chicks in Ashanti Region: layers, broilers and Sasso delivered to Kumasi

Ordering chicks for Kumasi and the rest of Ashanti

Ashanti is the region where we get the most questions about layers. Kumasi is a huge egg market, the surrounding towns are full of farmers who want steady weekly income rather than a one-off sale, and the region has the maize and cassava belts that keep feed costs under pressure. We hatch in Kasoa and send chicks about 240 km north on the day they hatch, usually a 4 to 5 hour journey. Day-old chicks can safely travel up to about 48 hours on their absorbed yolk, so the trip fits well inside their limit.

To order, send us your breed, number of boxes and the town where you will collect on WhatsApp at +233 24 915 1503, or use the order form. The minimum is one box of 50. We confirm the price and the delivery cost in writing before you pay, and you can pay by mobile money, bank transfer or cash. Free advice comes with every order, before and after delivery.

The rest of this page is written for Ashanti farmers specifically: how the journey is handled, which birds suit your area, how the weather shapes your brooding, and what the numbers look like for a layer unit, which is the project most people around Kumasi ask us about.

The journey from Kasoa to Kumasi, hour by hour

Four to five hours on the road is long enough to deserve a plan. This is how a typical trip runs, so you know what is happening to your chicks and where you fit in.

Why the same-day dispatch matters: the clock on a chick starts the moment it hatches, and a long trip on day two is harder than a trip on day one. We never hold chicks in the hatchery to pad a box.

Our delivery page describes how we move chicks to all 16 regions. The Kumasi trip is one of our regular long runs, and the biggest controllable risk is not the road but the hours between the transport arriving and you opening the box. Be at the station before the vehicle is, or have someone you trust there.

Why layers are the Ashanti favourite, and how the numbers look

Eggs are a daily need in Kumasi, in homes, in chop bars, in schools, in hostels and with the sellers who buy crates for resale. A layer farmer sells all year, whereas a broiler farmer sells once per batch. That steadiness is why Ashanti buyers ask about layer day-old chicks more than almost any other region.

We supply Hy-Line Brown from GH₵ 23 a chick (GH₵ 1,150 a box), Hy-Line White from GH₵ 25.50 (GH₵ 1,275), and Bovans Brown from GH₵ 25.50, with Lohmann Brown available on request. Brown-egg breeds are the usual choice in Ghana because buyers prefer them. All come from European lines, which are bred for high lay when fed and managed properly.

Worked example, a starter layer unit. Two boxes of Hy-Line Brown is 100 chicks at GH₵ 23, so GH₵ 2,300 for the chicks. Our table-egg price is GH₵ 50 per crate of 30. A healthy hen in full lay gives close to one egg a day, so 100 hens in full lay could produce roughly 100 eggs, a little over three crates of 30, which is around GH₵ 150 a day in sales at that crate price. That is an illustration, not a promise; real results depend on feed, health and housing. And remember the wait: layers cost feed for months before the first egg, so plan your cash for that gap.

For a fuller view of money before you start, see starting a poultry farm in Ghana on a budget.

Kumasi’s forest-zone climate and what it means for the brooder

Kumasi sits in the forest zone, wetter and more humid than Accra, with a major rainy season from about April to July and a minor one around September to November. The air stays damp, and nights can be cool in the rains. For day-old chicks, the main hazards are damp litter, which feeds disease, and cold nights that make chicks huddle and pile up.

In practice, that means a house with a dry floor raised or well drained, a roof that does not leak, and curtains or sacks you can drop on the windward side during storms. Use thick dry litter and turn it daily. Wet patches under drinkers are where trouble starts, so check them every morning and evening.

In the dry season, particularly harmattan from roughly December to February, the picture reverses. Dust and dry air irritate chicks’ breathing, and the cool mornings can be harsh. Keep water clean, avoid dusty litter, and keep the brooder warm at night. Our guide to brooder setup before chicks arrive covers heat sources, spacing and feeder and drinker placement. For vaccination or medication after arrival, follow your vet’s schedule; the batch record we give you lists what was done at the hatchery.

Who we deliver to across Ashanti

Ashanti is large, with several different farming settings. We deliver to the town station nearest you, so tell us the town and we confirm the details. Here is how our Ashanti customers tend to divide.

• Kumasi and its suburbs: egg producers, broiler farmers who supply local restaurants, and small backyard units. Space is the main limit here.
• Towns in the northern part of the region, closer to the maize country: farmers who grow their own feed grain and want layers or Sasso to turn it into income.
• Mining and trading towns such as Obuasi: steady meat demand from large working populations.
• Smaller market towns and villages: households who want a few boxes of hardy birds, often Kuroiler or Noiler.

We do not name individual markets or suppliers on this page because we do not want to give you directions we cannot guarantee. What we can promise is that the chicks go to the station you name, and that the cost is agreed in writing first. Your neighbours in Brong-Ahafo’s old poultry belt, now Bono and Ahafo, can look at our Bono Region page, and those across the western border at Western North.

When Sasso, Kuroiler or Noiler suit Ashanti farmers better

Not everyone in Ashanti wants a white broiler or a caged-style layer. Kumasi families and village households often prefer a bird that looks and tastes like the local chicken, grows well on free range with supplementary feed, and sells at a good price for soup and festivals. For those buyers the colored dual-purpose breeds are a better match.

These birds grow slower than the fast broilers but need less intensive management and tolerate rougher conditions. Sasso especially has become popular because the price per chick is lower and you can sell it live at a good price. Our post on which chicks to start compares the three in detail.

Feed is the real cost, and Ashanti has an advantage

On any poultry farm, the chick is the smallest cost. Feed is the largest, and that is where Ashanti farmers have a head start. The region and its neighbours produce a lot of maize, and farmers close to the grain supply can often buy more cheaply or even grow part of it. If you mix your own feed, speak to a qualified nutritionist or feed supplier, because poorly balanced feed ruins the best chick.

We cannot give you a feed price here since it changes through the year and between suppliers, and we will not make one up. What we can say from experience at our hatchery is that:

• Layers eat for roughly five months before laying, so ordering layers without a feed plan is the most common mistake.
• Broilers convert feed quickly, so feed cost per kilo of meat is lowest in the fast breeds.
• Colored breeds eat less per day but take longer, so total feed cost depends on how long you keep them.

Before you order, write down the feed cost for the whole cycle, add the chick cost, add medication and labour, and compare that total against what you can sell for. Our budget guide gives you the shape of that calculation, and our free advice line is open to anyone about to order.

Seasons and festivals in the Ashanti calendar

Ashanti has a strong cultural calendar and a big church and mosque community, and each rhythm affects poultry demand. Christmas and Easter are the largest peaks, as they are across Ghana. Eid raises demand around Muslim communities in Kumasi. Traditional Ashanti festivals, including the Akwasidae gatherings and Odwira, bring families together and extend the calendar of feasts. Funerals, which draw large crowds in Ashanti as elsewhere, are a steady weekend market for birds.

If your target is Christmas broilers, order in October or early November; we explain the timing in Christmas broilers: when to buy chicks. For layers, the timing is different: it is better to start so that your hens come into lay in the dry season, when feed grain is typically cheaper and you are not fighting damp houses. Count back from the date you want first eggs: about 18 to 20 weeks for the typical brown layer.

We keep a list of upcoming hatches and it helps to book ahead, especially if you want imported chicks, which need three to four weeks’ notice. Use the order form and tell us your target date.

What you get with every box going to Ashanti

Every chick leaving our hatchery has been vaccinated against Marek’s disease, Newcastle disease (NCD), Gumboro (IBD), infectious bronchitis and coccidiosis. We give you a batch record, a simple record of the batch and vaccinations, so your vet can plan boosters. If you follow your vet’s schedule from there, you are working from facts rather than guesses.

We replace dead-on-arrival chicks free in the next hatch. The rule is simple: count the chicks on arrival and send a photo on WhatsApp the same day. On a long journey, we appreciate that sometimes a few chicks do not make it, and the replacement policy exists exactly for that.

Our imported chicks come from hatcheries in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with a veterinary health certificate, cleared at Kotoka under a Ghana import permit from the Veterinary Services Directorate. If you want them for Kumasi, remember the extra leg from Accra and book three to four weeks ahead. See imported day-old chicks and the comparison of imported vs local for help choosing.

Five mistakes we see on the Kumasi run

1. Leaving boxes at the station. Be there before the transport, or send someone dependable.
2. Cold or wet brooder. Prepare it hours ahead and check the roof before the rains.
3. Ordering more than the house holds. Overcrowding causes disease and slow growth.
4. Buying layers without a feed plan. Five months of feed come before the first egg.
5. Skipping the vet. Use the batch record and follow your vet’s schedule.

If you want to talk through any of these before ordering, message us at +233 24 915 1503. Neighbouring pages that may help include Eastern Region and Bono East. The general FAQ covers questions that apply everywhere.

Questions farmers ask