Day-old chicks for Savannah Region: a year-round plan for Damongo, Bole and the wide open country

A very large region, and why small flocks work best

Savannah Region is the biggest region in Ghana by land area, and also one of the least crowded. Damongo is the regional capital, Bole is an old Gonja town to the southwest, and between and beyond them lie farming villages, cattle camps, cashew and shea orchards, and long stretches of road with little traffic. For a hatchery, that geography shapes everything. A farmer here may be 40 km from the nearest vet and 90 km from the nearest feed shop.

Because of this, the poultry that does best in Savannah Region is usually the bird that forgives a lot: Sasso, Kuroiler, Noiler, guinea fowl, and the sturdy Plymouth Rock. These birds scratch for insects and seeds, cope with a day or two of irregular feeding, and fetch a fair price at village markets and festivals. Fast-growing broilers can work on farms near Damongo or Bole where feed and water are dependable, but they are a bigger risk where supplies are far away.

We therefore advise most first-time farmers in the region to start with one or two boxes, not ten. You can read the full range on our breeds page, and the starting prices are on the price list.

A month-by-month plan for Savannah Region

The savannah has one long rainy season and one long dry season, and almost every decision about poultry follows from that. This calendar is how we talk through timing with farmers in Damongo and Bole. Dates shift a little each year, so treat it as a guide.

The best months to start a batch, in our experience, are October to December. Roads are drying, harvest money is arriving, and the cooler nights make brooding more predictable than in the heat of March. If you plan to sell for Eid or Christmas, count back from the date and tell us when you place the order.

Ask on WhatsApp for the next hatch dates. Local hatches leave every week, and imported chicks need three to four weeks’ notice. For the imported route, see the page on imported day-old chicks.

The road to Damongo and Bole

Damongo is about 640 km from Kasoa, a drive of around 11 to 12 hours. Bole lies on the road to the west and is slightly nearer on some routes. Both are inside the roughly 48 hours that a day-old chick can travel on its yolk reserves, but because this is a long drive, the margin is smaller than it is for the middle belt.

We dispatch the chicks on the day they hatch, in ventilated boxes of 50, with transport that goes to your town station. Once the boxes reach Damongo or Bole you have to treat the clock seriously. A chick that spends another half day in a hot station or a slow ride to a village loses strength.

Practical rules for collection

• Agree a pick-up time with the driver or station agent in advance.
• Send a friend or family member to wait if you cannot be there.
• Take a cool, shaded vehicle if the village is far. A covered pickup or a car with the windows open is better than the back of an open truck.
• If the village is more than three hours from Damongo, consider a stopover with a relative in town, and brood the chicks there for the first night.

These rules are not a burden, only common sense. They are the same steps that make the difference between healthy chicks and weak ones. Our delivery page explains how handover works.

Heat, bush fire smoke and shade in the dry season

In the hottest weeks the savannah can reach 38 °C or more by day. Indoors, a tin-roofed house can be hotter than the outside air. A chick under heat stress breathes with its beak open, holds its wings away from the body and drinks constantly, which rapidly uses up its strength.

The first fix is shade and roofing. Use a roof of thatch or insulated sheets, or place the house under a tree so the sun does not beat directly on the roof. Build walls only to half height and use wire mesh above, so air can pass through at bird level. Whitewash a tin roof with lime if you cannot shade it. Face the long side of the house east to west, not north to south, so the sun does not enter at an angle.

The second fix is timing. Move feeding to the cool hours, early morning and late evening, and keep fresh water in front of the birds all day. Feed eaten in the heat of the afternoon produces more body heat.

The third issue, unique to the dry season, is smoke from bush burning. Heavy smoke irritates the eyes and lungs of young chicks. If fires are close, keep the brooder closed on the smoky side, and talk to your vet if you see sneezing or watery eyes. We vaccinate against infectious bronchitis at the hatchery, but good air is what keeps young birds healthy.

Water and feed when the nearest shop is far away

In a region of long distances, a farmer must plan water and feed on a bigger calendar than a farmer near Accra. A feed shop might be a half-day trip away, and a borehole may be shared by a whole village. Do not leave this to luck.

Water

Count the buckets. A rough rule is that a group of 50 growing birds can drink several buckets a day in hot weather, and the amount rises as they grow. Store water in a covered container in shade; warm water in the sun puts birds off drinking. Wash drinkers daily. If you depend on a hand pump or borehole, check it works before the chicks arrive. If water is carried from a dugout or dam, filter it through a clean cloth and let it settle.

Feed

Chicks need a proper starter feed in their first weeks. Buy enough to last until the next planned trip to town, plus a buffer for a week. Store feed in a closed container off the floor, away from rain and rodents. In the dry season, maize and groundnut residues, termites and insects supplement hardy local-style birds like Kuroiler and Sasso, but they should not replace starter feed for chicks under six weeks old.

For broader budgeting, the article on starting a poultry farm in Ghana on a budget shows how feed dominates the cost of every batch.

Chicks on a farm with cattle, goats and crops

Many farms in Savannah Region keep a mix of animals: cattle or goats in the compound, maize or yam in the field, and a few fowls that wander. Adding a batch of day-old chicks to this setting needs a few adjustments.

• Keep chicks away from large animals. Cattle and goats trample, and their droppings and parasites can reach young chicks. A fenced brooder is essential for the first three weeks.
• Protect from predators. Hawks, snakes, mongooses and village dogs take chicks. Use a roof, wire mesh and a lockable door, and bring the birds in at night.
• Separate by age. Free-range adult birds should not mix with chicks. Adult hens can carry diseases that young chicks are not ready for.
• Plan vaccination boosters. Birds that range widely meet more infection. Take the batch record to your vet and follow your vet’s schedule for boosters.

After about six to eight weeks, hardy breeds such as Sasso and Kuroiler can begin to range in the daytime. Before that, the risk from weather and predators is too high.

Who buys, and what they pay for, around Damongo and Bole

Towns in Savannah Region are small compared with Kumasi or Accra, so the market for chicken is mostly local: households, small restaurants, traders at weekly markets, schools and institutions, and travellers on the main roads. The demand for live birds is stronger than for dressed ones. Customers like to choose a bird, and many families buy a few at a time for celebrations, funerals and naming ceremonies.

Tourism also plays a part. Mole National Park draws visitors to the area around Damongo and Larabanga, and guesthouses and small eateries buy local-style chicken and eggs for guests. A farmer who produces a steady supply of clean eggs or good-sized chickens can build a reliable relationship with these buyers.

For sale prices, ask around your local market before you start. Our own indicative prices, for comparison, are GH₵ 110 for a live broiler of about 2.5 kg, GH₵ 120 for a dressed broiler and GH₵ 150 for a mature cock. Your local price will differ, and you should work from what buyers near you actually pay, not from ours.

The big festivals that matter here include Eid, Christmas and Easter, and the local traditional festivals of the Gonja and neighbouring peoples. Plan your batches around them.

A worked cost example for a Bole farmer

Suppose a farmer in Bole wants a hardy flock that will be ready for sale around Christmas, mostly for neighbours and the local market, with a few guinea fowl for the festive season. Starting prices are as follows; final prices are confirmed in writing.

That GH₵ 2,050 buys the chicks only. Add delivery, which we confirm before you pay, plus feed, bedding, drinkers, lamps or charcoal for the first weeks, and any vet visit. A good test of whether the plan is sound is to ask how many birds you must sell at your local price to cover every cost. If you cannot answer, shrink the batch. We are glad to help with this kind of arithmetic by phone or WhatsApp on +233 24 915 1503.

Brooding in a hot, dry climate: what changes

Standard brooding advice was written for cooler countries. In the savannah, you adapt it. In the first week, chicks need warmth around 32 to 35 °C at chick level, reducing by about three degrees each week. In many Savannah Region weeks the day temperature already provides much of that, and the job of the heat source is to cover the night and the cool early morning.

Use a small, enclosed brooder ring, a few feet across, so that the chicks can find warmth and water easily. Give them room to move away from heat. Use a charcoal pot, a solar-assisted lamp or a lamp on mains power if you have it, and always protect against fire; a spark in a dry thatch roof can destroy the whole house. Keep a bucket of water and sand nearby.

If power is unreliable, have a back-up plan for the night. A cut in electricity at 2 a.m. can chill a whole box, so keep charcoal and a heater ready. Our guide to brooder setup covers the equipment in detail.

Health, vaccines and finding a vet in the savannah

Chicks leave our hatchery vaccinated against Marek’s disease, Newcastle disease, Gumboro, infectious bronchitis and coccidiosis. The batch record tells your vet what was given. In Savannah Region, vets and animal health workers are fewer and further apart, so make contact before the chicks arrive. The district agriculture office in Damongo or Bole can usually point you to a person who handles livestock, including poultry.

Keep a notebook. Write down the date the chicks arrived, the number alive, any deaths and the signs you saw, feed and water use, and any treatment. A farmer who can show a clear record to a vet gets better advice. Follow your vet’s schedule for boosters and treatment rather than guessing.

Quarantine new birds, keep visitors away from the brooder, and bury dead birds deep or burn them away from water sources. Do not leave carcasses where dogs can drag them around the village.

How to order for Savannah Region

Send us a WhatsApp message on +233 24 915 1503, or fill in the order form. Tell us the breed, number of boxes, your town and the date you want the chicks. We reply with a written price including delivery to your station. You pay by mobile money, bank transfer or cash, only once you have the price in writing. One box of 50 is the minimum; orders of 1,000 or more are quoted individually.

If you would like to talk to us before ordering, call. Advice is free before and after delivery. For regional neighbours, see Northern Region, Bono Region and Upper West Region. For guinea fowl, the keets page goes into depth, and the FAQ covers common questions.

Questions farmers ask