Day-old chicks in Western Region: raising birds through the rains, Takoradi to Tarkwa

In Western Region, the rain decides how you farm

Western Region is the wettest corner of Ghana’s coast and forest belt. Rain comes heavily in the main season, from about April to July, returns in a shorter season around September to November, and the air stays humid between. For a poultry farmer, the weather is not background; it is the main management problem. Wet litter, damp feed and cold, draughty nights cause more losses here than anything else we hear about from Takoradi and Tarkwa customers.

So we have organised this page around the rain. It covers how to read your calendar, how to build a house that stays dry, how to handle the first week when chicks arrive after a 3 to 4 hour road trip, and which birds cope best. The demand side is covered too, because Takoradi, Tarkwa and the surrounding towns are busy places with steady appetite for chicken and eggs.

To order, send breed, number of boxes and the town to +233 24 915 1503 on WhatsApp or use the order form. Minimum order is one box of 50. We confirm price and delivery cost in writing before you pay.

A month-by-month look at the Western Region poultry year

This is a general guide, since seasons shift from year to year. Use it to decide when to start each batch.

The practical lesson is to plan your hardest brooding for the drier months where you can, and treat the main rains as a time for stricter hygiene. If your market calls for birds at Christmas, you need chicks roughly six weeks plus lead time before, which falls in the second rains, so build the house for it. Our article on when to buy chicks for Christmas shows the count-back.

Weather patterns can vary, so check local forecasts and your own experience of the past few years rather than assuming the table above is exact.

Building a house that stays dry

If you can only improve one thing before your chicks arrive, make it the floor and the roof. A few ideas that work in wet areas:

• Site on higher ground. Water should run away from the house, not into it. Dig a drain around the outside if the plot is flat.
• Raise the floor. A floor slightly above the surrounding ground, or well compacted and drained, keeps the litter from soaking up from below.
• Wide eaves. Roofs with generous overhang stop driving rain from blowing in at the sides.
• Adjustable sides. Use curtains or sacks that can be dropped quickly in a storm and rolled up when the weather clears. Good airflow is still needed once rain stops, or humidity builds.
• Deep dry litter. Start with a thick layer of dry shavings or similar, turn it daily, and remove wet patches at once, especially under drinkers.

Wet litter does two things: it produces ammonia that irritates chicks’ eyes and lungs, and it creates the conditions in which coccidiosis, a gut parasite, spreads. All our chicks are vaccinated against coccidiosis at the hatchery, but that does not make wet litter safe. Management and vaccination work together. For health questions, follow your vet’s schedule, and use the batch record we provide.

Our brooder setup guide has a full checklist for the first week.

Getting chicks from Kasoa to Takoradi and Tarkwa

From our hatchery to Takoradi is about 190 km, and the drive usually takes 3 to 4 hours, with a coastal road that is generally busy but straightforward. Tarkwa, inland, is a similar journey, depending on route and conditions. We dispatch chicks the day they hatch, in ventilated boxes of 50, with trusted transport to the station in your town. We confirm the delivery cost with you before you pay.

A newly hatched chick has a yolk reserve and can travel up to about 48 hours, so a 3 to 4 hour trip is comfortably within safe limits. The risks on this run are not the length but two things specific to the west: rain on the road, which can slow transport and wet the boxes if they are badly covered, and the heat and humidity inside a crowded vehicle. We use ventilated boxes and ask transport to keep them shaded and dry.

On your side, three habits help. First, check the weather and have a tarp or cover ready if you collect yourself. Second, be at the station before the vehicle arrives. Third, carry boxes straight to a pre-warmed brooder. If the chicks arrive damp, dry the boxes and keep the chicks warm, but do not use a hairdryer or open flame near them. Read the delivery page for the full process.

Who is buying chicks in Western Region

Western Region has a mix of city, port, mining and farming economies, and each produces a different kind of poultry customer.

• Sekondi-Takoradi: a busy twin city with a port, offices, hotels and an oil and gas presence. Restaurants, hotels and catering firms want consistent chicken, which suits broiler farmers on the outskirts.
• Tarkwa and surrounding mining areas: large working populations and many small eateries create steady demand for meat birds and eggs.
• Coastal and fishing communities: households that keep a few birds as a second income or for festivals.
• Farming towns with oil palm, rubber and cocoa: families who want a practical flock alongside their tree crops.

Not every customer needs the same bird. City-edge broiler farmers want Ross 308 or Cobb 500. Rural households often do better with Sasso, Kuroiler or Noiler, which cope with rougher conditions and look like the local bird buyers know. Egg sellers choose layers. We do not guess which markets exist in your town; you know that better than we do, so the first step is to decide where you will sell and work backward.

Choosing a breed that copes with a wet climate

No breed likes wet conditions, but some forgive mistakes more than others. Here is our honest view as hatchery people.

If you are a first-time farmer in a high-rainfall area, there is a case for starting with one box of Sasso or Kuroiler or Noiler to learn the ropes, then moving to fast broilers once your house is proven dry. Fast broilers give faster returns but leave less room for error. Read which chicks to start before you decide.

Guinea fowl keets (see guinea fowl keets) are more commonly associated with the north, but farmers elsewhere keep them; they are delicate in the first weeks and must be kept warm and dry.

Cost example: a Takoradi-edge broiler start

Say you have a covered, drained house for about 150 birds on the edge of Takoradi and want to supply a few eateries. You order three boxes of Ross 308 for 150 chicks.

• Chicks: 150 × GH₵ 20 = GH₵ 3,000
• Delivery: confirmed with you in writing before you pay (we do not quote a fixed fee here)

If the birds reach about 2.5 kg, our live-broiler price of GH₵ 110 would put the value of 150 birds at GH₵ 16,500, and the dressed price of GH₵ 120 at GH₵ 18,000. Feed, medication, litter, labour, transport and any losses come out of that. In wet places, plan more for litter and for time spent on cleaning.

The point of working this out first is to see whether the margin justifies the effort and risk. If you change to Sasso, 150 chicks at GH₵ 13 is GH₵ 1,950, which is cheaper to start but needs more time and feed to reach selling size. You can try different quantities in the cost calculator on this page, and read our guide on starting a poultry farm on a budget. Prices are updated 18 October 2026 and confirmed when you order; see all of them on the prices page.

The first week after arrival in a humid climate

A day-old chick can look tired after a few hours in a box, but healthy chicks perk up quickly under warmth, water and feed. Here is how we advise Western Region farmers to run the first week.

1. Warm the brooder before the box arrives. In humid air, warmth feels different; the room can feel mild but the floor can be cold. Check the floor with your hand.
2. Offer water first. Dip beaks gently. Then give feed.
3. Watch distribution. Huddled means cold, panting at edges means hot, even spread means right.
4. Keep air moving. In humid air, a closed brooder becomes stuffy. Open the upper parts of the sides a little while keeping the floor level warm and draught-free.
5. Remove wet litter daily. Never wait.
6. Keep records. Count losses each morning.

If you have trouble, message us. Advice is free before and after delivery, and we can talk through what you are seeing. For any medication or additional vaccination, follow your vet’s schedule. Counts on arrival matter too: dead-on-arrival chicks are replaced free in the next hatch if you count on arrival and send a photo on WhatsApp the same day.

When demand peaks in the west

Christmas and Easter lead, as everywhere in Ghana, and Eid matters in the Muslim communities of the region’s towns. The Western Region also has its own cultural calendar, including celebrations along the coast and among the Nzema, Ahanta and Wassa communities, though we will not claim to know every date; check local announcements. Funerals and weddings, which are weekend fixtures across the region, bring steady orders for caterers.

Because the main rains run from April to July, a batch of birds meant for the festive season will be raised in the second rains or the drier months that follow. Chicks started in late October will be ready around early December. For imported chicks, which need three to four weeks’ notice, you should order earlier. If you cannot get enough space in time, consider staggering batches rather than one big one.

For a broader look at running several cycles, see the hub of all our regional guides and compare conditions with our Central Region and Western North pages.

How to order for Western Region

Ordering is simple. Choose breed and boxes, message us, and we confirm in writing.

• Contact: WhatsApp or phone +233 24 915 1503, email support@halaalfarms.com, or the order form.
• Minimum: one box of 50 chicks (turkey poults, box of 10). For 1,000 or more, we quote individually, see bulk orders.
• Payment: mobile money, bank transfer or cash, after you see the price in writing.
• Imported chicks: book three to four weeks ahead, see imported chicks.
• Visit: farm visits by appointment, see about us.

Questions about vaccination, records or delivery are answered in the FAQ.

Questions farmers ask