A Guarantee That Puts Your Money Where Our Hatch Is

What the guarantee covers, in plain terms

Some sellers print a long list of conditions and hope you never read it. Ours is short. If chicks from your order are dead when they arrive at your farm, we replace them free of charge in our next hatch. There is no fee for the replacement, and you do not pay again for the birds that were lost in transit.

The guarantee is about the journey and the handover. It is there because a box can be ruined on the road by heat, a long wait or rough handling, and none of that is the buyer's fault. We would rather carry that risk ourselves than ask a farmer to absorb it on top of a delivery cost.

It is worth being clear about the limit too. The guarantee applies to birds dead on arrival. It does not extend to birds that fail later on your farm. Once the chicks are settled in your house, the care, feed, water and house conditions decide what happens next.

What counts as dead on arrival

Dead on arrival means the bird was already dead when the box was opened at your farm, or it died within the early handling period before it could be settled. A chick that is alive but weak is a different situation, and I would rather you tell us about it than decide for yourself that it is lost.

Count the dead birds before you move the box into the brooder. Note the number on your phone with a time and a photo of the box. That record is what lets us act quickly and fairly. A vague message like "some chicks died" is much harder to work with than a count and a photo taken at the door.

If the box arrives with a whole section dead, or with birds crushed at one end, take the photo before anyone starts lifting birds out. The position of the dead birds in the crate often tells us more about the cause than the number alone.

How to claim without a fuss

Message us on WhatsApp on the day the chicks arrive. Send the order details, the number of dead birds, the photos and your region. Keep the birds you have, the box and any packing, because we may ask to see them or to confirm details at our end.

We check the details against the dispatch, confirm the claim with you in writing, and agree when the replacement goes out in our next hatch. The aim is a plain process that does not make you chase us. If anything about the claim is unclear, ask before you pay for anything else on the order.

Do not wait for the chicks you still have to die before you raise it. A claim made on the day, with a clear count, is always easier to settle than one made a week later.

What happens in the next hatch

Replacements come from our next hatch, which means the chicks are not pulled from a shelf. Replacement timing depends on when the hatch runs, so we will tell you the expected date when we confirm the claim. For a small farm with a tight plan, that date is worth writing into your calendar straight away.

Because replacements are the next hatch rather than an immediate swap, the best protection is the one you set up before ordering. Book your hatch date early, keep the house ready, and make sure someone is at home or at the farm to receive the box. The pre-order guide explains how to lock a hatch date in advance.

Why a guarantee changes how you buy

Buying chicks from a distance means trusting a box you cannot inspect. A guarantee moves some of that trust from hope to a written rule. You know what happens if the worst thing happens on the road, and you can plan the money around it.

That matters most for families and small farms that cannot afford to lose a whole order. A lost box of 50 Ross 308 at GH₵ 1,000 is a serious blow for someone with a small budget. Knowing that a replacement is on its way takes the fear out of the decision and lets you focus on the house.

It also tells you something about the seller. A hatchery that will not stand behind its delivery rarely offers much else in writing either. Ask the same question of anyone you are considering.

Ross 308 and Cobb 500 side by side

Both breeds are imported broilers, and the starting prices are the same. The choice between them usually comes down to the buyer's preference, the feed programme and the market they are selling into. Both are covered by the same replacement guarantee on dead-on-arrival birds.

These are starting prices. The exact price is confirmed in writing for each order. For a wider look at what the chicks cost, see the day-old chicks price list. The broiler profit calculator helps you test whether the price fits your plan before you order.

Protecting the box on the road

The guarantee is there for the rare bad run, but a good journey still depends on sensible handling. Chicks should travel in a clean, ventilated crate, with the box kept out of the sun and away from exhaust heat. Long waits in a hot vehicle are the most common cause of trouble that we want to avoid.

At the farm end, meet the delivery and open the box quickly. Chicks that are kept in a closed, hot car for a long time arrive stressed even when they are alive. Move them into a warm brooder with water and feed in reach, and keep the lamp on.

Delivery is quoted in writing before you pay, and the delivery page shows how we route orders to all 16 regions. If you are in a far town, ask about the route before you commit to a date.

Checking the box at the door

Open the box in a shaded spot if you can. Look at the chicks first and count what you see. Look for birds that are lying still, birds with wet vents, and birds that are clumped in a corner away from the rest. Then count the dead birds separately and take a photo with the box in the frame.

If the box arrives in the heat of the afternoon or during heavy rain, ask the person delivering it to wait under shade or cover while you open it. A few minutes of care at the door protects the birds that are still alive and keeps the count accurate.

Do not sort the chicks into the brooder before you have counted. Once the birds are moved around, the picture becomes harder to read and the claim becomes harder to prove. Good records are the thing that makes a guarantee work for both sides.

What the guarantee does not cover

The guarantee is about birds that are dead when they arrive. It does not cover birds that die later on your farm, whether from disease, poor litter, heat, a feed change or a broken drinker. Those losses are real and they matter, but they are the result of what happens after handover, and they need a different response.

If you lose birds a few days after arrival, call us anyway and tell us what you saw. We will tell you honestly whether it looks like something from the journey or something from the farm. Then your next step is a vet, not a claim.

Questions to ask any seller, including us

Before you pay a deposit to anyone, ask these four things. What happens if the chicks are dead on arrival? How long does the claim take, and who confirms it? How is delivery priced, and is that quote in writing? And what does the batch record say about the vaccines given?

• A clear answer on dead-on-arrival birds, in writing.
• A quoted delivery price before payment, not a figure added later.
• A batch record that lists the vaccines given to your chicks.
• A contact you can reach on WhatsApp on the day the box arrives.

We answer all four for every order. If a seller cannot answer them, that tells you more than any advert. More general questions are covered on our FAQ page, and the about page explains who we are and how the hatchery runs.

A backup plan for the first week

A guarantee helps most when the farm has room to absorb a delay. Before the box arrives, set aside a second space in the house, or at least a corner you can section off with a board, so that a replacement batch can be kept apart from the first birds when it comes.

Keep a little extra litter, a spare drinker and a spare lamp bulb in the house. None of these cost much, and each one saves a panic run into town on the day the chicks arrive. Write down the phone numbers of the vet you will call and of the person who will receive the box, and pin the list on the brooder door where anyone can see it.

Think about the calendar too. If your plan depends on a fixed sale date, build in a few weeks of slack. A replacement from the next hatch is a good outcome, but it is not instant, and a farmer who has room in the schedule can wait for it calmly.

Your first order, from the message to the brooder

Message us with the breed, the number of boxes and the region. We confirm the price in writing and quote the delivery cost before you pay. Payment is by mobile money, bank transfer or cash. There is no online card payment, and we do not offer instalments.

Chicks are dispatched on the day they hatch. Our delivery notes cover how to receive the box and what to prepare. If you are new to the whole process, the buying guide walks through what to check on any seller.

For the health side of the order, see our vaccinated chicks page, which explains the hatchery vaccinations and the batch record that comes with every box.

Questions farmers ask