Auntie Efua keeps 2,000 layers at Gomoa Buduburam and sells crates to traders who come to the farm gate. For eleven years she has bought Lohmann Brown pullets or day-old chicks, and when we once offered her a different strain at a lower price she declined. Her reason was simple. She knows what a Lohmann does in her house: when it starts laying, how heavy the eggs get, how it behaves in March heat, and how long she can keep it before it is not worth feeding. That predictability is worth more to her than a few pesewas per chick.
The Lohmann Brown is a brown-egg commercial hybrid from Lohmann Breeders in Germany, and in Ghana it is probably the most common named layer strain in medium and large flocks. It is docile, it lays a lot of large brown eggs, and it tolerates the range of feed quality found in Ghana better than some of its competitors. Like every hybrid, it comes with a published management guide that assumes a closed house, a precise lighting programme and pelleted feed of guaranteed specification. Very few Ghanaian farms run like that.
This guide translates the strain's requirements into what actually works on an open-sided Ghanaian layer farm: rearing from day-old, body weight targets by week, when and how to add light, the feed programme through each phase, what egg numbers to expect, and how to handle the problems that farmers most often bring to our hatchery in Kasoa.
Written from our hatchery floor
This guide reflects day-to-day practice at the Agro Prime hatchery in Kasoa, where we hatch and supply day-old chicks to farmers across Ghana. Always confirm current prices and confirm any medication or vaccination programme with your veterinarian.
The Lohmann Brown at a glance
There are two main Lohmann Brown lines you may encounter: the Lohmann Brown Classic, which is the standard bird, and the Lohmann Brown Lite, a slightly lighter, more feed-efficient version that lays a marginally smaller egg. Most chicks sold in Ghana as "Lohmann" are the Classic. The bird has reddish-brown feathering with lighter tips, a single red comb, and reaches about 1.9 to 2.0 kg at 30 weeks. Its chicks can be sexed at day-old by feather colour: females hatch brown, males hatch white or cream. That colour sexing is one of the practical reasons hatcheries like it, because it removes the need for vent sexing and its errors.
Under the breed's published objectives a Lohmann Brown reaches 50 percent lay at about 20 to 21 weeks, peaks above 94 percent between 26 and 30 weeks, and produces around 320 eggs to 72 weeks and over 400 to 90 weeks. In Ghana, in an open house on locally milled mash and without a strict lighting programme, we consider 280 to 300 eggs to 72 weeks a good result and 260 a normal one. The gap comes from heat, feed variability, disease challenge and light. All four can be narrowed, and that is what the rest of this guide is about.
How the Lohmann compares with the other browns
Farmers ask us how it differs from Isa Brown, Hy-Line Brown and Bovans Brown, the other commercial brown hybrids sold in Ghana. Honestly, the differences are small and largely within what management explains. The Lohmann Brown tends to have a slightly larger egg from early lay, which suits Ghanaian traders who grade by size, and a calm temperament that reduces feather pecking in crowded houses. Isa Brown often peaks fractionally higher. Hy-Line Brown has a strong reputation for persistency late in lay. We compare them side by side in our layer breeds comparison. Our position: pick a strain with a reliable local hatchery and stay with it for several flocks, so that you learn its curve in your house. Switching strains every batch teaches you nothing.
Rearing: the 18 weeks that decide the next 60
A layer is made in rearing. A Lohmann Brown pullet that arrives at point of lay underweight, with a poorly developed frame, will start late, peak low and burn out early. One that is overweight and fat will suffer prolapse and fatty liver. The target is a pullet that hits the breed body weight curve week by week, with a coefficient of variation under 10 percent, and a fully developed skeleton before the first egg.
| Age (weeks) | Target body weight | Feed phase | Daily feed (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70–75 g | Chick starter, 20–21% CP | 12–14 g | 33–34 °C brooder; check crop fill |
| 4 | 280–300 g | Chick starter | 30–34 g | Heat off in coastal belt by week 4 |
| 6 | 440–470 g | Switch to grower, 17–18% CP | 38–42 g | Weigh 50 birds; sort light birds |
| 8 | 620–660 g | Grower | 46–50 g | Beak treatment if done, by week 8–10 |
| 10 | 800–850 g | Grower | 52–56 g | |
| 12 | 960–1,020 g | Grower | 58–62 g | Frame nearly complete |
| 14 | 1,100–1,160 g | Grower or developer, 15–16% CP | 64–68 g | |
| 16 | 1,230–1,300 g | Developer / pre-lay, 2–2.5% Ca | 70–75 g | Begin adding light if weight on target |
| 18 | 1,370–1,450 g | Pre-lay to layer at first egg | 78–85 g | Move to laying house before first egg |
| 20 | 1,500–1,600 g | Layer phase 1, 17–18% CP, 3.8–4.0% Ca | 90–100 g | 5–10% production |
| 25 | 1,750–1,850 g | Layer phase 1 | 105–115 g | Approaching peak |
| 30 | 1,900–2,000 g | Layer phase 1 | 110–120 g | Peak, 90–94% in a good Ghana flock |
Body weight targets follow the breed objectives; feed intakes are what we observe in Ghana on mash, and are higher than the breed figures because mash is wasted more than pellets. Confirm the analysis of the feed you buy.
Weigh a sample every two weeks from week 4. If the average is more than 5 percent below target at week 8 or week 12, keep the birds on starter or grower longer and check for coccidiosis, worms and feed quality. Do not restrict feed on a Lohmann Brown pullet in Ghana; the breed is not prone to over-fatness in rearing at our feed energy levels, and restriction here almost always produces a late, low peak. Our pullet feeding guide goes deeper into rearing nutrition.
Lighting: the lever most Ghanaian farms never pull
The Lohmann Brown, like all commercial layers, starts laying in response to increasing day length. In Europe that is arranged with a closed house and timers. In Ghana, at 5 to 10 degrees north of the equator, natural day length barely changes through the year, roughly 11 hours 40 minutes to 12 hours 40 minutes. The bird sits at a constant, short day, and left to itself it comes into lay later and less sharply than the breed guide promises.
The fix is cheap. From week 16 or 17, provided body weight is on target, add artificial light in the morning or evening to give a total of 13 hours, then increase by 30 minutes each week until you reach 15.5 to 16 hours of light by about week 22 to 24, and hold that until the end of lay. Never reduce light on a laying flock. A 9-watt LED bulb every 3 to 4 metres at 2 metres height gives enough intensity in an open-sided house. Use a simple timer rather than relying on the night watchman. On solar, a small panel and battery running a few LEDs for four hours is well within reach; see our solar power guide. The full schedule is in our lighting programme article.
The difference this makes is not marginal. In our customers' records, Lohmann flocks with a lighting programme reach 50 percent lay about 10 days earlier and peak 4 to 6 points higher than flocks on natural day length in the same district. Over a 2,000-bird flock that is roughly 8,000 to 12,000 extra eggs in the first 20 weeks of lay.
Feeding the laying Lohmann in Ghana
A laying Lohmann Brown at peak needs about 18 to 19 grams of protein, 850 to 900 mg of digestible lysine, and roughly 4 grams of calcium every day. On mash at 110 to 120 grams of intake, that translates to a layer feed of 17 to 18 percent crude protein and 3.8 to 4.0 percent calcium in phase 1 (to about 45 weeks), dropping to 16 to 17 percent protein and rising to 4.2 to 4.5 percent calcium in phase 2 (45 weeks onward) as egg size grows and shell quality becomes the limiting factor.
Three practical points for Ghana. First, intake falls in the heat. From March to May, a flock that ate 115 grams in January may eat 100 grams, and at that intake a 17 percent feed no longer supplies enough protein or calcium. Either buy or mix a denser feed for the hot season, or feed the bulk of the ration in the early morning and late evening when the birds will eat. Second, calcium source matters. Provide at least half the calcium as coarse oyster shell or limestone grit of 2 to 4 mm, offered in the afternoon, so the birds have calcium in the gizzard overnight when the shell is being formed. Fine limestone powder alone gives thin shells in older hens; our eggshell quality guide explains why. Third, watch the maize. A bag of mouldy or insect-damaged maize in the mix will knock production within days. The layer feeding guide covers formulation in detail.
- Pre-lay (16 weeks to first egg): 16–17% protein, 2.0–2.5% calcium, 0.45% available phosphorus, about 2,750 kcal/kg.
- Layer phase 1 (first egg to 45 weeks): 17–18% protein, 3.8–4.0% calcium, 0.40% available phosphorus, 2,750–2,800 kcal/kg.
- Layer phase 2 (45 to 65 weeks): 16–17% protein, 4.0–4.3% calcium, 0.38% available phosphorus, 2,700–2,750 kcal/kg.
- Layer phase 3 (65 weeks to end): 15.5–16.5% protein, 4.3–4.5% calcium, 0.35% available phosphorus, about 2,700 kcal/kg.
Those are ranges for mash fed in Ghana. Raise protein if hot-season intake drops below 105 g per bird, have the formulation checked by a nutritionist, and confirm ingredient quality on every delivery.
What production to expect, week by week
The table below sets out what a well-run open-house Lohmann Brown flock in Ghana produces, against the breed objective, so you can judge your own flock.
| Age (weeks) | Breed objective (% lay) | Good Ghana flock | Average egg weight (g) | Eggs per hen housed, cumulative (Ghana) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 25% | 10–15% | 48–50 | ≈ 5 |
| 22 | 75% | 50–60% | 52–54 | ≈ 13 |
| 26 | 94% | 85–90% | 57–59 | ≈ 36 |
| 30 | 95% | 90–93% | 60–61 | ≈ 62 |
| 40 | 94% | 88–91% | 62–63 | ≈ 125 |
| 50 | 91% | 84–87% | 63–64 | ≈ 186 |
| 60 | 88% | 78–83% | 64–65 | ≈ 243 |
| 72 | 82% | 70–76% | 65–66 | ≈ 305 |
Orientation figures from our customer records in the coastal and forest zones; a flock without a lighting programme or with a Newcastle or bronchitis challenge will fall below these. Track your own flock weekly.
A note on what "per hen housed" means: it counts every hen you placed at 18 weeks, including those that later died. A flock that loses 8 percent of birds by 72 weeks will show a lower per-hen-housed figure even if the survivors are laying well. Keeping mortality under 5 percent through lay is as important to the final egg count as peak production.
Heat, harmattan and the Ghana calendar
The Lohmann Brown handles Ghanaian heat reasonably, but production still sags in the hot season and shell quality is the first thing to go. A hen panting at 34 °C loses carbon dioxide from her blood, which reduces the bicarbonate available for shell formation, so you see thin, pale, cracked shells before you see a production drop. Provide cool water (a shaded tank, flushed lines), feed early and late, add electrolytes and vitamin C, and consider sodium bicarbonate in the feed on veterinary advice. Our heat stress guide covers the full protocol.
The harmattan brings the opposite problem: cold nights, dust and low humidity in December to February, especially north of Kumasi. Water intake drops, feed intake rises, respiratory disease flares from the dust, and older flocks may go into a partial molt. Dust the house less, keep water flowing, and consider that a flock over 60 weeks meeting its first harmattan may be better sold before it than after. The molting guide discusses that decision.
Do not move Lohmann pullets after first egg
The transfer from rearing to laying house must be complete by 16 to 17 weeks, before the first egg. Moving a flock that has started laying causes a production stall of one to three weeks, a spike in floor eggs, and prolapse in birds that were about to lay. If your laying house is not ready at week 16, delay the light stimulation rather than the move.
Health: what we see in Lohmann flocks
The Lohmann Brown is not more disease-prone than other browns, but as a high-producing bird it is unforgiving of a gap in the vaccination programme. The core programme in Ghana covers Marek disease at the hatchery, Newcastle disease repeatedly through rearing and every 8 to 12 weeks in lay, Gumboro in the first three weeks, infectious bronchitis, fowl pox, and, in many areas, fowl typhoid and infectious coryza. Confirm the programme with your veterinarian and see our vaccination schedule.
The problems farmers most often bring to us with Lohmann layers:
- Prolapse and vent pecking around 22 to 28 weeks. Usually from over-fat pullets, too-early light stimulation on an underweight flock, very large early eggs, or bright light in the nest area. See the prolapse guide.
- A sudden drop from 90 to 60 percent with wrinkled shells. Infectious bronchitis until proven otherwise. Vaccinate and consult a vet.
- Pale, thin birds with green diarrhoea and rising mortality. Fowl typhoid or Newcastle. Notify Veterinary Services if Newcastle is suspected.
- Thin shells and cracked eggs from 50 weeks. Calcium form and timing, heat, or age. Move to coarse shell grit in the afternoon and phase 2 or 3 feed.
- Feather loss on the back and neck with red mite in the cracks. Common in wooden cage houses. Treat the house, not just the birds; see the mites and lice guide.
Mini-case: the Kasoa flock that peaked at 94 percent
A customer at Kasoa Nyanyano who had previously peaked at 84 percent with Lohmann pullets bought from a dealer decided in 2025 to rear from our day-old chicks and follow the body weight table above to the letter. He weighed every two weeks, held the chicks on starter to week 7 because they were slightly behind, put LED bulbs on a timer at week 16 starting at 13 hours, and moved the birds into the laying house at week 16 and a half. First egg came at 18 weeks 4 days, 50 percent at 20 weeks 3 days, and the flock peaked at 94 percent in week 28, the highest we had recorded from an open-sided house in that district. His feed cost per crate at peak was roughly a fifth lower than in his previous flock because the same feed was producing more eggs. He told us the timer cost him less than two crates of eggs.
Economics and when to sell the flock
A Lohmann Brown day-old chick costs in the region of GH₵ 14 to 18 in Ghana as of mid-2026, and a reared point-of-lay pullet GH₵ 65 to 95 depending on age and vaccination status; confirm current figures in our chick price guide. Feed to 72 weeks runs to roughly 48 to 52 kg per bird. Against that, a good flock returns about 10 crates of eggs per hen over its life. Whether the flock is worth keeping past 72 weeks depends on egg price, feed price and the shell quality of the older birds; our culling guide and layer farming guide walk through that calculation. In most Ghanaian conditions we advise selling at 75 to 80 weeks, timing the sale for a period of high spent-hen demand such as the weeks before Christmas or Eid.
Frequently asked questions
At what age do Lohmann Brown layers start laying in Ghana?
How many eggs does a Lohmann Brown lay per year in Ghana?
What should a Lohmann Brown pullet weigh at point of lay?
How much feed does a laying Lohmann Brown eat per day?
Do Lohmann Brown layers need artificial light in Ghana?
Why are my Lohmann Brown eggs getting thin shells?
Can I tell male from female Lohmann Brown chicks at day-old?
Starting a Lohmann Brown layer flock?
Agro Prime hatches sexed Lohmann Brown pullet chicks in Kasoa and supplies chick starter, brooding equipment and a written rearing and lighting plan with every order, so your flock reaches the weights and the peak described here. WhatsApp or call +233 24 915 1503, email support@halaalfarmsghana.com, or book a visit to plan your next flock.
