Broiler finisher feed: the largest tonnage and the biggest price exposure
Broiler finisher feed covers the last stretch to market weight and is normally the largest single block of the cycle. Because most of the tonnage sits here, a small change in price per tonne or in conversion moves the whole cycle result, which is why finisher is usually contracted first.
Who buys at this stage
- Buyers contracting the finisher block annually and buying earlier stages more flexibly
- Operations testing whether a higher-priced finisher pays through better conversion
- Sites planning withdrawal feed separately where their market requires it
Form and packaging
- Pellet diameter, durability and fines expectation
- Bulk delivery in most commercial cases; bagged where sites are small or remote
- Any withdrawal or additive-free requirement stated explicitly with its documentation
Commercial feed types
Pelleted finisher
Standard commercial form, typically a larger pellet diameter than grower.
Withdrawal feed
Where required by your market or customer, specified and documented separately.
Bulk-delivered finisher
The usual form at commercial scale because of the tonnage involved.
What the RFQ must specify
- Birds on feed, days on finisher and tonnes per cycle and per year
- Withdrawal requirement and the documentation your buyer demands
- Pellet diameter and durability expectation
- Quantity per shipment and committed annual volume
- Delivery point, port and preferred Incoterm
- Delivery schedule and acceptable lead time
- Packaging and pallet or bulk handling constraints
- Certifications and documents required with each shipment
- Currency, price basis and how long the price must hold
What moves the cost
- Energy source pricing — maize, wheat, fat and oil
- Protein source pricing and any substitution the mill is allowed to make
- Freight, because this is the heaviest stage to move
- Price basis: fixed for the contract period or indexed to a named raw material
- Conversion performance, which is worth more here than a price concession
Storage and shelf life
- Largest silo demand of the programme; size around delivery frequency
- Feed with added fat can bridge or go rancid in heat — check turnover
- Keep withdrawal feed physically separated with clear labelling
Certifications and documents to ask for
- GMP+ B1 / FAMI-QS or an equivalent feed safety scheme
- HACCP plan and the mill's own quality manual
- Certificate of analysis per batch (proximate analysis, moisture)
- Mycotoxin, salmonella and heavy-metal testing regime
- Traceability of raw materials and batch numbering
- Non-GMO, halal or organic certification where your market requires it
- Country-specific feed registration and import documentation
Supplier evaluation checklist
- Installed capacity against your monthly tonnage, not just the annual total
- Evidence of supplying the same stage and pellet form commercially
- Batch consistency record and how out-of-spec batches are handled
- Lead time from order to delivery, and behaviour during raw-material volatility
- Price basis: fixed, indexed to a named raw material, or reviewed periodically
- Delivery capability to your point, Incoterm and vehicle or vessel constraints
- Technical support available on-site and the escalation route when results slip
Size the volume first
Other broilers stages
Questions buyers ask
Is a cheaper finisher feed worth it?
Should finisher be contracted annually?
Does FeedMatch guarantee finisher performance?
How the request is handled
You submit the requirement, a person at FeedMatch reviews it, and only then are qualified suppliers approached on your behalf. Offers come back normalised to the same delivered basis so they can actually be compared. No supplier receives your details automatically and no introduction happens without that review.
Submit a feed project requestFeedMatch Group is an independent, supplier-neutral procurement platform. We are not a feed manufacturer, trader, nutritionist, veterinarian or lender, and we do not guarantee prices, supply, FCR or animal performance. Figures on this page are indicative commercial planning ranges, not specifications. Every requirement is reviewed by a person before any supplier is approached, and no supplier receives your details automatically. Last reviewed 16 September 2026.