Broiler starter feed: what to specify and how to buy it
Broiler starter is the small crumble or mini-pellet fed for roughly the first ten days. It is the smallest tonnage of the programme and the most expensive per tonne, so buyers specify crumble size, fines level, protein and energy targets and batch documentation rather than negotiating on price per tonne alone.
Who buys at this stage
- Integrators contracting a full starter–grower–finisher programme with one mill
- Farms buying starter separately because the local mill cannot hold crumble quality
- New sites sizing the first year of placements before signing a supply agreement
Form and packaging
- Crumble or mini-pellet, with the acceptable fines percentage stated
- 25 kg or 50 kg bags for smaller placements, big bags or bulk for integrated sites
- Bag material and stacking height if the feed will be stored in humid conditions
Commercial feed types
Crumble
The common commercial form for the first days; fines level and uniformity matter more than headline price.
Mini-pellet
Used where intake and feeder management allow it, typically around 2 mm.
Medicated or additive-carrying versions
Only where permitted in your market and prescribed through the proper channel.
What the RFQ must specify
- Birds placed per cycle and cycles per year
- Days on starter and tonnage per placement
- Crude protein, energy and amino-acid targets set by your nutritionist
- Crumble size and maximum acceptable fines
- 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
- Soybean meal and maize or wheat prices, which dominate the formula cost
- Synthetic amino acid and premix prices
- Crumbling and screening cost, which is what separates a good starter from a cheap one
- Small batch sizes and frequent changeovers at the mill
- Freight and bagging, which weigh heavily on a low-tonnage stage
Storage and shelf life
- Starter is bought in small volumes and should turn over fast — usually within a few weeks
- Bag storage off the floor, ventilated, away from moisture and pests
- Do not carry starter across cycles when humidity or temperature is high
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
How much starter feed does a broiler cycle need?
Why is starter feed so much more expensive per tonne?
Does FeedMatch recommend a starter specification?
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.