Piglet creep feed: the smallest volume and the highest price per tonne
Creep and pre-starter feed is offered to piglets before and around weaning. Tonnage is tiny — often under two kilograms per pig — but price per tonne is the highest in the herd programme, so it is bought on palatability, form and documentation rather than on price.
Who buys at this stage
- Breeding units buying creep alongside nursery feed under one agreement
- Producers importing specialist pre-starter while buying later stages locally
- Buyers comparing specialist pre-starters against their mill's own version
Form and packaging
- Small-particle crumble, granule or micro-pellet with size stated
- Small bags (10–25 kg) because volumes per delivery are low
- Shelf life and production date clearly marked
Commercial feed types
Pre-starter crumble or micro-pellet
Small particle size for very young pigs; uniformity matters more than tonnage price.
Creep granules
Offered in the farrowing house to encourage early intake.
What the RFQ must specify
- Piglets weaned per year and grams offered per pig
- Weaning age and weight
- Particle size and form
- 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
- Specialist ingredient and additive costs, which dominate the formula
- Small batch production and packaging at the mill
- Import freight and duties where the product is not made locally
- Shelf life, which limits how much you can buy at once
Storage and shelf life
- Buy in small, frequent lots — shelf life is the constraint, not the price break
- Store cool and dry, sealed between uses
- Track production dates; do not carry old stock forward
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
Questions buyers ask
How much creep feed does a piglet eat?
Is creep feed worth its price per tonne?
Can FeedMatch source specialist pre-starters?
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.