Guide · Production economics

Broiler feed costs — the breakdown by feed type and what actually moves the number.

Feed is typically sixty to seventy percent of live broiler production cost, so it is the line where small percentage improvements outweigh almost every other saving on the farm. This guide breaks broiler feed cost down by phase — starter, grower, finisher and withdrawal — sets out the ingredient shares behind the price, quantifies the wastage and feed-conversion levers, and links to the calculators that let you model your own numbers.

Start your project for free Feed consumption calculator Feed cost calculator OPEX calculator

Feed is the operating cost; equipment is the capital one — see the itemised poultry farm equipment cost breakdown

Cost breakdown by feed type

Four feed phases across a standard broiler cycle. Note the inversion: the most expensive feed per tonne is the smallest volume, and the cheapest feed per tonne carries most of the spend.

Broiler feed phases with share of lifetime intake, specification and relative cost per tonne
Feed phase	Share of intake	Typical specification	Relative cost
Starter (day 0–10)	~4–6% of lifetime intake	22–24% crude protein, high digestibility, crumb form	Highest cost per tonne — typically 15–25% above finisher
Grower (day 11–24)	~30–35% of lifetime intake	20–22% crude protein, pelleted	Mid-range per tonne
Finisher (day 25–slaughter)	~55–65% of lifetime intake	18–20% crude protein, higher energy, pelleted	Lowest cost per tonne, largest total spend
Withdrawal (final days)	~5–8% of lifetime intake	No medication or coccidiostat, energy-dense	Similar to finisher

Starter (day 0–10): Small volume, large influence. Cutting quality here damages uniformity for the whole cycle.
Grower (day 11–24): Where frame and breast development is set; FCR drift usually starts in this window.
Finisher (day 25–slaughter): Because it dominates tonnage, a 1% wastage saving here is worth more than any starter negotiation.
Withdrawal (final days): Regulatory, not economic — but mis-timing it costs a whole flock's compliance.

Indicative ranges for buyer sanity-checking. Replace with your own nutritionist specification and local mill pricing before budgeting.

Broiler feed cost calculator

Enter your flock parameters and local feed prices per tonne. The model splits total intake across the four feed phases using the indicative shares from the table above, adds mortality-adjusted intake, and prices physical wastage separately.

Birds placed

Target live weight (kg)

Feed conversion ratio (FCR)

Mortality (%)

Feed wastage (%)

Feed price per tonne (your currency)

Starter

Grower

Finisher

Withdrawal

Total feed required

191.9 t

Total feed cost

99,512

Feed cost per bird

2.07

Feed cost per kg live

0.86

Calculated feed tonnage and cost by broiler feed phase
Feed phase	Share	Tonnes	Price / t	Cost
Starter	5%	9.6	620	5,950
Grower	32%	61.4	540	33,164
Finisher	57%	109.4	500	54,698
Withdrawal	6%	11.5	495	5,700

At 2.0% wastage you are buying about 3.8 tonnes of feed the birds never convert — roughly 1,951 per cycle. This is normally the fastest-payback line in the whole feed budget.

Estimates Only: This calculator is provided for general informational purposes only. Results are approximate and may contain errors, omissions, or outdated information. They do not constitute legal, financial, engineering, tax, technical, or professional advice. Users are solely responsible for independently verifying all calculations, specifications, prices, regulations, and requirements with qualified professionals before making any decisions. By using this calculator, you acknowledge that the website owners, operators, and affiliates accept no responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, or decisions resulting from its use.

What you are actually paying for

The composition behind the price per tonne. Two ingredients explain most of the volatility, which is why hedging or contracting those two lines matters more than negotiating the rest of the mix.

Ingredient share of a typical broiler feed formulation and its cost impact
Component	Typical share	Cost implication
Maize / corn or wheat (energy)	55–65% of the mix	Single biggest exposure. Commodity price moves here drive almost all feed-cost volatility.
Soybean meal (protein)	20–30% of the mix	Second cost driver; protein price spikes hit starter and grower hardest.
Fats and oils	2–5% of the mix	Energy density lever — cheap on paper, expensive when quality is inconsistent.
Minerals, limestone, phosphate	3–5% of the mix	Low cost, high consequence for leg health and mortality.
Amino acids, vitamins, enzymes	1–3% of the mix	Small share of cost, measurable FCR return when correctly formulated.
Milling, pelleting and delivery	5–12% of delivered cost	The line an on-site feed mill targets; see the feed mill cost guide.

The levers that move feed cost

Feed is normally 60–70% of live broiler production cost — every other OPEX line is secondary.
A 0.05 improvement in FCR changes feed spend by roughly 2–3% across the flock, before any price negotiation.
Pan-feeder spillage of 2–3% is common on badly levelled or over-filled lines and is pure loss.
Pellet quality (fines percentage) directly changes intake efficiency — ask for pellet durability index, not just formulation.
House temperature outside the comfort band raises maintenance energy needs and worsens FCR.
Silo and line-level weighing turns feed from an estimated cost into a measured one.
Water quality and nipple management affect intake; feed and water problems are frequently the same problem.

Where feed physically disappears

Feeder pans set too low or filled too deep — birds bill feed onto the litter.
Auger and hopper leaks between the silo and the first pan.
Excess fines from long transport or poor pelleting, refused at the pan.
Rodent and wild-bird access to silos and spillage points.
Moisture ingress in silos causing caking and rejected batches.
Delivery shortfalls that go undetected without load-cell weighing.

Model it against your own flock

Run your bird count, target weight and feed-conversion assumption through the calculators below to convert these ranges into a tonnage and cost projection for your own cycle, then bring the feeding-system specification to quotation. Buyers pay zero fees, and every quotation comes back itemised on defined Incoterms.

Feed consumption Broiler ROI OPEX projection 5-year TCO Quote my feeding system

FAQ

How much of broiler production cost is feed?

On a commercial broiler operation feed typically accounts for 60 to 70 percent of live production cost, which is why feed conversion, feed wastage and purchase terms matter more than almost any other operating decision. Day-old chick cost is usually the second line, followed by energy, labour, health programme and depreciation. Model your own split before assuming an industry average — housing standard and climate move the energy line significantly.

OPEX calculator Feed consumption calculator Broiler ROI calculator

How is broiler feed cost broken down by feed type?

Starter feed is the most expensive per tonne but the smallest volume, usually four to six percent of lifetime intake. Grower is mid-priced and roughly a third of intake. Finisher is the cheapest per tonne yet dominates total spend at fifty-five to sixty-five percent of intake, so efficiency work in the finisher phase moves the budget most. Withdrawal feed is a compliance requirement rather than a cost lever.

Estimate feed volumes by phase

What drives broiler feed price volatility?

Two ingredients: the energy cereal, usually maize or wheat at fifty-five to sixty-five percent of the mix, and soybean meal at twenty to thirty percent. Together they explain the large majority of price movement. Freight, currency and local milling capacity add a further layer, which is why landed feed cost in an import-dependent market can differ sharply from the commodity headline.

Feed mill cost

How much can better feeding equipment reduce feed cost?

Realistically the gains come from two places: eliminating physical wastage, which is commonly two to three percent on poorly set pan lines, and stabilising intake so feed conversion does not drift. Neither is a marketing claim you should accept without measurement — insist on silo load cells or line weighing so the saving is evidenced on your own site rather than assumed.

Feeding systems Broiler equipment

Is an on-site feed mill worth it for a broiler operation?

It depends on tonnage, ingredient access and management capacity. Milling and delivery represent roughly five to twelve percent of delivered feed cost, so integrating that margin only pays where volumes are steady and raw-material sourcing is reliable. Below that threshold, contract milling with tight specification control is usually the lower-risk option. Model both against your own throughput before committing CAPEX.

Feed mill cost guide Feed mill equipment

Can HatchMatch help me price feeding systems?

Yes, and buyers pay zero fees. We issue one identical specification to qualified manufacturers and return itemised, comparable quotations on defined Incoterms, with human expert guidance from scope through commissioning. Financing, where required, is arranged through independent third-party partners and is subject to third-party approval.

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