Poultry Feed Phase & Starter, Grower, Finisher

Phase feeding gives birds a different ration as they grow, because their needs change with age. Broilers are usually fed three phases — a high-protein starter for fast early frame growth, a balanced grower through the main growing period, and an energy-dense finisher to put on weight cheaply before market. Matching feed to stage cuts cost and waste.

Total feed = number of live birds × target market weight × feed conversion ratio (FCR). FCR is kg of feed per kg of liveweight, around 1.6–1.8 for modern broilers. For example 1000 birds grown to 2 kg at an FCR of 1.7 need about 3400 kg of feed across the whole batch — the figure this tool then splits across the three phases.

Total feed is divided roughly 12% starter, 35% grower and 53% finisher, because birds eat far more as they get heavier — most of the feed is consumed in the last weeks. So of 3400 kg total, about 410 kg is starter, 1190 kg grower and 1800 kg finisher. The split shows where most of your feed budget actually goes.

Bags per phase = phase feed (kg) ÷ bag size (commonly 50 kg, sometimes 25 or 40 kg). The tool rounds up so you order enough, and adds the phases for total bags. Ordering by phase avoids running out of starter early or over-buying finisher you can't store before it goes stale.

Feed conversion ratio is the kilos of feed needed per kilo of liveweight gain — the single biggest driver of feed cost. A lower FCR means less feed for the same bird weight, so it directly shrinks total feed and every phase. Good genetics, fresh balanced feed, clean water and a comfortable house all push FCR down.

Feed per bird = total feed ÷ number of birds, i.e. market weight × FCR. It's a handy figure for budgeting and for checking deliveries against your flock. If actual feed per bird drifts well above the plan, look at wastage, spillage, pests, or birds underperforming on weight.

Yes — the default 12/35/53 split and 50 kg bag follow common broiler practice, but you can adjust them to match your breed, feeding programme and supplier's bag size. Some programmes use a separate pre-starter or a four-phase plan; enter the split your nutritionist or feed company recommends.

It's built around the broiler starter-grower-finisher model. Layers and breeders follow different programmes (chick, grower, pre-lay, layer rations) driven by age and lay rather than market weight and FCR, so the totals here won't fit them directly. Use it for meat birds; for layers plan feed on daily intake per bird.

They're solid planning figures. Real consumption shifts with breed, weather, health, feed quality and how well the house is managed, so treat the outputs as an order plan and reconcile against actual deliveries and bird weights. Keeping records of feed per phase across batches is the best way to tighten future estimates.