Effects of compound poultry feed with different content of high-protein sunflower meal on growth performance of broiler chickens

The aim of the present experiment was to evaluate the effect of feeding poultry compound feed with different level of high-protein sunflower meal on growth performance of broiler chickens. The experiment was performed with 3 groups of chickens (30 birds in group) - one control and two experimental ones. Feeding isocaloric and isoprotein diets, containing flour of sunflower meal - 10% for the second group and 15% for the third group during the three growth periods, had an adverse effect on growth performance: at the end of the finisher period the reduction of live weight was by 1.6% and 4.1% for the second and third groups respectively. Feed intake per 1 kg weight gain was increased by 2.7% and 4.2% in experimental groups. It could be assumed that worse production traits resulting from increased proportion of low-cellulose high-protein sunflower meal in diets was due to the lower feed intake associated to excessively fine meal particles - 150-300 mu m. The optimum size of particles in corn or sorghum based poultry compound feed, preferred by broiler chickens, was from 600 and 900 mu m.