Influence of Different Levels of Sunflower Cake (Helianthus annus L.) on Growth Performance of Broiler Chicks

Influence of replacement of groundnut cake (GNC) at different levels by deoiled sunflower cake (Helianthus annus L.) was investigated on growth performance on 250 day-old broiler chicks, divided randomly into 5 groups of 50 each. The GNC was replaced by DSFC at 0 (T₁), 25 (T₂), 50 (T₃), 75 (T₄) and 100 (T₅) per cent level, which corresponded to 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5 and 30 per cent of the total diet in iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. During six weeks period, body weight gain, feed intake, PI and FCR were gradually improved (P<0.05) up to 50 per cent level of replacement, however, further increase in sunflower cake level decreased the performance of chicks. It was concluded that the GNC can be replaced up to 50% level by deoiled sunflower cake in the diet of chicks without any harmful effect on their performance.