Studies on the nutritive value of full-fat sunflower seed in broiler chick diets

The nutritive value of hulled full-fat sunflower seed (HFFSS) for broiler chicks was evaluated in two experiments. In the first experiment, the crude fat digestibility and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) were determined in HFFSS using chicks of 28 days of age. The birds consumed HFFSS as single ingredient ad libitum for 24 h and total excreta were collected. The crude fat digestibility coefficient and AME value were 84.2% and 18.71 MJ kg−1 DM, respectively. In the second experiment, there were no significant differences in feed intake, weight gain and feed efficiency among chicks fed diets with graded level of HFFSS (0, 50, 150, and 250 g kg−1 diet). Dietary AMEn (AME corrected for zero nitrogen retention) and apparent digestibility values of crude fat and crude protein were not affected by the level of HFFSS. The mean amino acid digestibility values were also similar for the maize–soybean control diet and for the diets containing HFFSS. The results of this study would indicate that HFFSS can be used in broiler diets up to 250 g kg−1 without adversely affecting either weight gain or feed efficiency.