Performance of Broiler Chickens Fed on Corn- Sunflower Meal Diets with ß- Glucanase Enzyme

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of adding different levels of Sunflower Meal (SFM; 0, 5, 10, and 15%) with and without ß-Glucanase Enzyme (E) to broiler starter and finisher rations on the performance and cost of broiler production in Jordan. Seven hundred and twenty one-day-old chicks were randomly distributed into 8 equal treatments, each with 3 replicates (30 chicks/ replicate). Treatments were: 1) Basal diet (corn-soybean meal diet) zero level of SFM, 2) 5% SFM, 3) 10% SFM, 4) 15% SFM 5) Basal diet+E, 6) 5% SFM+E, 7) 10% SFM+E, 8) 15% SFM+E. Rations were formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous. The addition of 10% SFM to the ration resulted in a significant (P 0.05) improvement in the final weight of birds at 6 weeks of age (1946 gm) compared with the control group (1736 gm) and other treatments except 5% SFM, 5% SFM+E, and 10% SFM+E. Moreover, Cumulative Feed Intake (CFI) of chicks fed 10% SFM (4322 gm) was significantly higher (P 0.05) than CFI of chicks in the control group without E (3761 gm), 15% SFM and 15% SFM+E. No significant (P 0.05) effect on Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) was found as a result of adding SFM with or without E. The Descriptive Analysis of Cost Differences (DACD) were found between all groups without E (0, 5, 10 and 15% SFM), but only the10% SFM group had the same DACD as the other four groups with E. These results suggest that adding E to broiler starter and finisher rations does not result in significant improvement in SFM utilization. In conclusion, addition of 10% SFM without E can be used efficiently in broiler rations without any adverse effect on broiler performance and with the minimal cost