Replacing soybean meal with sunflower seed meal in the ration of Awassi ewes and lambs

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate sunflower seed meal (SFM) as a substitute for soybean meal (SBOM) in rations of fattening Awassi lambs and milking ewes. In the first experiment, 12 Awassi lambs were assigned into four groups to measure the digestibility of the SFM and experimental rations. The control group ration (1) contained SBOM while in the other two rations, SFM replaced SBOM at a level of 50% (2) and 100% (3), respectively. The fourth group was fed only SFM. No significant differences were observed between lambs fed the experimental rations in digestibilities of DM, OM, CP, CF, NDF, ADF or N balance. NFE had a higher (P < 0.05) digestibility for ration 1 than ration 2. In the second experiment, the voluntary feed intake was measured for the Awassi ewes during milking and dry period using 36 Awassi lactating ewes. For the two stages there were no significant differences between rations in voluntary intake. Milk yields (kg/herd per day), milk fat (%) and milk total solids (%) were not different among groups. In the third experiment, 42 lambs (males and females) were divided randomly into three treatment groups. Rations were the same experimental rations in the digestibility study. There were no significant differences in the average final BW, ADG and average feed conversion ratios (FCR) among the treatments. These experiments showed that SFM could replace SBOM as a protein source in rations of fattening Awassi lambs and milking Awassi ewes. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved