Using sunflower meal in the diets of Muscovy ducklings

الملخص EN

A 5×2 factorial design experiment was performed including five levels (0.00, 25.00, 50.00, 75.00 and 100.00%) of sunflower meal (SFM) instead of the same percent of soybean meal (SBM); and two levels of enzyme supplementation (0 or 0.5 g/kg diet).

A total number of 300 unsexed one week old Muscovy ducklings were randomly distributed into equal ten treatment groups (three replicates each of 10 ducklings).

Results showed that live body weight and body weight gain of Muscovy ducklings fed 25% dietary SFM as a substitution level for SBM was better (P≤0.01) that that of the control and other treatment groups.

Complete replacement of SBM with SFM resulted in significant (P≤0.01) decrease in live body weight (LBW) and body weight gain (BWG) when compared with control and other dietary treatment groups.

Replacing SBM in the control diet by SFM up to 75% did not exert any determinant effect on feed intake.

SFM levels did not affect the proportional weights of carcass, dressing, gizzard and abdominal fat.

Effects of enzyme supplementation and the interaction between SFM levels and enzyme supplementation were not significant on the majority of growth performance and carcass traits studied.

In conclusion, it could be concluded that using SFM up to 75% (20.48% in the diet) during the starter period (1-3 weeks of age) and 100% (20% in the diet) during the growing period (4-9 weeks of age) substitution for SBM had no adverse effect on growth performance of growing Muscovy ducklings.