Assessment of enzyme supplementation on growth performance and apparent nutrient digestibility in diets containing undecorticated sunflower seed meal in layer chicks

Six hundred and forty one-day-old layer chicks were used to investigate the effect of replacing soybean meal with undecorticated sunflower seed meal protein for protein at 0, 25, 50, and 75% levels. Diets were without enzyme supplementation or with enzyme supplementation with four replications of twenty birds. Growth performance and nutrient utilization were determined. Proximate composition of the undecorticated sunflower seed meal used revealed that undecorticated sunflower seed meal contained 925.9, 204.5, 336.2, 215.1, 52.0 and 192.2g/kg dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre, ash and soluble carbohydrates, respectively. Results showed that the final weight of 484.4g/bird was obtained for birds on 75% undecorticated sunflower seed meal diet, while the lowest value of 472.2g/bird was obtained for birds on 25% undecorticated sunflower seed meal diet. Weight gain per bird per day was not significantly (P > 0.05) affected as the level of undecorticated sunflower seed meal increased in the diets. Feed intake per bird per day increased (P < 0.05) across the treatment as a result of increased undecorticated sunflower seed meal inclusion in the diet. However, enzyme supplementation of the diets showed marked (P < 0.05) improvements in feed intake, weight gain, and final weight as well as the feed to gain ratio. Survivability was not affected by the treatments imposed. Dry matter digestibility were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced due to high undecorticated sunflower seed meal inclusion in the diet while crude protein digestibility progressively reduced (P < 0.05) as the level of undecorticated sunflower seed meal increased in the diet. Ash digestibility values were, however, increased (P < 0.05) as the level of undecorticated sunflower seed meal increased in the diets. Birds on enzyme-supplemented diets consistently showed superior (P < 0.05) digestibility values than those on diets without enzyme supplementation. However ether extract digestibility was not affected by enzyme supplementation. The results indicated that higher inclusion levels of undecorticated sunflower seed meal in the diets of layer chicks showed a similar body weight gain/bird/day with the control. Undecorticated sunflower seed meal used in this study is a good source of crude protein, ether extract, and amino acids and had the potential to serve as feeding stuffs as replacement for soybeans. The nutritive value of undecorticated sunflower seed meal was improved for layer chicks with exogenous enzyme supplementation.