Effect of Enzyme Supplemented High Fibre Sunflower Meal on Performance of Broilers

Eight iso-nitrogenous chick rations with different levels of sunflower meal (SFM) supplemented with two commercially available enzymes NIBGE, and Grindazym (TM) were used to test the performance of broiler chicken. Non-significant differences among rations for feed consumption, highly significant difference for weight gain and significant differences for feed conversion ratio were observed. Average feed consumption of birds in finisher phase with different rations containing NIBGE ranged between 1477 and 1500g whereas the same containing GRINDAZYM (TM) ranged between 1503.75 and 1511.25g. The average weight gain of birds on rations with NIBGE was between 661.25 and 7.22 g whereas it was between 747.50 and 774.00g on rations with GRINDAZYM (TM). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) with rations containing NIBGE ranged between 2.02 and 2.28 and 1.95-2.01g with Grindazym. The dressing percentage of experimental birds ranged between 49.64 and 56.55g. The analysis of experimental data on feed consumption, weight gain, FCR and dressing percentage revealed significant difference (P<0.01) among rations. The results suggested that enzyme supplementation helped improve digestion of fibre contents of SFM and increased bioavailability of metabolizeable energy from treated SFM. Enzyme supplemented Sunflower meal can therefore be used safely in poultry ration formulation without compromising the performance of broiler birds but it can reduce cost of feed production by making use of locally available ingredients.