Sunflower cake in the diets of lightweight laying pullets: Effects on the growth phase and the beginning of production cycle

Abstract

ABSTRACT The use of sunflower cake (SC) in animal feed has been studied mainly due to the characteristics that are given to them, since this by-product when incorporated in the feed can increase the economic viability and the nutritional value of the diet. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of sunflower cake in lightweight pullet diets and check their nutrient digestibility and metabolizable energy for several parameters, including diet, performance, body composition, nutrient retention, energy metabolism at the growth phase, performance of egg production, sexual maturity, and egg quality at the beginning of the laying phase. We distributed a total of 648 pullets in our study, which was a completely randomized design including six treatments with six replicates of 18 pullets each. The treatments included diets with 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% SC. Our study results concluded that pullets fed with diets containing SC showed a reduction (P<0.01) in nutrient digestibility and metabolizable energy compared to those fed with the control diet. Pullets fed with 25% SC showed an increase (P<0.01) in feed intake and feed conversion ratio. However, dietary inclusion of SC in pullet diets did not influence (P>0.05) their body composition, nutrient retention, energy metabolism, sexual maturity, egg-laying performance, and egg quality of laying hens between 18 and 35 weeks of their age. Therefore, up to 25% of SC could be included in the diet of lightweight laying pullets in the growth phase since it exhibited no residual effect on their productive performance at the beginning of the laying phase.