Sunflower meal as a major vegetable protein source in layers' ration.

An experiment was conducted with Starcross layers to evaluate the replacement value of sunflower meal (SFM) for cotton seed meal (CSM) and sesame meal (SM). The birds (aged 24 weeks) were given 4 isonitrogenous and isocaloric rations containing 0, 5, 10 and 15% dehulled sunflower meal. The substitution of SFM for CSM and SM did not generally affect the egg production, feed consumption, feed conversion nor did it have any effect on the quality of eggs as measured by Haugh Units (HU) and yolk index. Egg shell thickness, however, improved by increasing dietary levels of SFM. The feed costs per hen were generally lower for the SFM group since SFM was cheaper than CSM and SM.