Evaluating the Consequences of Sesame and Sunflower Meal as Partial Replacements for Soybean Meal on Broiler Growth

The rising cost of animal feed necessitates the search for affordable and sustainable alternatives. In this context, sunflower and sesame meal are considered promising substitutes for soybean meal. Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate the impact of replacement of soybean meal with different levels of sesame and sunflower meals on broiler performance. A total of 960 one-day-old Ross chicks were randomly distributed to six dietary treatments: a control, 10% sesame meal, 15% sesame meal, 10% sunflower meal, 15% sunflower meal, and 15% combined sesame and sunflower meal, with four replicates per treatment. All diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric. Results indicated that diets containing 10% and 15% sesame meal significantly improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) without affecting body weight (BW), weight gain (WG), mortality, or dressing percentage. However, feed consumption (FC) was significantly lower than in the control diet. The 10% sunflower meal diet did not significantly impact performance, while the 15% sunflower meal diet increased BW. The combined 15% sesame and sunflower meal diet improved FCR without negatively affecting performance. These findings suggest that sesame and sunflower meals can be viable alternatives to soybean meal in broiler diets.