Sunflower cake is a product after oil pressing from sunflower seeds. It can be used to feed any farm animal as it is a very important and useful protein of much higher quality than any grain crop. Sunflower cake has high energy and nutrition value as it contains a lot of fats — around 7-10%. Sunflower cake contains a lot of sunflower oil of high quality with vitamin E, phospholipids and low acidity.
Sunflower cake is quite nutritional and includes 30-40% of protein. It also contains water which should not be above 11%, fiber — 5% and oil — under 9.4%.
Sunflower cake can be used as an additive to farm animals feed to stimulate the growth of young stock. It improves the metabolism, egg-laying capacity and immunity. Sunflower cake can be used to feed cattle including cows, ducks, rabbits, pigs, chickens, geese and turkeys. It is also used in fish breeding. Before feeding, sunflower cake shall be blended in special blending devices.
Sunflower cake concentration in daily fodder for different animals:
- poults – 15%, chickens – up to 20%. Up to 8% of sunflower cake in chicken feed-stuff;
- growing geese – 17% of sunflower cake in daily amount;
- egg-laying ducks – 8% in daily amount. 3-7% addition to young stock fodder;
- for turkey cock during weight gaining 8-15%, for young stock decrease to 5-7%;
- for young calves add up to 1.5 kg of sunflower cake (20% of the total amount of fodder).
An adult cow or an ox needs up to 25% of sunflower cake daily. Dairy cows consume around 4 kg of sunflower cake a day. This is explained by the fact that during lactation time the cow is weak. More sunflower cake improves the milk quality and positively influences the cow's health (improves the body defences).