Effects of Partial Replacement of Soybean Meal with Lemna minor Meal in Cobb 500 broiler Diets on Growth, Carcass Characteristics, and Profitability

This study evaluated the effects of graded inclusion levels of Lemna minor meal (LMM) as a partial replacement for soybean meal on growth performance, feed efficiency, carcass characteristics, and economic efficiency of broiler chickens. At ten days of age, broilers were allocated to dietary treatments containing 0, 8, 16, and 24% LMM in a completely randomized design, and data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with polynomial contrasts. Lemna minor meal showed high crude protein and mineral content but lower metabolizable energy compared with conventional ingredients, confirming its potential as an alternative protein source. Dietary LMM significantly affected feed intake, growth performance, and feed efficiency. Birds fed moderate LMM inclusion showed superior body weight and average daily gain compared with higher inclusion levels (P < 0.05). Feed conversion ratio increased significantly with increasing LMM inclusion during grower, finisher, and whole production periods, while protein and energy efficiency ratios declined significantly (P < 0.01). Quadratic regression analysis indicated significant (P < 0.05) relationships between LMM inclusion percentage and average daily feed intake, final body weight, average daily gain, carcass weight, and breast meat yield. Carcass yield and dressing percentage were not significantly affected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05), whereas breast meat yield was significantly improved at moderate inclusion levels (P < 0.05). Economic analysis showed significant reductions in feed cost and improvements in profitability with increasing LMM inclusion (P < 0.01). In conclusion, moderate LMM inclusion (8–16%) optimizes growth performance and carcass characteristics, while higher inclusion levels improve economic returns, supporting LMM as a sustainable alternative protein source in broiler nutrition.