THE VALUE OF CANOLA SEED IN POULTRY DIETS

Abstract

Canola seed fed to broilers at dietary levels of 17.5%, or higher resulted in reduced weight gain and feed intake. However, feed:gain ratios to 7 wk were similar. Nitrogen digestibility and amino acid supplementation studies appeared to rule out these factors as possible explanations for the poorer performance on Canola seed diets. The good feed:gain ratios of the Canola seed diets suggest that feed intake or palatability, rather than quality of diet, may have been factors influencing weight with these diets. Results of an experiment, where an attempt was made to verify this hypothesis, with pair-fed treatments and the use of pelleted and colored diets to stimulate consumption, suggested that palatability could be part of the problem. Apparent retention of dietary fat was significantly lower with the Canola seed, as compared with the corn-soya control diets. Whether this response was due to dietary fat level per se, or specific to Canola oil, could not be determined from the present study. Key words: Canola seed, broiler diets, palatability