Sulphur and calcium supplementation of soybean and canola meal diets

Abstract

No significant difference in weight gain or feed:gain ratio was noted with 6-wk-old male broilers fed a practical type corn-soybean meal diet or a similar diet containing 25% canola meal. Supplementing the canola meal diet with 0.2% sulphur, however, did significantly reduce gain. A reduction in feed intake and total abdominal fat was noted with the canola-meal-supplemented diets as compared to the corn-soybean meal diets. In a second experiment, sulphur addition to a soybean meal, semi-purified, low-protein, low-calcium diet, resulted in weight gains and feed intakes similar to those noted in a canola meal diet with the same levels of sulphur fed to male broilers from 7 to 21 d of age. As sulphur was added to the soybean meal diet, there was a linear depression in weight gain and feed intake which was partially overcome by calcium supplementation. Sulphur appeared to exert its negative effect on performance by reducing feed intake rather than interfering with the efficiency of utilization of the diets. The present results suggest that high levels of inorganic sulphur in canola meal are a major factor in the reduced performance often reported with canola-meal-supplemented diets. Key words: Chickens, canola, sulphur, calcium, feed intake