Feeding of Fish Oil and Ethyl Ester Fractions of Fish Oil to Broilers

INTRODUCTION CRUDE oil from menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is a good source of energy for poultry (Renner and Hill, 1958) and this fish oil is being incorporated successfully in commercial poultry feeds at levels of less than 1½ percent. When the crude oil at dietary levels of 1½ percent or more is fed to chicks, however, an off-flavor is imparted to the flesh (Nilson, 1954; Carlson et al., 1955; and Dansky, 1962). We hypothesized that by processing the total crude oil, various refined products might result that contain less of the unkown factor(s) responsible for off-flavor. We further hypothesized that the feeding value of one or more of these purer products might be equal to that of the original oil yet permit higher levels of feeding without the usual flavor problems. The objectives of this experiment, therefore, were as follows: 1. To determine at a high level in the diet the…