The Effect of the Dietary Level of Cottonseed Meal on Hatchability

FEW experiments have been conducted to determine the value of cottonseed meal in the diets of laying chickens, probably because it is known that it contains substances responsible for olive-colored yolks and pink yolks and whites in stored eggs. It is known that gossypol is the component of cottonseed that causes olive-colored yolks but it apparently is not known if gossypol and the other components of the pigment glands have an adverse effect on the production and hatchability of eggs. Little is known about the feeding value of cottonseed protein— that is, whether cottonseed meal could be used as the only protein concentrate in the diets of laying chickens, or whether it must be supplemented by other protein concentrates if satisfactory results are to be obtained. There are times when cottonseed meal is relatively cheap, and if more information were available about its possible limitations and the methods of correcting . . .