Effects of Increasing Dietary Levels of Full-Fat Canola on Performance, Nutrient Retention, and Bone Mineralization

Day-old male broiler chickens were fed diets containing 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20% raw, ground, full-fat canola for a period of three weeks. Increasing the dietary proportion of full-fat canola significantly reduced feed intake (P less than .05) and weight gain (P less than .01), without altering feed:gain ratio. Diet had no significant effect on protein retention although there was a significant decrease in fat retention with an increase in dietary levels of full-fat canola (P less than .01). This was accompanied by a significant decrease in metabolizable energy (P less than .01). Increasing the proportion of dietary full-fat canola significantly reduced the concentration of soap in the digesta (P less than .05) and excreta (P less than .01). There was no significant effect of the dietary treatments on calcium or phosphorus retention. There was also no effect of the dietary full-fat canola on bone ash, bone calcium, or phosphorus content.