Effect of seed source and pelleting temperature during steam pelleting on apparent metabolizable energy value of full-fat canola seed for broiler chickens

Eleven canola seed (CS) samples were collected from different commercial feedmills and crushing plants in Australia and analyzed for nutrient profile. Six of these samples were selected to determine the effect of seed chemical composition and pellet temperature (PT) during steam pelleting on apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn) values of CS for broiler chickens using a 6 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. The CS samples were incorporated into a corn-soybean meal diet at 15% by replacing energy-yielding ingredients, and diets were steam pelleted at either 75 or 90°C. A total of 420 18-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) was assigned to 14 experimental diets replicated 6 times, with 5 chicks per cage. After a 5-day diet acclimation period from d 18 to 22, excreta were collected for 72 h using the substitution method to determine AME and AMEn. There was no interaction of seed source and PT for ileal digestible energy (IDE), AME, or AMEn values of CS (P > 0.05). PT did not affect energy availability of CS (P > 0.05) but increasing the PT improved the pellet durability index of the diets by approximately 5.0 percentage points. A significant effect of seed source was detected for all the energy utilization values of CS (P < 0.05). The IDE, AME, and AMEn values of seed samples ranged from 5,239 to 5,645, 4,728 to 5,071, and 4,501 to 4,791 kcal/kg of DM, respectively. The mean AMEn values were 4,664 kcal/kg of DM, indicating a 5.7% reduction compared with AME values. There was a negative correlation between protein and fat content of the seeds (r = –0.93, P = 0.001), and, consequently, AMEn (r = –0.32, P = 0.009). AMEn values were positively correlated with fat content of CS (r = 0.649, P = 0.001). These results indicate that fat and protein content and fiber components may have a considerable effect on energy availability of CS for broiler chickens.