Comparative Value of Dietary Rapeseed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Soybean Oil and Animal Tallow for Chickens

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Abstract
Chickens were fed from zero to 8 weeks of age, rations containing 4 or 8% of animal tallow, soybean oil, rapeseed oil or sunflower seed oil. As compared with a ration with no added fat, only the inclusion of 4% of animal tallow in the ration failed to significantly increase weight gain. In general, all fat additions markedly improved efficiency of feed utilization. The use of equivalent levels of animal tallow, rapeseed oil and sunflower seed oil resulted in ration metabolizable energy values which were approximately equal. However, the metabolizable energy content of rations containing soybean oil was significantly higher than that of rations containing comparable levels of other fat sources. Fatty acid analysis by gas chromatography showed that the composition of chick adipose tissue reflected that of the dietary fat. The presence of substantial portions of eicosenoic and erucic acids in adipose tissue of chicks receiving dietary rapeseed oil provides additional evidence for an apparent direct deposition of some unaltered dietary fatty acids in the body fat stores.