Feeding Camelina sativa meal to meat-type chickens: Effect on production performance and tissue fatty acid composition

Camelina sativa is an oilseed crop of the Brassica (Cruciferae) family that has gained increasing popularity as a biofuel source. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding Camelina sativa meal to broiler birds on bird performance, carcass characteristics, white and dark meat, and tissue (liver and adipose) total lipids and fatty acid composition. A total of 160 one-day-old Cobb chicks were kept in pens and were fed a corn-and soybean meal-based diet with added Camelina meal at 0% (control), 2.5% (CAM2.5), 5% (CAM5), and 10% (CAM10). The experimental diets were fed for a period of 42 d. Feed efficiency, calculated from 1 to 21 d of growth, was highest for the control group and lowest for the CAM10 group, and was 1.83, 1.71, 1.62, and 1.53 for birds fed the control, CAM2.5, CAM5, and CAM10 diets, respectively (P = 0.04). Overall (1- to 42-d) FE was 1.71, 1.88, 1.82, and 1.86 for birds fed the control, CAM2.5, CAM5, and CAM10 diets, respectively (P > 0.05). No difference in BW gain was observed among birds in the control, CAM5, and CAM10 treatments at 6 wk of age. There were no significant differences in carcass weight, BW gain, or FE among birds in the CAM5, CAM10, and control treatments at 42 d. Liver weight as a percentage of carcass weight was highest for the CAM2.5 diet. No differences were observed in the weights of abdominal fat, heart, spleen, gastrointestinal tract, or lungs when expressed as a percentage of carcass weight. Feeding Camelina meal led to significant increases in n-3 fatty acids in the meat and tissues (P < 0.05). alpha-Linolenic acid (18: 3n-3) was the major n-3 fatty acid in the white and dark meat and tissues. Longer chain n-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (20: 5n-3), docosapentaenoic acid (22: 5n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6n-3), were present in the white and dark meat and liver tissues. Therefore, Camelina meal can be included in broiler diets up to 10% without compromising bird performance while increasing the n-3 fatty acid content of the meat.