The effects of toasting canola meal on body weight, feed conversion efficiency, and mortality in broiler chickens

It is hypothesized that the moisture incorporated into canola meal (CM) during desolventization, as sparge steam, promotes toasting. Elimination of toasting of CM would result in higher digestible amino acid content, but it is not known if it is required to reduce anti-nutritional factors. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine if suspending the use of sparge steam would prevent toasting and to study the effects of toasting on broiler chicken performance. Conventional toasted CM (TCM) and a hexane laden, nontoasted CM (NTCM) were collected from a commercial crushing plant. NTCM was desolventized in a research desolventizer/toaster without the use of sparge steam, producing a yellow-colored meal. The meals were fed to broiler chickens from 0 to 39 d and replaced 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% of the soybean meal (SBM) in wheat-based diets. Elimination of toasting increased broiler weight from 0.606 and 2.148 to 0.618 and 2.181 kg at 19 and 39 d of age, respectively. The feed ratio (0 to 19 d) increased from 0.637 to 0.642, but toasting did not affect mortality. Total mortality and chronic heart failure between 19 and 39 d increased with level of CM addition from 5.2 to 13.9% and 1.9 to 9.6%, respectively. Chronic heart failure in males, but not females, was increased from 3.3 to 17.4% with increasing CM level. In conclusion, desolventization without sparge steam produced a nontoasted meal and improved broiler growth and feed efficiency in comparison to TCM. Therefore, NTCM could be fed to broiler chickens.