Barley and full-fat canola seed in layer diets

Combinations of barley and full-fat canola seed (FFCS) were evaluated in two experiments with pullets. In Experiment 1, diets containing 40% barley plus FFCS or canola meal (CM) were compared with wheat-soybean and barley-soybean control diets. In Experiment 2, various steam-pelleted barley-FFCS mixtures (80:20 70:30, 60:40, 50:50) were used at the 40% dietary level in pullet diets. Diets within each experiment were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Egg production was depressed when hens were fed unpelleted barley-FFCS diets, whereas hens fed pelleted barley-FFCS diets produced at a rate equivalent to those fed the control diet. Feed consumption, feed conversion, and egg weight were not influenced by dietary treatment. Yolk color index was significantly increased in eggs from hens fed diets containing increasing amounts of FFCS. In Experiment 2, contents of linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid in the yolk increased in a linear manner with increasing content of FFCS in the diets.