Crambe meal in broiler feeding
This study aimed to evaluate the performance of broilers fed a diet in which the total protein has been replaced by the protein of the crambe meal. The experiment was used 630 male chickens (Cobb® 500) from 8 to 42 days of age, distributed in a completely randomized design with five treatments, six replications of 21 birds per plot. The treatments were: control diet (0%) and diets containing 3, 6, 9 and 12% of crambe meal protein in replacement of the total protein of the feed. The performance was evaluated in the initial phase (8 to 21 days), growth (22 to 42 days) and total (8 to 42 days). Carcass and cuts was evaluated at 43 days of age. Diets containing crambe meal promoted lower feed intake compared with to the control diet in all evaluated phases. For weight gain, a worse result was observed with increased inclusion of crambe protein, with a linear decrease compared to those who did not receive crambe in the total breeding period. It was found that for the total period the best feed conversion was obtained with 6% of the inclusion of crambe protein in comparison to the crambe-free diet. Carcass, breast and thigh weights decreased with a diet containing 12% of the crambe protein. The results indicate that it is possible to partially replace the crude protein of the feed up to 6% with the protein of the crambe meal.