Effects of dehulling and dry heating on the nutritional value of rapeseed meal for broiler chicks

A five weeks feeding experiment was conducted to study the effect of including rapeseed meal (processed in different ways) in the diet of broiler chicks on their biological performance. Rapeseed meal was prepared in three different ways: 1) Normal procedure was adopted; 2) Seeds were given dry heat (80 degreesC) treatment and were then extracted in the normal way; 3) Seeds were dehulled and the remaining cotyledon part of the seeds was extracted. These meals were included in the diet of broiler chicks at a level so as to provide 25% of the total dietary protein from rapeseed meal. Data on feed consumption and weight gain were recorded weekly. Results showed no significant effects of different treatments. However among the groups, heat treatment resulted (although not significantly) in the highest feed intake (2081 g/chick) followed by control (1940 g/chick) and dehulled rapeseed meal (1915 g/chick). This trend was paralleled by gain in weight and maximum gain was recorded in the case of heat treated rapeseed meal fed group (788 g/chick). Feed to gain ratio ranged from 2.49 (dehulling group) to 2.72 (control group).