Effects of feeding crambe meal upon intake, gain, health and meat quality of broiler chicks

True metabolizable energy of crambe meal was determined with adult cecectomized turkeys to be 11.8 kJ(2.8 kcal)g(-1). Amino acid digestibilities were 90% or greater, indicating that protein quality of crambe meal was high. Growing broilers were fed diets containing 0, 50, 100 or 150 (g crambe meal) kg(-1) diet (control, 50C, 100C and 150C, respectively) for 56 days. Feed intake for the 150C birds was lower than the other treatments initially; at the end of the experiment, intake of the 150C birds compensated and was similar to the control birds. Weight gain patterns were similar to intake responses. Birds on the 150C treatment had reduced tibial ash content and locomotor difficulties in the first half of the experiment; these effects were absent in the second half of the experiment. Meat quality and serum chemistries were unaffected by feeding crambe meal. Broilers fed the 150C diet had increased liver and kidney weights. Broilers can be fed diets containing up to 50 (g crambe meal) kg(-1) diet with no adverse effects on gain and health and up to 100 g kg(-1) diet with minimal adverse effects on gain and health. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.