Comparative dietary value of soybean oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and animal tallow for turkey poults.

The effects of including soybean oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, or animal tallow in turkey poult starting rations were studied. Male, broad-breasted Bronze poults were used and the fat sources were tested at 5% and 10% of the ration.The inclusion of soybean oil, sunflower oil, or animal tallow in the starting rations stimulated weight gain from 1 day to 6 weeks of age and improved efficiency of feed utilization. However, the addition of rapeseed oil to the ration depressed weight gain as compared to the basal (low-fat) ration. The magnitude of growth depression was directly related to the rapeseed oil content of the ration. The comparative ration metabolizable energy data indicate that dietary energy supplied by rapeseed oil was as available to poults as energy supplied by other fat sources. Poults consuming rations containing 5% or 10% rapeseed oil consumed less feed than did poults consuming all other rations. Decreased feed consumption was apparently responsible for the depressed weight gains of the...