True phosphorus digestibility of camelina meal in broiler chickens

This study was conducted to determine the true digestibility of phosphorus (P) in two different cold-pressed camelina meals using regression method. Six semi-purified experimental diets containing 120, 240, or 360 g of camelina meal (CM) per kilogram from camelina meal 1 (CM1) and camelina meal 2 (CM2) were formulated. A total of 384 male Ross 708 broilers were allocated to six dietary treatments with eight cages per treatment from day 18 to day 23 post hatching in a randomized complete block design. The result showed that body weight gain, gain:feed ratio, ileal dry matter (DM) digestibility, DM and nitrogen (N) retention decreased (linear, P < 0.001) with increasing levels of CM1 and CM2. Apparent ileal digestibility of P and Ca decreased (P < 0.01) with increasing dietary levels of CM. From the regressions of ileal and excreta P output against intake of P from CM1 or CM2, true ileal P digestibility and true P retention were determined to be 35% and 15%, and 24% and 21% for CM1, and CM2, respectively. Results from the current experiment showed that high level of dietary CM inclusion resulted in a significant reduction in utilization of P in diets, and there was a considerable range in P utilization between the two camelina meal samples.