Influence of Low Glucosinolate Rapeseed Meal and Rapeseed Screenings Meal on the Eating Quality of Broiler Chickens

Abstract

White Mountain × Hubbard broiler chickens were fed one of five rations: a soybean meal control ration (SBM), a 10% Tower rapeseed meal ration (RSM), a Tower RSM ration with 2.5% rapeseed screenings meal (RSM + 2.5 RSSM), a Tower RSM ration with 5% rapeseed screenings meal (RSM + 5 RSSM), or a Tower RSM ration with 10% rapeseed screenings meal (RSM + 10 RSSM). At 8 weeks of age, the chickens were killed, eviscerated, and frozen for later evaluation. Cooked light and dark meat and broth samples were evaluated by a trained panel. Some objective measurements were made. Inclusion of 10% RSM in the ration did not affect the eating quality of the cooked chicken meat and broth. Chickens from rations containing RSM and RSM with varying amounts of RSSM were generally similar. Judges rated the “other” score for the odor of dark meat from chickens fed the RSM + 10 RSSM ration significantly lower than that score for RSM dark meat. Broilers fed the RSM + 10 RSSM ration produced cooked dark meat which was slightly undesirable and which differed significantly from chickens raised on the SBM ration. The dark meat from chickens fed all rations was rated acceptable to moderately desirable. There were no significant differences in tenderness and juiciness of light meat attributable to ration.These studies indicate that feeding rations containing 10% Tower RSM to broilers did not affect the palatability of the resulting cooked chicken. Inclusion of 10% RSSM resulted in dark meat which was slightly less desirable than that from SBM chickens.