Reducing the costs of

broiler production
What you need to know
about using oils & fats
in broiler feeds
Tim Walker
Consultant
Sydney, Australia
 Introduction
¾Oils & fats - lipids with similar chemical
structure
Oil – liquid at ambient temperature
Fat – solid at ambient temperature
• Some oils, such as palm become fats in
temperate countries
¾For simplicity the term ‘oil’ will be used for
both oils & fats
 Introduction
¾Commercial nutritionists must decide
energy values for all feed ingredients,
including oils
¾Nutritionists need to understand key
factors that determine energy of oils
¾Oils are appealing in broiler feed because
of high energy (oil about 2x carbohydrate),
but huge energy variation between best &
worst oils
 Broiler feed: is oil addition
necessary ?
¾ Linoleic the only essential fatty acid for birds
¾ Grains & other ingredients in typical broiler
feed supply sufficient linoleic acid
¾ Oils are essentially just a source of energy,
but may have other benefits including:
o Improve palatability / intake (mash feeds only?)
o Reduce dustiness & ingredient separation
o Increase pellet mill output (but reduce PDI)
o Decrease ingesta rate of passage thereby
increase nutrient utilisation
 Broiler feed: is oil addition
necessary ?
¾Oil addition is perhaps desirable but not
essential and probably uneconomic at current
high prices
¾If oil is to be included in broiler feed:
o ME values of available oils should be measured,
calculated or estimated
o Use most cost effective oils
 Energy – GE, ME & NE
¾Gross energy (GE)
o Energy released when totally combusted
o about 9,400 kcal/kg for all oils
¾Metabolisable energy (ME) is the difference
between GE consumed (feed) and GE excreted
(faeces & urine)
o Apparent ME (AME) is ME with no correction for
endogenous energy losses
o In this presentation ME will be used for ME whether
true or apparent, with or without nitrogen correction
¾Net energy (NE) is actual energy available for
maintenance & production
 NE (net energy)
¾Oils described as having low ‘heat increment’
or ‘extra calorific effect’ (beneficial effect
above that predicted from ME value)
¾Oil used very efficiently to form body fat
deposits or egg fat
¾ME probably under-values oils for poultry
o By about 15% for laying hens
o Unclear for broilers (<15%?)
¾Studies with calorimetry chambers needed to
elucidate ME values of oils for broilers
 Oil chemical composition
¾Triglycerides main component of feed oils
¾Other substances present in variable &
generally small amounts:
o Free fatty acids (FFA)
o Monoglycerides
o Glycerol
o Waxes
o Phospholipids
o Fat-soluble vitamins
o Insoluble matter
o Water
 Triglyceride
¾ Simple lipid comprising 3 fatty acids esterified
(attached by ester bond) to glycerol ‘backbone’
¾ Fatty acid position (‘sn’) on glycerol relevant to
digestion & ME
sn‐1          CH2 – O‐ CO – R1 (fatty acid 1)

sn‐2          CH2 – O‐ CO – R2 (fatty acid 2)

sn‐3          CH2 – O‐ CO – R3 (fatty acid 3)

 Triglyceride structure
Glycerol Ester linkage Fatty acids
 Fatty acids
¾Systematic naming
o Chain length (from 8-22 carbon atoms)
o Number of double bonds (unsaturation)
o Position of double bond (‘n’ or ‘ω’ = omega)
Examples (with common names):
C14:0 = lauric (saturated)
C16:0 = palmitic (saturated)
C18:0 = stearic (saturated)
C18:1 n-9 = oleic (monounsaturated omega 9)
C18:2 n-6 = linoleic (polyunsaturated omega 6)
C18:3 n-3 = α-linolenic (polyunsaturated omega 3)
 C18 fatty acids

Stearic Oleic (C18:1 n-9)

(C18:0)

Linoleic (C18:2 n-6) Linolenic (C18:3 n-3)

 Oil quality tests
¾MIU (Moisture + Insoluble impurities +
Unsaponifiable matter)
o Measured individually, expressed as total %
¾FFA (free fatty acids)
o Expressed as %
¾U:S ratio (fatty acid saturation)
o Measure fatty acid composition (quantitative GLC)
o Divide sum of
ƒ Unsaturated + saturated with chain length ≤ C12 by
ƒ Saturated with chain length ≥C14
IV (iodine value) not useful
 Oil digestion & absorption
¾Duodenum main site of digestion
o Emulsification of triglycerides by bile salts
o Hydrolysis by pancreatic lipase into
ƒ Free fatty acids (FFA) from sn-1 & sn-3 positions
ƒ 2-monoglycerides (FA attached to glycerol in sn-2 position)
¾Micelle formation needed for absorption of long
chain FFAs & monoglycerides
o Micelles are tiny particles highly dispersed in aqueous
medium of intestinal lumen
¾Medium chain FFAs (C6 to C12) & glycerol
dissolve in aqueous phase for absorption
(micelles not necessary)
Micelle – arrangement of fatty acids
 Oil digestion & absorption
¾Micelle formation
o Unsaturated long chain FFAs & monoglycerides
spontaneously form mixed micelles (relatively
polar)
o Long chain saturated FFA (C14+) only slightly
soluble & need mixed micelles to be solubilised
for absorption
o Palmitic (C16:0) & stearic (C18:0) form mixed
micelles readily if in sn-2 position because
present as 2-monoglyceride after hydrolysis
 Lipase & bile salts
¾Lipase secretion increases rapidly during first
3 weeks. Research shows:
o 100x increase from 4 to 21 days
o Gradual increase in activity to 15 days when
maximum reached
¾Bile salts
o Secreted from gall bladder
o Not absorbed in upper small intestine
o Continuously re-utilised for micelle formation
o Eventually absorbed in lower jejunum
o Recycling inefficient in young bird
 Oil ME
¾ME values for many oil products reported
from numerous studies over many decades
¾Values variable, inconsistent & confusing
¾Test samples not adequately described &
chemical characterisation not detailed or
precise enough
¾Difficult for nutritionists to decide ME values
¾NRC (1994) illustrates wide range of values
ME Values ‐ NRC (1994)

MEn
Lowest Highest
kcal/kg kcal/kg
Animal tallows 6,020 7,780
Coconut 8,812
Fish oil 8,450
Lard 7,337 9,854
Palm oil 5,302
Poultry fat 8,020 10,212
Soybean oil 9,659
 Oil ME
Systematic studies show oil ME determined
mostly by:
oBird age
oFatty acid saturation (U:S ratio)
oFFA
oFatty acid chain length
oFatty acid position on glycerol backbone
 Oil ME – major factors
¾ Bird age
o ME increases with age
ƒ Low week 1, large increase week 2, small increase week
3, no further increase after week 3
ƒ Reason not understood (inefficient bile salt recycling?)
¾ Fatty acid saturation (U:S ratio)
o Saturated long chain FAs need mixed micelles to
be solubilised
o Solubilisation, absorption & ME determined by
balance between saturated & unsaturated FAs
o U:S ration ME response curvilinear with greatest
increase at lower U:S
 Oil ME – major factors
¾ Free fatty acids (FFA)
o Monoglycerides needed for efficient micelle
formation with FFA, particularly long chain
saturates (C14:0, C16:0 & c18:0)
o Solubilisation of FFA decreases as ratio to
monoglycerides increases
o Linear relationship between FFA & ME
 Oil ME – major factors
¾ Fatty acid chain length
o Saturated medium chain fatty acids (C12:0 &
shorter) behave more like unsaturated FAs
¾ Fatty acid position on glycerol backbone
o Unsaturated mostly sn-2 position in natural oils
(monoglyceride)
o Saturates with chain length ≥C14 in sn-1 & sn-3
poorly absorbed (because in FFA form after
hydrolysis)
 Oil ME – other factors
¾Other factors include:
o Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP)
ƒ Viscosity effects on enzymes & microflora
o Minerals / soap formation
o Excess Ca (>1%), palmitic (C16:0) & stearic
(C18:0) only
o Fibre
o Coccidiosis
o Mycotoxins
o Rate of passage
 Wiseman equations – ME prediction
Equations derived from a series of experiments
with 2 bird ages & variable oil FFA & U:S
ME (kcal/kg) =
(A + B*FFA (g/kg) + C*exp(D*U:S)) / 0.004184

Chick age
Constant 1.5 wk 7.5 wk
A 38.1118 39.0245
B -0.0090 0.0056
C -15.3368 -8.5054
D -0.5089 -0.4025
 Wiseman equations – ME prediction

¾ Formulas created in spreadsheet (e.g. Excel)

convenient for ME calculation
¾ Useful guide to ME of oils with known FFA & U:S
ratio, for young (0-20 days) & older (21+ days)
broilers
¾ Equations may under-value ME of saturated oils
(e.g. palm) included at low levels (<4%?) in corn
based feeds (high unsaturated oil content)
 ME values of various oils calculated
using Wiseman equations
FFA U:S ME (kcal/kg)
Oil description
(%) ratio Young bird Older bird
Palm oil crude 5.0 0.95 6,740 7,870
Palm oil RBD 0.1 0.95 6,850 7,940
Palm olein 0.1 1.15 7,070 8,050
Palm acid oil (PAO) 50.0 0.95 5,770 7,270
Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) 70.0 0.95 5,340 7,000
Rice bran oil - low FFA 5.0 4.90 8,700 8,980
Rice bran oil - medium FFA 10.0 4.90 8,590 8,910
Rice bran oil - high FFA 15.0 4.90 8,480 8,840
Coconut oil 1.5 2.30 7,940 8,500
Palm kernel acid oil 1.5 2.60 8,100 8,590
Soy oil crude 5.0 5.70 8,800 9,060
Canola oil crude 5.0 15.60 9,000 9,260
Cottonseed oil crude 5.0 2.90 8,160 8,630
Tallow, beef & mutton 5.0 1.00 6,800 7,900
Tallow acid oil 50.0 1.00 5,830 7,300
Tallow, pig (lard) 5.0 1.30 7,110 8,060
Poultry fat 2.0 2.70 8,140 8,620
Fish oil 2.0 3.00 8,270 8,690
 Common feed oil sources
in south Asia region
¾Global veg oil & animal fat production about
160Mmt/year
¾Used for food, industrial products, biodiesel &
animal feeds
¾Feed oils generally crude or inferior quality,
by-products (oil refining, abattoir rendering) or
recovered / recycled
 Palm oil & by-products
¾World no.1 edible oil by volume (49 Mmt/year)
o Palm kernel oil also significant (5 Mmt/year)
¾Major feed oil in the region, products include
o Crude palm oil (CPO)
o Refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD)
o Palm olein
o Acid oils
ƒ Palm acid oil (PAO)
ƒ Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)
 Palm oil ME
¾Palm oil
o Crude (CPO) & RBD (refined, bleached,
deodorised) products differ in FFA content
¾Wide range of ME values reported for ‘palm
oil’, ranging from (kcal/kg):
o 5,800 kcal/kg
o 6,620 (young) & 7,720 (older)
o 4,771 (young) & 9,137 (older)
 Palm oil ME
¾Possible reasons for wide range of reported
ME values:
o Type & composition of test sample
ƒ Often described simply as ‘palm oil’
ƒ Could be refined, crude or fractionated
ƒ Could vary in MIU, FFA & U:S ratio
o Oil inclusion in test diets
ƒ Effect on U:S ratio of saturated oil products
o Basal grain composition
ƒ Unsaturated FA contribution (e.g. corn v wheat)
 Palm olein & stearin
¾Produced by fractionation of PO
¾Palm olein has lower & palm stearin higher
melting temperature than PO
¾Palm olein has higher U:S ratio than PO,
therefore higher ME
¾Perhaps 200 & 100 kcal/kg for young % older birds
 Palm acid oils
¾Acids oils (or acidulated soapstocks) are by-
products of edible oil refining
¾Two palm acid oil types:
o Palm acid oil (PAO)
ƒ Typically 50% FFA)
o Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)
ƒ Typically 70% FFA)
ƒ Main type now produced
¾Low ME because of high FFA & low U:S ratio
 ME values of palm oil products
calculated using Wiseman equations
FFA U:S ME (kcal/kg)
Oil description
(%) ratio Young bird Older bird
Palm oil crude 5.0 0.95 6,740 7,870
Palm oil RBD 0.1 0.95 6,850 7,940
Palm olein 0.1 1.15 7,070 8,050
Palm acid oil (PAO) 50.0 0.95 5,770 7,270
Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) 70.0 0.95 5,340 7,000
Rice bran oil - low FFA 5.0 4.90 8,700 8,980
Rice bran oil - medium FFA 10.0 4.90 8,590 8,910
Rice bran oil - high FFA 15.0 4.90 8,480 8,840
Coconut oil 1.5 2.30 7,940 8,500
Palm kernel acid oil 1.5 2.60 8,100 8,590
Soy oil crude 5.0 5.70 8,800 9,060
Canola oil crude 5.0 15.60 9,000 9,260
Cottonseed oil crude 5.0 2.90 8,160 8,630
Tallow, beef & mutton 5.0 1.00 6,800 7,900
Tallow acid oil 50.0 1.00 5,830 7,300
Tallow, pig (lard) 5.0 1.30 7,110 8,060
Poultry fat 2.0 2.70 8,140 8,620
Fish oil 2.0 3.00 8,270 8,690
 Rice bran oil
¾World rice production about 700 Mmt/year
= 60-70 Mmt rice bran
= at least 10 Mmt rice bran oil
Oil extracted from less than 10% of rice bran
Global rice bran oil supply 1.0-1.5 Mmt/year
¾India main rice bran oil producer in south Asia
o About 480,000 mt in 2001
¾Highly unsaturated, therefore high ME
o Similar to soybean oil
 ME values of rice bran oil
calculated using Wiseman equations
FFA U:S ME (kcal/kg)
Oil description
(%) ratio Young bird Older bird
Palm oil crude 5.0 0.95 6,740 7,870
Palm oil RBD 0.1 0.95 6,850 7,940
Palm olein 0.1 1.15 7,070 8,050
Palm acid oil (PAO) 50.0 0.95 5,770 7,270
Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) 70.0 0.95 5,340 7,000
Rice bran oil - low FFA 5.0 4.90 8,700 8,980
Rice bran oil - medium FFA 10.0 4.90 8,590 8,910
Rice bran oil - high FFA 15.0 4.90 8,480 8,840
Coconut oil 1.5 2.30 7,940 8,500
Palm kernel acid oil 1.5 2.60 8,100 8,590
Soy oil crude 5.0 5.70 8,800 9,060
Canola oil crude 5.0 15.60 9,000 9,260
Cottonseed oil crude 5.0 2.90 8,160 8,630
Tallow, beef & mutton 5.0 1.00 6,800 7,900
Tallow acid oil 50.0 1.00 5,830 7,300
Tallow, pig (lard) 5.0 1.30 7,110 8,060
Poultry fat 2.0 2.70 8,140 8,620
Fish oil 2.0 3.00 8,270 8,690
 Palm kernel & Coconut oils
¾Global production:
o Palm kernel 5.2 Mmt/year
o Coconut 3.9 Mmt/year
¾Both oils extremely saturated, but predominant
fatty acid is lauric (C12:0)
¾U:S ratio about 2.4 for Wiseman ME calculation
(capric C10:0 & lauric C12:0 included as
unsaturated)
¾Palm kernel & coconut oils similar ME
o 7,700 kcal/kg young & 8,800 kcal/kg older birds
o palm kernel slightly higher ME than coconut
 Animal tallow
¾Global production about 9 Mmt/year
¾Feed grade (FFA ≤ 15%) commonly used in
broiler feed in countries with meat industries
¾Cattle & sheep tallow low ME (highly
saturated)
¾Pig & poultry tallow higher ME (less
saturated)
 Other oils
¾Soybean oil
o World’s no. 2 edible oil (42 Mmt/year)
o High linoleic acid content
o High ME for broilers
o Suitable & safe for broiler feeds
¾Fish oil
o Not usually economic for broiler feed
o High content of long chain polyunsaturated FAs
o Prone to oxidation, need antioxidant to minimise
toxic oxidation products, loss of ME & ‘fishy’ taint
o High ME for broilers
 Other oils
¾Rapeseed, mustard & canola (Brassica) oils
o Erucic acid reduces feed intake & growth
o Canola oil safe for broilers (erucic acid <2%)
o Rapeseed & mustard oils risky (erucic acid
typically 30-50% in mustard oils)
o Highly unsaturated, high ME for broilers
¾Cottonseed oil
o Contains the anti-nutritional factors cyclopropenoid
FAs & residual gossypol
o Broilers tolerant of above ANFs
o OK for broilers but high risk for breeders & layers
 Oil blends
¾Blends may include several different oil types
& perhaps by-products (e.g. acid oils)
¾Composition of blends may be variable
¾Composition must be known or determined to
predict ME from Wiseman equations.
o QC important & need to know:
ƒ MIU
ƒ FFA
ƒ U:S ratio
 Recovered oils
¾Recovered or recycled oils commonly used in
animal feeds
¾Typically spent oils from food frying
o Product names include RVO (‘recovered vegetable
oil’), ‘yellow grease’ & ‘restaurant grease’
¾ Effects of heating on oil quality make
assessment difficult
o Unsaturation increases susceptibility
o Oxidation & polymerisation
¾Too risky for broiler feeds?
 Other products
¾Fat powders
o ME calculated using same quality characteristics
as liquids (FFA, U:S ratio)
¾Glycerin / glycerol
o Glycerin by-product of soap & biodiesel
ƒ Typically about 90% glycerol & 10% water
o GE of pure glycerol about 4,100 kcal/kg
o ME of typical glycerin about 3,400 kcal/kg
Enhancing oil digestion & ME
¾Antioxidants
o Oxidation can cause oil ME reduction, free radical
damage & destruction of nutrients
o Antioxidants prevent or slow oxidation rate
o Add antioxidant as early as possible in manufacturing
process
o Antioxidant type & addition rate based on anticipated
oxidative stress, storage time & temperature
¾Emulsifiers
o Reported to improve ME
o Best response with young birds & saturated oils?
Enhancing oil digestion & ME
¾Lipase
o Current evidence suggests no ME response
¾Interesterification
o Chemical interesterification of palm oil increases
unsaturated FAs on sn-1 & sn-3 positions
o Neoh reported ME increase for broilers of about
1,200kcal/kg by interesterification of palm oil
o Great potential if economic
 Conclusions
¾Oil in broiler feeds perhaps desirable but not
essential & probably uneconomic
¾If oil to be included, ME should be measured,
calculated or estimated
¾Oil ME low & increasing over first 2-3
o Especially for oils with low U:S ratio & high FFA
¾ME values reported seem variable,
inconsistent & confusing
¾ME prediction equations useful for nutritionists
 Conclusions
¾Chemical tests helpful for ME assessment
o Particularly for lower quality products, by-products,
oil blends & recovered oils
¾Palm, the major oil in the region is quite
saturated yielding low ME compared to other
vegetable oils
o Wide range of ME values reported
o Possible reasons discussed
¾Rice bran oil yields high ME
¾Palm kernel & coconut oils yield similar ME,
higher than palm oil
 Conclusions
¾Animal tallow yields low & variable ME
o Low U:S ratio
o Beef & mutton lower ME than lard & chicken
¾Nutritional values of blended & recovered oil
products is difficult to evaluate without
adequate QC. Recovered oils are high risk.
¾Oil ME enhancement
o Antioxidants should be used
o Emulsifiers should be considered
o Interesterification increase ME of palm oil