Effects of fat sources on lean tissue deposition in broilers

The modern broiler contains ISO to 200 g fat per kg body weight, over 85% of Which is physiologically inessential. Fatness in poultry has three major attributes: a) it depresses feed efficiency; b) some adipose tissues are of little economic value, ie, abdominal fat is removed by evisceration, thus decreasing processing yield; and c) consumption of saturated fat is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular risks in humans. Increased fat content in the chicken meat is therefore undesirable both economically and socially. Nutritional manipulations taken to counter excessive body fatness include feed restriction, changing protein to energy ratio and manipulation of the balance of individual amino acids. Although some of these measures have yielded favourable results their practical use has been limited. The current study was undertaken to examine the effect of various fat sources on lean tissue deposition in broiler chickens.