Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar;102(3):102432.
doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2022.102432. Epub 2022 Dec 17.

Performance and health of broiler chickens fed low erucic acid, lower fiber pennycress (CoverCressTM) grain

G F Hartnell  1 , S Lemke  2 , D Moore  3 , A Matthews  3 , M A Nemeth  4 , R Brister  5 , S Liu  6 , C Aulbach  6
Affiliations

Performance and health of broiler chickens fed low erucic acid, lower fiber pennycress (CoverCressTM) grain

G F Hartnell et al. Poult Sci. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

CoverCress (low erucic acid, lower fiber pennycress) is being developed as a cover crop to be planted in the fall after corn and harvested in the spring prior to planting soybeans. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate 2 lines of the whole grain (CCWG-1: natural mutation and mutation breeding; CCWG-2: gene edited) and the whole grain pretreated with the potential palatability agent copper sulfate (CCWG-1-CuSO4; CCWG-2-CuSO4) as an ingredient for broilers. In Experiment 1, CCWG-1-CuSO4 was included in the diet at 0, 4, and 6% for 41 d. Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion, processing characteristics, organ weights, serum thyroid, macropathology and histology data were collected. In Experiment 2, broilers were fed diets containing Control, 2% CCWG-1, 4% CCWG-1, 4% CCWG-2, and 4.35% CCWG-1-CuSO4 for 42 d. Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion, organ weights, serum thyroid, blood chemistries, macropathology, and histology data were collected. In Experiment 1, feed intake and body weight were diminished with no effect on feed conversion for the birds consuming diets containing CCWG-1-CuSO4. In Experiment 2, feed intake and body weight were lower with no difference in feed conversion in birds fed diets containing greater than 2% CoverCress grain during d 0 to 28. During d 28 to 42 no difference in feed intake, body weight and an improvement in feed conversion was observed in birds fed all of the CoverCress grain products. In both experiments no significant negative effects were observed in processing, liver, kidney, and thyroid weights, T3, T4, blood chemistries, macropathology, and histopathology between the control and any of the CoverCress grain treatments. No difference in performance was observed in birds fed the mutant (4% CCWG-1) and gene-edited (4% CCWG-2) products. Pretreating CoverCress grain with copper sulfate did not have a significant effect on improving palatability. In conclusion, CoverCress grain can be safely fed to broilers when included at a target rate of 4% in diets and with total glucosinolate levels not to exceed 4.9 µmoles g-1.

Keywords: CoverCress; broiler chickens; health; pennycress; performance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURES Hartnell and Lemke are CoverCress Inc. paid consultants. Liu and Aulbach are employees of CoverCress Inc. CoverCress Inc. paid for the statistical services of Nemeth and the studies conducted by Colorado Quality Research Inc. where Moore and Matthews are employees. Brister has no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Ag Guide . 4th edition. Published by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, the Poultry Science Association; 2020. Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching. (2020)ISBN: 978-0-9649811-2-6.
    1. Alhotan R.A., Wang R.L., Holser R.A., Pesti G.M. Nutritive value and the maximum inclusion level of pennycress meal for broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 2017;96:2281–2293. - PubMed
    1. Al-Sheihbaz I.A., Al-Shammary K.I. Distribution and chemotaxonomic significance of glucosinolates in certain Middle-Eastern Cruciferae. Biochem. Systemmatics Ecol. 1987;15:559–589.
    1. Bischoff K.L. Chapter 53 - Glucosinolates. Nutraceuticals (Second edition) Efficacy Safety Toxicity. 2021:903–909. Pages.
    1. Bremer J., Norum K.R. Metabolism of very long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (22: 1) and the adaptation to their presence in the diet. J. Lipid Res. 1982;23:243–256. - PubMed