Effects of copper supplementation on performance and some blood metabolites of broilers fed various levels of canola meal containing diets

In order to assess the effects of different levels of canola meal (CM; at proportion of 0, 10 and 20 %) and copper (fed at three levels of 0, 125 and 250 mg/kg) on performance and plasma enzymes activity of broiler chickens, an experiment was performed from d 1 to 21. A total of 495 male broilers (Ross 308) were used in completely randomized design with a 3×3 factorial arrangement with 5 replicates (11 birds per replicate). Feed consumption was not significantly affected by treatments in an experimental period (P 0.05). The BW gain and feed conversion ratio was significantly impaired (P 0.05) when 20% CM was added in the diets, but supplementation of copper was not significant effects on BW gain and feed conversion ratio (P 0.05). Hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume and total erythrocyte count were not affected by treatments (P 0.05). Concentrations of plasma enzymes and the proportion of liver weight were similar among the treatments (P 0.05). This finding indicate that when CM used in young broiler diets, the level of this ingredient in the formulation should be considered, because may be impaired young broilers growth performance.