The influence of sex on the absorption of fats in chick diets containing fish meal

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of fish meal on the absorption of dietary fat and utilization of energy in both sexes of chickens. The presence of fish meal in diets containing tallow resulted in significant depression in the absorption of dietary fat. The depression was more pronounced with male chicks than with the females which in turn was reflected in higher ME values for females than male chicks. When fish meal, tallow and sunflower oil were assayed for their ME content in the absence of each other in assay diets, both sexes derived similar amounts of energy from the three feedstuffs. Higher ME values for tallow and fish meal were obtained when they were included singly in the diets.