Poultry encyclopedia · NEXTEKCI School · Feed raw materials
Cottonseed meal
Cottonseed meal is a protein source produced in cotton-growing areas, notably in the north of Côte d’Ivoire. It is useful but limited: it contains gossypol, a substance that slows growth and discolours eggs, and its protein lacks lysine. It is used in measured amounts, decided by the nutritionist.
Key facts
- Main role
- Protein
- Protein content
- Around 35 to 45%, depending on dehulling
- Substance to watch
- Gossypol
- Fibre
- Fairly high (hulls)
- Layers
- Can discolour the egg yolk and white
What it is
Cottonseed meal is what remains of the cotton seed after the oil has been extracted. Its value depends a great deal on how much hull is left in it: well-dehulled meal is richer in protein and less fibrous; undehulled meal is poorer and bulkier.
It is widely used for ruminants, which tolerate it well. For poultry, it is trickier.
Its role in the ration
Cottonseed meal provides protein and can replace part of the soybean meal when soya is scarce. But its protein is poor in lysine, and the lysine it does contain is less well digested. The nutritionist must therefore complete the formula, often with synthetic lysine.
Its fibre, which comes from the hulls, lowers the energy of the feed. It is better suited to adult birds than to young chicks.
Gossypol and its effects
Cotton seed contains a pigment, gossypol, which is toxic to poultry above a certain amount. It reduces appetite and growth, and it can cause weakness and anaemia. The amount of "free" gossypol depends on the variety and on the process used to make the meal.
In layers, cottonseed meal can give eggs with greenish or olive-brown yolks after storage, and sometimes pinkish whites, because of other fats in the seed. Customers do not accept these eggs well. This is why it is often avoided or kept very low in layer feed.
Quality, storage and availability
The north of Côte d’Ivoire is a major cotton-growing region: cottonseed meal is produced there locally and is easier to find than other meals. Its quality varies with the factory and the dehulling: ask for its protein content.
Like all meals, it must be dry, free of lumps, without a mouldy or rancid smell, and stored on pallets away from moisture. It too can carry aflatoxins if it has been badly stored.
Common mistakes
Replacing all the soya with cotton because it is available: growth falls and the eggs change colour. Giving layers a feed containing cotton without knowing it does, then looking for a disease when the yolks turn green.
The share of cottonseed meal in a feed, and the choice of any supplements, are a matter for the nutritionist or the feed manufacturer, who takes the age and type of bird into account.