The objective of this study was to determine the effects of diets containing increasing levels of glycerin on carcass and parts yield and breast meat composition. Treatments consisted of a control diet without glycerin and diets formulated with increasing levels of biodiesel glycerin (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 and 12.5%). The glycerin was analyzed to contain 80.7% glycerol, 12.6% moisture, 2.3% sodium and 80 ppm methanol; its metabolizable energy content had been previously determined to be 3,145 kcal/kg. The corn-soybean meal based diets were supplemented with nutrients to meet the nutritional requirements of chickens. Feed and water were offered ad libitum.

At 41 days of age, six birds per treatment were slaughtered for determination of carcass and parts yield. Carcass and parts yields were not influenced by treatments (P > 0.05). There was a tendency for diets containing 10 and 12.5% glycerin to decrease carcass yield compared with control (71.2 and 70.8 vs.73.4%). Live weight was not affected by glycerin levels (P > 0.05). These data suggest that feeding diets containing biodiesel glycerin up to a level of 5.0% does not present any detrimental effects on carcass characteristics and breast meat composition.