## 1 Introduction  
To overcome the dependence of the European Union (EU) on external protein supply, it is necessary to find new crops or by-products of plant production and agroindustry rich in proteins. The EU imports about 75% of protein-rich raw vegetable materials that it needs to balance livestock feed rations [1]. Growing concerns about the environmental impact of farming systems have increased the interest in finding alternative protein crops or other plants from which protein by-products can be obtained sustainably in Europe. A report by the European Commission (EC) examined many different crops currently available throughout Europe, which could be grown as new resources of renewable raw material for industrial purposes [2]. Among these alternative crops, many of them resulted in attractive candidates for lowering the deficiency in plant oil and protein production. One candidate is _Camelina sativa_ ([PERSON], or simply amelina, which contains 35-40% of oil and 25% of crude protein in the seeds [3,4]. Camelina is an oilseed crop belonging to the _Brassicaceae_ family and it is native to Southeast Europe and Southwest Asia [5]. Camelina can grow in a variety of climatic and soil conditions and it has many agronomic advantages. It can be easily incorporated into crop rotations; it has a short growing season (100-120 days); it tolerates cold weather, drought, and low-fertility soils; it can be grown on marginal farmland, with low water and nutrient requirements [6; 7; 8]. For all of the above characteristics, amelina seed oil has been widely recognized as a potential alternative source for biodiesel [9; 10] and jet-fuel production [11], whereas the seed cake (a by-product generated after the seed oil extraction), rich in proteins (30-40%), a considerable amount of residual oil (10-15%), carbohydrates, and other phytochemicals [12; 13], has been suggested as a new potential ingredient in livestock rations [14; 15]. In addition, differently from other widely cultivated _Brassicaceae_ (e.g., rapeseed) amelina owns a unique oil profile, rich in \(\alpha\)-linolenic acid (>35%) and tocopherols (800-1000 ppm) [16; 17]; thus, making its seeds highly suitable for a variety of feed, food, or non-food applications [4]. The use of amelina cake as feed for poultry has been widely explored with very different results regarding the effects on animal performances. For example, [PERSON] et al. (2010) [18] did not find any difference in body weight gain, carcass weight, or feed efficiency when comparing animals fed with amelina with those fed with a maize-soybean based diet, whereas [PERSON] et al. (2007) [19] and [PERSON] et al. (2009) [20] found an impaired growth between 15 and 37 days of age. The authors explain these differences to the high content of glucosinolates (GSLs) that can affect feed consumption. Less negative effects were found in egg production if the amelina inclusion was maintained below 10% [21]. From the welfare point of view, it is known that one of the main causes of feather pecking and cannibalism is due to dietary problems. For example, high dietary protein levels associated with sub-deficiency in lysine might favor cannibalism during the finishing stage more than low dietary protein levels [22]. There are indications that diets high in insoluble fiber may reduce cannibalism outbreaks in laying hens [23]. The ability of insoluble fiber to exert these effects is related to particle size as fine grinding diminishes its stimulatory influence on the gizzard. Moreover, it is rather well known the positive effects of n-3 fatty acids (FAs) on bone structure. [PERSON] et al. (2013) [24] demonstrated that laying hens who received a short-chain n-3 FAs supplemented diet exhibited reduced keel fractures (60% less than a standard diet at 50 weeks of age). Shell quality is a very important matter for table-eggs market. To prevent product losses during handling and transport, eggshell mechanical properties have to be ensured.