Black Soldier Fly live larvae as environmental enrichment in medium-growing chicken diet

Summary

Introduction. Few studies on the effects of live larvae provision in poultry have been previously
conducted [1,2,3]. However, trials on the long-term provision of live larvae in chicken reared for
meat consumption have never been performed before. This study evaluated the impact of Black
Soldier Fly (BSF) live larvae provision on growth performance and larvae consumption behavior of
intermediate-growing strains.
Material and methods. A total of 240 Label naked neck birds were reared from 21 to 82 days of
age, and four experimental groups (10 birds/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) were considered
according to the birds’ gender and larvae provision. Experimental groups were fed 10%
supplementation of BSF live larvae based on the daily feed intake. The live weight (LW), feed
conversion ratio (FCR), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG) were
evaluated considering two periods: 21-35d and 35-82d. The larvae were provided daily and
consumption times were analyzed considering periods of 10 days (5 time frame-T1,T2,T3,T4,T5).
Data were analyzed by means of a GLMM (SPSS software, P<0.05).
Results. The larvae groups displayed a lower ADFI than the control groups regardless the birds’
gender at 21-35d (P=0.01). This could be explained by the larvae nutritional contribution that led to
a lower feed consumption in the experimental groups. Moreover, treated birds revealed a lower
FCR than control groups (21-35d; P<0.001). Otherwise, only treated males performed a better
FCR than control groups during the second period (P<0.01).
Overall, time of larvae consumption at T1 and T5was respectively higher and lower than the other
considered periods in both sexes (P<0.05). Such differences could be related to a progressive
birds’ adaptation to larvae consumption. Significant differences between sexes were recorded only
at T5, when females employed much time than males in larvae consumption (P<0.05).
Conclusion. Live larvae provision ameliorated both the ADFI and FCR. Furthermore, the time of
larvae consumption shrinked as birds became older.
References.
[1] Star L. et al. (2020). Animals. 10,216.
[2] Bellezza Oddon et al. (2021). J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. 00,1–9.
[3] Veldkamp T. and T.G.C.M. Van Niekerk (2019). J. Insects as Food Feed. 5,301-311