Organic medium‐growing chickens fed live black soldier fly larvae: A welfare improvement study

Summary in the original language of the document

The overall beneficial effect of live black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) on the welfare of
broiler chickens, turkeys, and laying hens has already been discussed in the
literature. However, scant information is available regarding the benefits of feeding
live BSFL to medium‐growing chicken hybrids reared under organic/free‐range
conditions, and whose welfare is frequently cited as being inadequate. The aim of
this research was to advance our knowledge of this topic. To this end, 240 label
naked neck birds (Hubbard JA57 hybrid) were assigned, at 21 days of age, to four
experimental groups (6 replicates/treatment, 10 chickens/replicate), created
according to sex (M/F) and the provision of a 10% live BSFL dietary supplementation
(control males, control females, larvae males, and larvae females), and raised until
82 days of age. We performed behavioural observations, a tonic immobility test, and
an avoidance distance (AD) test. We assessed feather damage and cleanliness, hock
burn, footpad dermatitis, and skin lesion scores, and determined the concentration
of excreta corticosterone metabolites (ECM) and the heterophile to lymphocyte
heterophile/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio. The behavioural observations demonstrated
increased physical and foraging activity (p < 0.05) in the live BSFL administered
groups compared with C ones, providing valuable data on the explorative and
recreational behaviour of this chicken genotype. The results also evidenced the
usefulness of live BSFL as a fear reducer in females, as those receiving the BSFL
supplement moved closer to the operator during the AD test (p < 0.01). No physical
injuries or damage were observed on the birds, regardless of whether they received
the BSFL supplementation or not. The ECM were unaffected by BSFL supplementation, while the H/L ratio was higher in the larvae groups than in the control ones
(p = 0.050). In conclusion, live BSFL provision could constitute a powerful tool for
improving life quality in medium‐growing chickens. Further research is required to
clarify the stress modulation role of live BSFL on poultry production.