| Livestock Research for Rural Development 35 (6) 2023 | LRRD Search | LRRD Misssion | Guide for preparation of papers | LRRD Newsletter | Citation of this paper |
The study aimed to investigate the effect of using black soldier fly larvae meal in feed on the growth and physiological conditions and carcass characteristics of the Super Maron chickens. A total of 320 Super Maron chicks were allotted to four groups including the group of chickens receiving control feed (0% black soldier fly larvae meal in feed), and the chickens receiving feed containing black soldier fly larvae meal at 10% 15%, and 20%, respectively. Body weight and feed intake were weekly recorded, whereas blood, internal organs and carcass were collected on week 13. Results showed that body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the Super Maron chickens increased (p<0.05) with feeding black soldier fly larvae meal. The relative weight of proventriculus, gizzard, pancreas, small intestine and caeca decreased (p<0.05) with feeding diets containing black soldier fly larvae meal, whereas spleen, thymus and bursa of Fabricius were not affected by the treatments. Feeding black soldier fly larvae meal increased (p<0.05) eviscerated carcass of the chickens. Blood profile was not affected (p>0.05) by the dietary treatments. It can be concluded that the use of black soldier fly larvae meal improved growth performance and carcass trait of the Super Maron chickens.
Keyword: black soldier fly larvae meal, carcass, digestibility, native chickens, weight gain
Most Indonesians prefer Kampung or native chicken because the meat of native chicken is thought to be tastier. In comparison to modern broiler chickens, the meat from native chickens has a particular flavour and contains less subcutaneous fat. Super Maron chicken is one of the breeds of native chicken in Indonesia. The Super Maron chicken has thick black fur, easily adapts to the environment, not easily stressed, and more disease resistant. This Indonesian native chicken, however, grows slowly and has a low feed efficiency. Based on these facts, a strategy is needed to increase the productivity of the Super Maron chickens, one of which is through a nutritional approach. Typically, feed is a very important factor in poultry production, both in terms of quality, quantity and availability. Good feed is feed that contains nutrients according to the needs of poultry, free of contamination, can be stored for a long time, has an affordable price and is not toxic (Bolton 1967).
Due to the fact that the majority of feed ingredients are still imported, the cost of feed for poultry, particularly feed ingredients for protein sources, fluctuate greatly. Utilizing alternative feed ingredients with constant availability is therefore essential for supporting the sustainability of poultry production (Abd El-Hack et al 2020). Insects are one alternative source of protein that can be used in poultry feed. Insects, which are cold-blooded creatures, are highly capable of converting the organic waste in their diets into protein mass in their bodies. Various types of insects have the potential to be used as a source of protein for poultry feed. Among the types of insects that are widely studied at this time are the black soldier fly larvae.
Because black soldier fly larvae meal has a higher protein content than soybean meal, it has the potential to be used as an alternative protein-feed ingredient for Super Maron chickens. Black soldier fly larvae flour contains 42-54% crude protein, whereas soybean meal crude protein is only 35-37%. Another advantage is that black soldier fly larvae meal has a better amino acid profile than soybean meal. When compared to soybean meal, black soldier fly larvae meal contains more essential amino acids like lysine, methionine, threonine, leucine, phenylalanine, and isoleucine (Purnamasari & Khasanah 2022). Furthermore, black soldier fly larvae meal is digested better than soybean meal. Moreover, black soldier fly larvae meal contains more minerals than soybean meal, including calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. Taken all these facts together, the use of black soldier fly larvae meal as an alternative feed ingredient is expected to reduce poultry reliance on soybean meal as the primary protein source in rations with high price fluctuations (Zhan et al 2020).
Several studies have reported the use of black soldier fly larvae meal as a protein source in poultry feed. Schiavone et al (2018) confirmed in their study that using black soldier fly larvae meal in feed could increase body weight of broiler chickens by 4.7%. The high carbohydrate, protein, fat, and iron content of black soldier fly larvae meal contributed to this increase in body weight. Another study in quail found that feeding black soldier fly larvae meal increased daily gain, daily feed intake, but had no effect feed conversion ratio (FCR). Likewise, dietary inclusion of black soldier fly larvae meal increased dry matter content of quail meat (Nguyen et al 2023).
Based on our knowledge, the use of black soldier fly larvae meal as a protein source for the Super Maron chickens has never been reported. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of using black soldier fly larvae meal in feed on the growth and physiological conditions and carcass characteristics of the Super Maron chickens.
This study was conducted for 13 weeks using 320 Super Maron chicks (mixed-sex, average body weight of 40.5 ± 1.40 g). The study was carried out based on a completely randomized design with 4 treatment groups and 5 replications. Throughout the study period, the chicks were reared in a rice husk-bedded open-sided chickens house. The chicks were fed ad libitum with the starter (week 1-5) and finisher (week 6-13) feeds as listed in Table 1. The feeds were formulated as isocaloric and isonitrogenous feeds throughout the groups of Super Maron chickens. The black soldier fly larvae meal was purchased from the local supplier, containing 34.84% crude protein, 6.20% crude fat, 8.94% crude fibre and 12,16% ash. The treatment groups included the chickens receiving control feed (0% black soldier fly larvae meal in feed), and the chickens receiving feed containing black soldier fly larvae meal at 10% 15%, and 20%, respectively. Intramuscular vaccination (avian influenza and Gumboro) was conducted at the hatchery soon after hatching.
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Table 1. Feed ingredients and compositions of Super Maron chickens |
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|
Ingredients, % |
Starter period |
|
Finisher period |
||||||||
|
Black soldier fly larvae meal, % |
|||||||||||
|
0 |
10 |
15 |
20 |
|
0 |
10 |
15 |
20 |
|||
|
Yellow maize |
57.5 |
56.2 |
54.5 |
52.7 |
64.2 |
63.9 |
63.0 |
60.2 |
|||
|
Palm oil |
1.50 |
0.30 |
- |
- |
2.00 |
0.30 |
- |
- |
|||
|
Soybean meal |
37.2 |
29.7 |
26.7 |
23.5 |
30.0 |
22.0 |
18.2 |
16.0 |
|||
|
DL-Methionine |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.19 |
0.19 |
|||
|
Bentonite |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
|||
|
Limestone |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
|||
|
Monocalcium phospate |
1.30 |
1.30 |
1.30 |
1.30 |
1.30 |
1.30 |
1.30 |
1.30 |
|||
|
Premix |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
|||
|
Choline chloride |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.07 |
|||
|
Salt |
0.40 |
0.40 |
0.40 |
0.40 |
0.40 |
0.40 |
0.40 |
0.40 |
|||
|
Black soldier fly larvae meal |
- |
10.0 |
15.0 |
20.0 |
- |
10.0 |
15.0 |
20.0 |
|||
|
Nutrient compositions |
|||||||||||
|
Dry matter, % |
87.4 |
87.6 |
87.8 |
88.0 |
89.4 |
88.6 |
87.8 |
89.1 |
|||
|
Crude protein, % DM |
21.0 |
21.1 |
21.4 |
21.6 |
18.4 |
18.3 |
18.3 |
18.9 |
|||
|
Crude fiber, % DM |
5.57 |
6.01 |
6.19 |
6.36 |
5.64 |
6.11 |
6.30 |
6.46 |
|||
|
Crude fat, % DM |
6.52 |
6.18 |
5.98 |
6.21 |
6.52 |
6.18 |
5.98 |
6.21 |
|||
|
ME1, kcal/kg |
2904 |
2912 |
2924 |
2950 |
3010 |
3001 |
3022 |
3037 |
|||
|
Ca, % |
1.03 |
0.99 |
0.96 |
0.93 |
1.02 |
0.97 |
0.94 |
0.92 |
|||
|
P, % |
0.58 |
0.56 |
0.54 |
0.52 |
0.59 |
0.57 |
0.56 |
0.54 |
|||
|
1ME (metabolizable energy) was calculated based on formula (Bolton, 1967): 40.81 {0.87 [crude protein + 2.25 crude fat + nitrogen‐free extract] + 2.5} |
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The body weight of chickens, feed consumption, and FCR were recorded every week. At week 13, one chick per replicate was selected with a body weight that represented the average body weight of each replicate. Blood was obtained from the brachial vein of the chicken wings. The collected blood sample was placed in a tube containing ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for the determination of the complete blood profile. The complete blood profile was determined using a hematology analyzer (Prima Fully-auto Hematology Analyzer, PT. Prima Alkesindo Nusantara, Jakarta, Indonesia) as described by Sugiharto et al (2018). The same chicks as blood sampled were then slaughtered, defeathered and eviscerated. The internal organs were obtained and weighed in an empty condition. The eviscerated carcass and commercial cuts of the Super Maron chicks were determined.
Data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (SPSS version 25.0). If there was a significant (p<0.05) effect of the treatments on the parameters measured, the Duncan multiple range test was run to distinguish the means among the treatment groups.
Table 2 shows the growth performances of the Super Maron chickens. The present study showed that the use of black soldier fly larvae meal in feeds increased (p<0.05) the live weight gain of the Super Maron chickens (Figure 1). In line with the results of this study, Schiavone et al (2018) documented an increase in the growth rate of broiler chickens given black soldier fly larvae meal. They further reported that the high carbohydrate, protein, fat, and iron content of black soldier fly larvae meal may contribute to this increase in body weight of poultry. The use of black soldier fly larvae meal was also reported to increase (p<0.05) feed consumption by the Super Maron chickens (Figure 2). It is not known for certain the reason why the black soldier fly larvae meal can increase feed consumption in the Super Maron chickens, but the glutamic acid content in the black soldier fly larvae meal was very likely to increase the flavour of feeds, thereby increasing the appetite of chickens (Fitriana et al 2022). Interesting finding was observed for the FCR of the Super Maron chickens. In this study, dietary inclusion of black soldier fly larvae meal up to 20% in feed decreased (p<0.05) FCR value of the chickens (Figure 3). This may indicate that feeding black soldier fly larvae meal had no detrimental effect on the digestibility of the Super Maron chickens. Our finding was therefore in contrast to Nasution et al (2020) documenting the adverse effect of feeding black soldier fly larvae meal on the nutrient digestibility of broilers due to the presence of chitin (antinutrient compound).
|
Table 2. Growth performance of Super Maron chickens |
||||||
|
Performances |
Black soldier fly larvae meal, % |
SEM |
||||
|
0 |
10 |
15 |
20 |
|||
|
Final BW, g/bird |
690 c |
697 c |
785 b |
828 a |
0.08 |
|
|
Weight gain, g/bird |
649 c |
657 c |
745 b |
787 a |
0.08 |
|
|
Feed intake, g/bird |
2862 d |
3024 c |
3168 b |
3622 a |
0.09 |
|
|
FCR |
4.97 b |
5.13 a |
4.39 c |
4.86 b |
0.67 |
|
|
a,b,c,d Means within the same row with different superscripts varied significantly (p<0.05) BW: body weight, FCR: feed conversion ratio, SEM: standard error of the means |
||||||
| |
| Figure 1. Weight gain of Super Maron chickens | Figure 2. Feed intake of Super Maron chickens |
 |
| Figure 3. FCR of Super Maron chickens |
The data in this study (Table 3) showed that the blood components of the Super Maron chickens such as erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, hemoglobin, heterophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and basophils were not affected (p>0.05) by the use of black soldier fly larvae meal in the feeds. In general, the blood profile can be used as an indicator of the physiological condition and nutritional status of chickens, in which one of the factors that can affect the blood profile is the amount and nutritional quality of the feed given to the chickens (Sugiharto et al 2016; 2018). With respect particularly to the use of black soldier fly larvae meal in the feed and the absent effect of such treatment on the blood profile of the chickens, the administration of this larvae meal did therefore not have a negative impact on the physiological conditions or nutritional status of the Super Maron chickens.
|
Table 3. Complete blood counts of Super Maron chickens |
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|
Items |
Black soldier fly larvae meal , % |
SEM |
||||
|
0 |
10 |
15 |
20 |
|||
|
Leukocytes, ×103/mm 3 |
99.5 |
101 |
99.1 |
102 |
2.18 |
|
|
Erythrocytes, ×106/mm 3 |
3.10 |
2.90 |
3.10 |
2.90 |
0.06 |
|
|
Thrombocytes, ×103/mm 3 |
5.74 |
10.2 |
8.35 |
5.67 |
1.93 |
|
|
Haemoglobin, g/dL |
16.3 |
16.0 |
17.2 |
16.0 |
0.36 |
|
|
Haematocrits, % |
39.6 |
36.2 |
38.4 |
36.1 |
0.86 |
|
|
Lymphocytes, % |
80.2 |
81.2 |
81.4 |
82.8 |
1.07 |
|
|
Heterophils, % |
16.0 |
17.6 |
15.4 |
13.6 |
1.06 |
|
|
Eosinophils, % |
0.80 |
0.20 |
1.00 |
0.60 |
0.21 |
|
|
Monocytes, % |
3.00 |
1.00 |
2.20 |
3.00 |
0.41 |
|
|
SEM: standard error of the means |
||||||
Table 4 presents the data on relative weights of digestive and immune organs of Super Maron chickens. This study showed that the relative weight of the proventriculus decreased (p<0.05) with feeding diets containing black soldier fly larvae meal. The decrease (p<0.05) in relative weight was also found for gizzards in chicks receiving black soldier fly larvae meal. Black soldier fly larvae meal is an organic material which besides being rich in protein is also very rich in enzymes such as protease (Kim et al 2011), cellulose- and lignin-degrading enzymes (Müller et al 2017), which is useful in digesting feed. In this case, the enzymes originated from the black soldier fly larvae meal was very likely to alleviate the work of the proventriculus and gizzard so that the relative weight of these organs decreased following the feeding with black soldier fly larvae meal. In this study, the relative weights of pancreas, small intestine and caeca also decreased (p<0.05) following feeding with black soldier fly larvae meal. This could be attributed to the increased exogenous activity of protein- and crude fibre-degrading enzymes in chickens due to administration of black soldier fly larvae meal as suggested above. In line with our findings, Khan et al (2006) reported that administration of exogenous enzymes increased the nutrient digestibility while decreasing the relative weight of the digestive organs, especially the small intestine and caeca.
|
Table 4. Relative weights of digestive and immune organs of Super Maron chickens |
||||||
|
Items |
Black soldier fly larvae meal, % |
SEM |
||||
|
0 |
10 |
15 |
20 |
|||
|
Proventriculus, g/100 g BW |
0.49 a |
0.39 b |
0.39 b |
0.43 ab |
0.011 |
|
|
Gizzard, g/100 g BW |
2.77 a |
2.20 b |
2.44 ab |
2.22 b |
0.082 |
|
|
Pancreas, g/100 g BW |
0.26 a |
0.20 b |
0.21 ab |
0.20 b |
0.092 |
|
|
Small intestine, g/100 g BW |
2.75 a |
2.21 abc |
1.95 bc |
1.57 c |
0.122 |
|
|
Caeca, g/100 g BW |
0.52 a |
0.38 b |
0.37 b |
0.34 b |
0.020 |
|
|
Thymus, g/100 g BW |
0.23 |
0.35 |
0.34 |
0.18 |
0.008 |
|
|
Bursa of Fabricius, g/100 g BW |
0.04 |
0.09 |
0.05 |
0.07 |
0.003 |
|
|
Spleen, g/100 g BW |
0.27 |
0.22 |
0.28 |
0.21 |
0.019 |
|
|
a,b,c Means within the same row with different superscripts varied significantly (p<0.05) BW: body weight, SEM: standard error of the means |
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It was apparent in this study that feeding black soldier fly larvae meal showed no effect (p>0.05) on the immune organ relative weights of the Super Maron chicken. In line with this finding, Schiavone et al (2018) found no effect of black soldier fly larva fat on the relative weights and histopathological scores of the immune organs of broiler chickens (spleen and bursa of Fabricius).
This study showed that eviscerated carcass increased (p<0.05) with the administration of black soldier fly larvae meal in the Super Maron chicken feeds (Table 5; Figure 4). It was not known for sure the reason for the increase in the eviscerated carcass of Super Maron chickens following the use of black soldier fly larvae meal in the feeds. However, as previously explained that the administration of black soldier fly larvae meal was very likely to improve nutrient digestibility so that it can increase nutrient deposition, especially protein as a meat. In this respect, Khan et al (2006) explained that the improving nutrient digestibility due to exogenous enzyme treatment increased protein deposition of chickens in the form of meat.
|
Table 5. Eviscerated carcass and commercial cuts of Super Maron chickens |
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|
Items |
Black soldier fly larvae meal, % |
SEM |
||||
|
0 |
10 |
15 |
20 |
|||
|
Eviscerated carcass, % live BW |
48.9 b |
53.9 a |
53.4 a |
54.8 a |
0.837 |
|
|
% Eviscerated carcass |
||||||
|
Wings |
14.9 |
14.9 |
14.6 |
15.8 |
0.283 |
|
|
Thigh |
17.6 |
17.6 |
17.3 |
18.1 |
0.253 |
|
|
Breast |
24.0 |
25.1 |
25.5 |
23.8 |
0.433 |
|
|
Drumsticks |
17.8 |
17.8 |
17.7 |
18.6 |
0.280 |
|
|
Back |
25.7 |
24.7 |
24.9 |
24.1 |
0.385 |
|
|
a,b Means within the same row with different superscripts varied significantly (p<0.05) BW: body weight, SEM: standard error of the means |
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 |
| Figure 4. Eviscerated carcass of Super Maron chickens |
The author would like to thank Mr. Hanindyatama for the major financial facilitator for this research, Ms. Diwi Acita Irawati for providing research enclosures and the Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences of Universitas Diponegoro, who have assisted with this research by administering and providing subsidized funds. Not to be missed are all related parties that will not be mentioned but provided all the support until this research was completed.
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