DOI: https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/27.1.4835
Original scientific paper
Partial replacement of soybean meal with partially defatted Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens L.) larvae meal did not change dietary metabolizable energy and growth performance of broilers
2026, 27 (1) p. 69-77
Sashka CHOBANOVA, Nikolay KARKELANOV, Stephen MANSBRIDGE, Isobel WHITING, Stephen ROSE, Vasil PIRGOZLIEV
Abstract
The experiment aimed to assess the impact of partial replacement of dietary soyabean meal (SBM) with defatted Black Soldier Fly Larvae meal (BSFLM), at 0, 40, 80 and 120 g/kg, as main protein sources in isocaloric and isonitrogenic diets on daily feed intake (FI), weigh gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of female Ross 308 broiler chickens from 13 to 31 days of age. Dietary apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and dry matter retention (DMR) coefficient were also determined. Replacement of SBM with BSFLM did not change (P>0.05) AME and DMR. There were no changes (P>0.05) in the intake of AME. Daily FI, WG and FCR of birds were not affected (P>0.05) by the diets. Dietary lysine and methionine contents were similar between diets, as lysine was slightly greater than calculated. However, BSFLM inclusion led to increased dietary nitrogen. This study suggests that the lack of balance in dietary nutrients, particularly protein and amino acids, when replacing SBM with insect meals, may be the reason for the observed discrepancies in published reports. Research on feeding higher levels of dietary BSFLM during different growing phases and for longer periods is warranted. Overall, BSFLM is a promising ingredient in poultry nutrition.
Keywords
black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM), insect meal, broilers, metabolizable energy, growth performance
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