Document type : Article published in Réussir Volailles
Author: Eva Pampouille
Preview: According to Itavi, the addition of the larvae of the black soldier fly to the daily feed of broilers would increase the birds' activity without reducing growth performance.
In a promising development, recent changes to the regulations have made it possible for insects to become a staple component of animal feed in future. Rich in high-quality protein and essential amino acids, insects are ideal candidates to replace imported soybeans, despite the fact that they are currently very expensive. This is offset by the fact that they have a number of interesting properties that can be brought to bear, particularly with regard to animal welfare.
Insects have always been a food source for birds, who forage and scratch the ground for these attractive foods. The use of insect larvae - both live and dried - to enrich the living environment of poultry could help stimulate such natural behaviours.
A significant but short-lived effect on activity
In order to identify practical ways to make use of these larvae to enrich the farming environment, Itavi set up a trial as part of the PINHS project supported by INRAE. Its purpose was to study the effects of black soldier fly larvae (live or dried) when used as an additive to a complete feed on the behaviour, activity, health status and performance of Ross 308 broilers.
The provision of live or dried larvae increases the number of active animals by more than 40% compared to those having received no enrichment, but only at the time of their distribution. This effect increases with the frequency of feeding.
Whether the larvae are provided in live or dried form does not influence the activity. On the other hand, live larvae were observed to be more palatable, with a total consumption of the larvae in the order of a few minutes, compared to dried larvae (more than twenty minutes) or wheat, where refusals were observed.
An improved consumption index
Theaddition of larvae had no negative effects on the performance of the chickens or on their health (pododermatitis, plumage quality, locomotive disorders). Feed consumption over the growing and finishing period was reduced by about 200 g per chicken when dried larvae were fed, improving the feed efficiency of larvae-fed chickens by more than 0.13 points, calculated excluding insect consumption.
Further studies are still needed, in particular to investigate the effect of larvae on specific behaviours (exploration, comfort) and the cost/benefit impacts.
This type of enrichment is not very affordable at present. It increases the feed cost by 17% for live larvae and 35% for dried larvae, but it could become affordable in a few years' time with the optimisation of insect production costs.
