Feeding live Black Soldier Fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) to laying hens: effects on feed consumption, hen health, hen behavior, and egg quality

Abstract

The use of insects in animal feed has the potential to reduce the demand for soybean production and reduce the deforestation and loss of natural resources. In particular, the black soldier fly ( BSF , Hermetia illucens ) larvae have received attention due to their ability to convert organic waste into high-value biomass. Several studies have investigated the effects of providing BSF larvae to both broilers and laying hens. However, knowledge gaps regarding hens’ voluntary intake of live larvae and the effects of larvae consumption on egg production still remain. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effects of the consumption of 4 different amounts of live BSF larvae on laying hen feed consumption, hen health and fearfulness, and egg production and quality. To this end, 40 Bovans White laying hens were housed individually and provided with 0, 10, 20% or ad libitum daily portions of live larvae from 18 to 30 wk of age. The larvae consumption and concentrate consumption, hen weight, egg production, and egg quality were monitored. Overall, differences were found between the hens given ad libitum access to larvae compared to the other treatments. Ad libitum hens, consumed 163 ± 41 g larvae/hen/day, consumed less concentrate ( P = 0.03) and gained more weight ( P = 0.0002) than all other treatments. They also had an overall higher consumption of protein, fat and energy ( P < 0.03). There was no effect of larvae consumption on egg production, egg weight, shell thickness, shell breaking strength, or Haugh unit ( P > 0.05). There was also no effect on hen behavior toward a novel object or in an open field test. This study is the first to provide different amounts of live BSF larvae, including an ad libitum portion to laying hens. The 20% diet could promote sustainability in the egg industry and be economically advantageous if BSF larvae can be bought in bulk for less than 40% of the cost of the concentrate.

Influence of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae feeding on carcass characteristics of Gramasree hens

“…Similar results were reported by Wallace et al (2018) for pre-slaughter body weight, eviscerated percentage, heart, liver and giblet yield in guinea fowls and Loponte et al (2017) for eviscerated percentage, heart yield and liver yield in Partridge. Contrary to these findings, significantly (p<0.05) higher pre-slaughter body weight was reported by Tahamtani et al (2021) (Tahamtani et al, 2021). The lower abdominal fat percentage of the birds fed with BSFL in the present study could be due to positively charged chitosan which has the ability to combine with fatty acids, other lipids and bile acids and prevent their absorption through intestine and also by preventing lipid emulsification (Ylitalo et al, 2002).…”

Effects of increasing levels of whole Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae in broiler rations on acceptance, nutrient and energy intakes and utilization, and growth performance of broilers

“…Chickens are excellent foragers of insects as these are among their natural feed sources ( Star et al, 2020 ). Feeding experiments indicated that diets containing insects are highly interesting for poultry species ( Moula et al, 2018 ; Nascimento Filho et al, 2020 ; Star et al, 2020 ; Tahamtani et al, 2021 ). The use of whole BSFL as feed for poultry may be particularly important in organic farming and low-input systems (e.g., local farming with less feed processing and transportation), and where insect production could be integrated into production cycles (e.g., insects farming with locally available organic residues as feed substrate) ( Nyakeri et al, 2017 ).…”

“…In addition, inclusion of 5 and 10% live BSFL in broiler rations increased activity and improved leg health without adverse effects on broiler performance ( Ipema et al, 2020b ; Bellezza Oddon et al, 2021 ). Recently, Tahamtani et al (2021) fed laying hens with 0, 10, 20% of the daily DM intake or ad libitum with live BSFL and found no difference in BW of hens given BSFL up to 20%, whereas ad libitum BSFL fed hens were heavier and consumed more protein, fat and energy than control hens. However, there are no data to show how a proportion of more than 10% whole BSFL in broiler rations affects acceptance, nutrient intakes, bird performance and health.…”

Welfare implications for broiler chickens reared in an insect larvae-enriched environment: Focus on bird behaviour, plumage status, leg health, and excreta corticosterone

“…The so-obtained insect larvae are, indeed, predominantly fractionated to obtain meals and oils, which can efficiently be utilized to replace the conventional protein and lipid sources in monogastric diets ( Ravi et al, 2020 ). However, the scientific research recently carried on revealed that insect live larvae may also potentially reach an interesting market share in the form of environmental enrichments for either poultry ( Pichova et al, 2016 ; Veldkamp and van Niekerk, 2019 ; Ipema et al, 2020 ; Star et al, 2020 ; Bellezza Oddon et al, 2021 ; Tahamtani et al, 2021 ) or pigs ( Ipema et al, 2021a ; Ipema et al, 2021b ).…”

“…Welfare assessment in broiler chickens is usually object of a multiperspective approach, as heterogeneous parameters (such as plumage status, hock burns and footpad dermatitis, lameness, behavioural patterns, and excreta corticosterone) are commonly evaluated ( Weimer et al, 2018 ; Giersberg et al, 2021 ; Iannetti et al, 2021 ; Lourenço da Silva et al, 2021 ). Despite beneficial live insect larvae-related effects on bird behaviour and feathering scores having recently been highlighted in either turkeys ( Veldkamp and van Niekerk, 2019 ) or laying hens ( Star et al, 2020 ; Tahamtani et al, 2021 ), data about modulation of plumage status and excreta corticosterone in broiler chickens reared in live insect larvae-enriched environment are still missing. Furthermore, no studies assessing the effects of the concomitant administration of BSF and YM live larvae as environmental enrichments are currently available in poultry.…”