Performance, Physiological Status, and Rumen Fermentation Profiles of Pre- and Post-Weaning Goat Kids Fed Cricket Meal as a Protein Source

Abstract

This study was conducted in two experiments with the objectives: (1) to evaluate nutrient intake, physiological status, and performance of pre-weaning goat kids fed with milk replacer containing cricket meal, and (2) to evaluate nutrient intake, rumen fermentation characteristics, blood profiles, and production performance of post-weaning etawah crossbred goats fed with cricket meal as a substitution of soybean meal. Twelve pre-weaning goat kids (3.78±0.50 kg BW) were divided into 3 treatments (4 replicates per treatment), i.e., kids fed with goat milk (GM), cow milk (CM), and milk replacer containing cricket meal (MR). In the second experiment, 12 post-weaning goats (12-14 kg BW) were fed with 3 dietary treatments, i.e., control ration (CM-0), ration containing 15% cricket meal (CM-15), and ration containing 30% cricket meal (CM-30). Parameters measured during 2 months observations were nutrient intake, physiological status, fermentation profiles, blood profiles, and performance. Both experiments used a completely randomized design. Results showed that there were no significant differences in physiological status parameters in pre-weaning goat kids fed with GM, CM or MR. The performance of kids fed with GM was significantly higher (120 g/d) than those fed with CM and MR treatments (p<0.05). In the second experiment, results showed that fat intake in CM-30 was higher than the other treatments (p<0.05), meanwhile dry matter and nutrient intakes were similar. The average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency, and rumen fermentation profiles were similar in all treatments. It is concluded that cricket meal can be used in milk replacer without any negative effect on health status. CM-30 ration has good palatability without any negative effect on the rumen fermentation profiles.

Insects as Novel Ruminant Feed and a Potential Mitigation Strategy for Methane Emissions

“…Currently, insects are commonly used in the diets of livestock (poultry, rabbits, and pigs) and aquaculture species [ 14 , 42 ]. However, their usage in ruminant diets is still scarce, with few promising attempts [ 29 , 43 , 44 ]. The current study evaluated the use of four kinds of edible insects as substitutes for SBM in a ruminant diet (60% grass: 40% SBM), taking into account their effects on nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation profile, and CH 4 production.…”

“…Previous studies have evaluated the addition of insects or their oils at different inclusion levels to ruminant diets and have shown that the insects have a lower nutritional value, as they lead to a decrease in the IVDMD and IVOMD due to chitin and high fat content, which may lead to inhibition of rumen microbes [ 29 , 30 , 43 , 44 ]. In contrast to the previous findings, the inclusion level of insects used in the current study as substitutes for SBM had no adverse effects on nutrient digestibility, which may be attributed to the low inclusion level (10%) used in this study.…”

Fatty acid profiles of some insect oils and their effects onin vitrobovine rumen fermentation and methanogenesis

“…However, their utilisation in the feeding of ruminants has been limited. Evaluation of insects as ruminant feed has to date been limited, with only a few reports available (Jayanegara et al 2017;Astuti et al 2019). This may be related to the potential risk of the use of insects for ruminants causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, although to date there has been no evidence of such a problem.…”

Digestibility, Milk Yields, and Milk Quality of Ettawa Crossbred Goats Fed Coleus amboinicus L. Leaf Extract

“…The CF intake in the present study was higher than those previously reported by Astuti et al (2019), i.e., 78.20-88.82 g/d for post-weaning EC goats. This difference might be due to the age and body weight difference in the experimental goats in this study compared with those in the study of Astuti et al (2019). The fiber in the ration would influence the composition of milk fat and, therefore, the composition of CF in the ration also influences other nutrients.…”