IMPROVED QUALITY OF EGGS IN LAYER HENS WHEN FED ON BSFL

Article by the Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia in 2016

Effect of using insect larvae meal as a complete protein source on quality and productivity characteristics of laying hens
Mohammed Farooq Abdulhameed Al-Qazzaz1 , Dahlan Ismail1 , Henny Akit1 , Lokman Hakim Idris 
University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) as a source of protein in layer diets on product performance, egg quality, hatchability, fertility, and sensory characteristics of eggs. The BSFL contained a high percentage of protein (559.9 g kg−1 ), metabolizable energy (696.3 kcal kg−1 ), crude fat (18.6 g kg−1 ), and dry matter (178 g kg−1 ) and a good balance of amino acids. A total of 54 Arabic strain hens at nine months of age were mixed with nine cocks at 12 months old; all were divided into three treatments. The diets were formulated based on three levels of energy-toprotein ratio: 155, 140, and 170. The BSFL meal was added at 0, 50, and 10 g kg−1 respectively. The results showed that feed intake, weight gain, Haugh unit, and hatchability were not affected by dietary treatments with BSFL. However, there was significant improvement in hen day egg production and hen house egg production due to dietary treatments of BSFL. Also, feed conversion ratio, egg weight, shell thickness, shell weight, egg yolk color, fertility, and egg mass were affected by dietary treatments. In addition, a significant improvement was observed in appearance, texture, taste, and acceptance of eggs of hens fed BSFL at 50 g kg−1 . The odor was not affected by dietary treatments. Black soldier fly larvae can be a good source of protein in layer diets.

INTRODUCTION
Feed cost can form up to 70% of the total cost of poultry production. Animal protein sources are preferred over plant protein sources because animal proteins contain a good balance of essential amino acids and an excellent content of vitamins (Saima et al., 2008). Fish meal is a high-quality protein source used mainly in poultry diets. However, the high price of fish meal has led to a search for alternative protein sources. Insects are natural food sources for poultry, and they are considered a fundamental protein source for poultry in the wild. Insects contain a good amount of protein, which can be as high as 64% (Hwangbo et al., 2009) to as low as 39.16% (Atteh and Ologbenla, 2015), with a high balance of essential amino acids. Many insects have been used in poultry feed, such as grasshoppers (Hassan et al., 2009), house flies (Hwangbo et al., 2009), and mealworms (RamosElorduy et al., 2002). Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens Linnaeus) have been found to be abundant in most areas of Malaysia. They are called latrine larvae because they can be found around the manure piles of cattle, sheep, and poultry (Van Huis, 2013). Black soldier flies are not found in human foods or habitats because they do not have functional mouth parts. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) have been used to solve some environmental problems related to manure and other organic wastes, such as decreasing manure mass, moisture content, and offensive odors (Barry, 2004; Newton et al., 2005). In addition, they have been used to produce high-value feedstuff for cattle, pigs, poultry, and fish (Newton et al., 2005). The proximate composition of BSFL is variable according to the processing method (Aniebo and Owen, 2010). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of BSFL as a protein source in layer diets on growth performance, egg quality, fertility, hatchability, and sensory characteristics of eggs.

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