Growth performance and meat quality of medium-growing chickens fed with live black soldier fly larvae

The study aims to evaluate live black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) supplementation in medium-growing chicken's diet, the effects on growth and slaughter performance, and quality of meat. A total of 90 male chicks, Naked Neck Label, were randomly allotted in 15 pens (5 pens/treatment) and raised until 82 days of age. Each pen was assigned to one of dietary treatments: (1) control group (CTRL) which received a commercial chicken diet, (2) BSFL10 group which received commercial feed and live BSFL at 10% of the expected weekly feed intake and (3) BSFL20 group which received commercial feed and live BSFL at 20%. As concern growth performance, the diets influenced the average daily feed intake (p = 0.039) and FCR, which was lower in insect-fed birds (p < 0.001). The slaughter weight was significantly higher (p = 0.016) in the BSFL10 group compared to CTRL group, while the BSFL20 group showed intermediate values. The fatty acid of the breast and thigh was influenced by the inclusion of the BSFL in the diet. The proportion of lauric acid (C12:0) and myristic acid (C14:0) were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in BSFL10 and BSFL20 in comparison to CTRL group. Although the nutritional value index and the total essential fatty acids did not show significant differences among the experimental groups. The results demonstrate the feasibility of supplementing commercial feed for medium-growing chickens with live BSFL, up to 20% of the expected weekly feed intake, with minimal modifications to growth performance, slaughter outcomes, and meat quality.