Complete replacement of soybean meal with black soldier fly larvae meal in feeding program for broiler chickens from placement through to 49 days of age: impact on gastrointestinal, breast, skeletal, plasma, and litter attributes

We previously reported that high levels (≥50%) of black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) reduced growth and altered organs morphology in broiler chickens. We further examined gastrointestinal, breast, bone, plasma, and litter attributes in broiler chickens fed partial to complete replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with BSFLM. A total of 1,152 d-old Ross × Ross 708 male chicks (n=8) were allocated to 48 pens and assigned one of six diets: a basal corn-SBM diet (0BSFLM), four diets in which SBM in 0BSFLM was replaced with BSFLM at 12.5, 25, 50, and 100% (12.5BSFLM, 25BSFLM, 50BSFLM, 100BSFLM) and a final diet (0+AGP) in which 0BSFLM was fed with coccidiostat and antibiotic. Birds were bled for plasma and necropsied for samples. Litter samples were collected on d 45 to 47. Breast weight, woody breast, and hardness scores and tibia morphometry reduced linearly in response to BSFLM inclusion (P<0.001). BSFLM linearly increased plasma Lys, Met, Thr, uric acid, creatine kinase and decreased Arg and potassium (P<0.05). Litter ammonium nitrogen and potassium decreased linearly in response to BSFLM (P<0.001). In conclusion, the data suggested physiological and metabolic inefficiencies in broiler chickens fed isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets with ≥50% BSFLM replacement of SBM.