Partial Soybean Cake Replacement with Black Soldier Fly Larvae: Effects on Performances, Carcass Traits, Breast Meat Attributes and Economic Efficiency in Broilers
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Abeba University
Abstract
By 2050, there will be about 9.7 billion people on the planet, which needs sustainable, efficient and alternative sources of proteins to feed animals that used for human consumption. This study evaluated the effects of replacing soybean cake (SBC) in broiler chicken diets with black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) in terms of growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and economic efficiency. A total of 156 Cobb-500 broiler day old chicks were assigned to four treatments: control (TR0), 15% (TR1), 30% (TR2), and 45% (TR3) BSFLM replacement levels for SBC. Over a 42- day feeding period, TR1 (15% substitution) produced the highest final body weight (2,077.6 g) and average daily gain (49.5 g/day), significantly outperforming TR3 (1,900.9 g; 45.9 g/day) (p < 0.05). Feed conversion ratios remained optimal at 1.65 in TR1, while higher substitution levels (TR2 and TR3) resulted in performance decline. Carcass yield reflected growth trends, with TR1 showing superior live weight at slaughter (2,315 g) and dressed weight (1,767 g), and the highest dressing percentage (76.3%), compared to TR3 (1,964 ; 1,460 g; 74.5%) (p < 0.05) but it has not shown any significant differences from TR0 and TR2. Meat quality analyses revealed no significant differences in crude protein content (~23.7%), but a marked reduction in crude fat was observed in TR1 (6.3%) compared to TR0 (8.0%) (p = 0.044). Drip loss (3.5–4.0%), cook loss (23.4–28.6%), and textural properties (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness) were consistent across treatments, although higher BSFLM levels resulted in minor alterations in meat colors, lightness (L*) increased (up to 46.0 in TR3), redness (a*) decreased (2.5 in TR1/TR2 vs. 3.1 in TR0), and yellowness (b*) increased at higher inclusion levels. Economic analysis demonstrated that TR1 achieved the lowest feed cost per kg of carcass
weight (109.4 birr), compared to 111.7 birr in TR0, while TR2 and TR3 incurred higher costs due to reduced growth performance and carcass yield. According to these results, a moderate replacement of SBC with BSFLM (15%) promotes the sustainable integration of insect-based proteins into broiler chicken production systems while optimizing broiler growth, carcass traits, and financial returns without compromising meat quality. Further studies are recommended to refine inclusion levels, cost-effectiveness, and environmental impacts.
Description
Keywords
Black Soldier Fly, Broiler, Carcass, TECHNOLOGY::Industrial engineering and economy, Larvae Meal, Performance, Soybean cake