Impact of black soldier fly larval meal on growth performance, apparent digestibility, haematological and blood chemistry indices of guinea fowl starter keets under tropical conditions

Abstract

In order to assess the impact of larval meal on guinea fowl, six iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were fed to day-old-keets ad libitum till 8weeks of age. Water was also freely provided. The fishmeal (FM) component of the experimental diets was replaced with black soldier fly larval meal (BSFLM) in the following percentage ratios of 0–100%. Results showed that body weight gain significantly (P<0.05) increased in all the BSFLM treatment groups compared to the control group. The final body weight of the birds at age 8weeks differed significantly (P<0.001). Dry matter intake varied (P<0.001) slightly among the birds but never affected (P>0.05) ME intake and faecal output as well as weight changes of the keets. Digestibility of dry matter and energy were not affected (P>0.05) by the differences in diet. Organ and haematopoietic integrity were assured regardless of the protein types used as well as levels of inclusion. The results suggest that the replacement of fishmeal with BSFLM in so far as the economics of production is concerned could result in reduced feed cost for starter guinea keet judging from diets that contained 60–100% BSFLM.