Defatted yellow mealworm larvae (&lt;I&gt;Tenebrio molitor&lt;/I&gt; l.) meal as possible alternative to fish meal in quail diets

S Sarica,U Yildirim,B Kanoglu

doi:10.4314/sajas.v50i3.15

Abstract

The effects of replacing fish meal (FM) in the diet with defatted mealworm larvae meal (DMLM) on growth, carcass, and biochemical constituents of serum of Japanese quail chicks were investigated. A total of 600 unsexed one-day-old chicks were allotted to five dietary treatments with six replicates of 20 chicks each. The diets were formulated by replacing FM with DMLM at the levels of 25% (D25), 50% (D50), 75% (D75), and 100% (D100). The FM, D25 and D50 diets resulted in greater final bodyweight, higher bodyweight gain, and improved feed conversion ratio compared with the other diets. Diets that contained DMLM decreased the feed intake compared with the FM diet. The FM and D25 diets increased the hot and cold carcass yields compared with the other diets, whereas the D75 and D100 diets significantly enhanced the relative weight of the small intestine and abdominal fat compared with FM, D25, and D50. The replacement of FM with DMLM reduced the serum globulin, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and the albumin to globulin ratio significantly. The best protein and energy efficiency ratios and European efficiency factor were obtained with the D25 and D50 diets. In conclusion, the replacement of FM with DMLM at the levels of 25% and 50% produced positive results in growth performance, in serum albumin to globulin ratio, and in nutrient use efficiency in quail.Keywords: performance, serum biochemistry, slaughtering

Highlights

As a result of rapid growth, the population of the world is expected to be nine billion by 2050 (Cullere et al, 2016; Onsongo et al, 2018)
The diets supplemented with fish meal (FM), DMLM at the levels of 25% (D25) and D50 increased the final BW of quail compared with D75 and D100 (P
The current results for BW concur with the findings of Dutta et al (2012) and Jintasataporn (2012), who reported that the complete replacement of FM with silkworm pupae meal reduced the final BW of broilers significantly compared with a diet containing FM

Summary

Introduction

As a result of rapid growth, the population of the world is expected to be nine billion by 2050 (Cullere et al, 2016; Onsongo et al, 2018). The demand for poultry meat and eggs for human consumption will increase (Bahadori et al, 2017), resulting in a 58% rise in global meat demand compared with the 2010 level (Cullere et al, 2016). Feedstuffs currently make up 60% - 70% of the total cost of production for broilers, with protein accounting for over 15% of the total (Khatun et al, 2005; Khan et al, 2017). Soybean meal (SBM) and FM are currently the major protein sources for broilers (Marono et al, 2015; Onsongo et al, 2018). Land that is available for soybean cultivation will decrease, and the price of SBM will rise (Onsongo et al, 2018)

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Methods

Results