Effects of substitution of fish meal with fresh and dehydrated larvae of the house fly (Musca domestica L) on productive performance and health of broilers

Abstract

In order to investigate the effects of substitution of fish meal with fresh and dried housefly larvae (Musca domestica L) on productive performance and health status of broilers a study was conducted on a poultry farm in the vicinity of Belgrade. Two hundred Hybro-G broilers, of both sexes, originating from the same parent flock, of standardized body mass, were divided into four equal experimental groups. The experiment lasted 42 days. The control group (C) was fed standard diets. The broilers of the first and second experimental groups (O-I and O-II) were fed diets in which 50%, and 100%, fish meal had been substituted with housefly larvae meal (HLM). The third experimental group (O-III) was fed diets without fish meal, but supplemented with no fresh larvae in special feeders. The chemical analysis showed that dehydrated HLM contained 59.48% dry matter (DM) protein; whereas fresh larvae, prepared by a special technological method, contained 59.10% DM protein; whereas fish meal contained 67.39% DM protein. Viewed in total, the obtained productive results for the experimental groups (O-I, O-II, O-III) were approximately the same as those for the control group (C); whereas the results obtained per phase show statistically significant differences, due to the influence of the applied treatments (p<0.05; p<0.01). The fresh and dehydrated larvae, used as substitutes for fish meal, had a positive effect on productive performance and health status of broilers, which provides a good possibility for using them in diets intended for feeding broilers.