Utilising yellow mealworm larvae reared on deoxynivalenol-contaminated wheat as a feed ingredient for poultry diets

Abstract

This study determined if yellow mealworm larvae (YML) grown on deoxynivalenol (DON) contaminated wheat would affect broiler chicken performance. The YML were reared on wheat with low (LDW; 630 μg/kg) or high (HDW; 30,730 μg/kg) DON concentrations. The DON concentrations in the dried insect meals were 0 or 17.5 μg/kg for YML grown on LDW and HDW, respectively. Seventy-five male Ross 708 broilers were randomly placed into 15 cages and reared on one of three diets from day 1-35 (five replications/treatment). On day 14, broiler numbers were reduced to four per cage. The diets consisted of a control containing no YML meal (CD) and two diets containing 5% YML meal produced on either LDW (LMD) or HDW (HMD). Feed intake and body weight (BW) were measured over the duration of the experiment to calculate feed to gain ratio (F:G). On day 35, all birds were slaughtered and dissected to collect weights of the breasts, thighs, drums, wings, abdominal fat pads, and organs. Crude protein retention was higher in birds fed the LMD and HMD treatments compared to CD (P=0.0091). Dry matter retention was higher in the HMD diet compared to the CD and LMD diets (P=0.0046). Feed intake was lower in birds fed HMD compared to CD and LMD (P=0.0031) although final BW was not reduced. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of YML did not affect the growth, meat yield or organ weights of the birds. The YML reared on DON-contaminated wheat (up to 30,730 ug/kg) and included in broiler diets at 5% could be an effective means of converting salvage wheat into a safe and sustainable source of protein.