Effects of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larval meal in the diets of grower-finishing guinea fowls reared under tropical conditions

Citation

Wallace PA, Nyameasem JK, Adu-Aboagye GA, Affedzie-Obresi S, Nkegbe EK, Murray F, Botchway V, Karbo N, Leschen W, Maquart P & Clottey V (2018) Effects of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larval meal in the diets of grower-finishing guinea fowls reared under tropical conditions. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 50 (7), pp. 1499-1507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1588-5

Abstract
The study was conducted with the view to determine the impact of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larval meal (BSFLM) on growing guinea fowls. BSFLM replaced fishmeal (3% in the control diet) in the ratios of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% to produce six dietary treatments, which were iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. Two hundred and forty-eight-week old guinea fowls with mean live weight of 273.2 ± 10.9 g were tagged, weighted, and randomly assigned to 24 (6 × 4) floor pens; each pen was treated as a replicate. Feed and water were provided ad libitum during the entire period, which lasted 10 weeks. Feed consumption differed among the treatment groups (P = 0.0072) with the 100% fishmeal diets recording the lowest. Daily gain was significantly (P = 0.009) higher for birds fed high BSFLM diets compared to the control (100% fishmeal diet). The inclusion of BSFLM in the diets elicited positive linear effect on weight gains of the guinea fowls (R2 = 0.91) with increasing concentration resulting in higher live weight gains. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) also differed between treatments (P < 0.05) but similar for the 100% fishmeal (control) and 100% BSFLM diets. Organ and haematopoitic integrity were equally assured regardless of levels of the protein sources fed to the birds. Generally, meats from birds fed 60 to 100% BSFLM and from hens were more acceptable. A study to evaluate the economics of utilising BSFLM in guinea fowl production is recommended.

Keywords
Blood chemistry; Carcass; Haematology; Organoleptic properties; Protein

Journal
Tropical Animal Health and Production: Volume 50, Issue 7