Live black soldier fly larvae as environmental enrichment for native chickens: implications for bird performance, welfare, and excreta microbiota

Autor: S. Bellezza Oddon, I. Biasato, I. Ferrocino, A. Imarisio, M. Renna, C. Caimi, M. Gariglio, S. Dabbou, M. Pipan, D. Dekleva, M.R. Corvaglia, V. Bongiorno, E. Macchi, L. Cocolin, L. Gasco, A. Schiavone
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Animal, Vol 18, Iss 11, Pp 101341- (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1751-7311
DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2024.101341
Popis: Dietary live insect larvae were recently proposed for use in laying hens and broiler−intensive chicken farming as an innovative form of environmental enrichment, but their use in native dual-purpose chickens has never been investigated. This study aims to evaluate the effects of live black soldier fly (BSF) larvae as environmental enrichment in two autochthonous dual-purpose chicken breeds, namely Bionda Piemontese (BP) and Bianca di Saluzzo (BS), in terms of bird performance, behaviour, integument status, excreta corticosterone metabolites (ECMs), and microbiota analyses. A total of 90 BP and 90 BS hens aged 308 days old were randomly distributed between two treatment groups (three replicates/group/breed, 15 hens/replicate). For the following 90 days, the control group (C) was fed a commercial feed only, whereas the BSF group was fed the commercial diet plus BSF live larvae calculated at 6% of the expected daily feed intake (DFI). Larva ingestion time, bird performance, integument scores, and behavioural observations were assessed at regular intervals, and excreta samples were collected to evaluate ECM and microbiota. The larva ingestion time became faster over the course of the experimental trial (P
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