Cafeteria-type feeding of chickens indicates a preference for insect (Tenebrio molitor) larvae meal

• Autor(a) principal: Marcos Antônio Nascimento Filho
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Raquel Tatiane Pereira, Ana Beatriz Santos de Oliveira, Diana Suckeveris, Álvaro Mário Burin Junior, Thiago de Araújo Mastrangelo, Diego Vicente da Costa, José Fernando Machado Menten
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10040627; http://hdl.handle.net/1843/47635
• topic: Frango de corte; Insetos; Nutrição animal; Eficiência alimentar

This study aimed to determine whether broiler chickens display a preference for Tenebrio molitor larvae (TM) meal by evaluating ingredient acceptability and birds’ performance. Sixty 14-day-old male chickens were assigned into two treatment groups (5 birds/pen, n = 6) in a cafeteria-type study: the control (C) group, and the TM group. Each pen was equipped with one bell drinker and four through feeders allocated side by side; all feeders of the C group contained a complete standard diet whereas each feeder of the TM group contained one of the following ingredients: ground corn, extruded semi-whole soybean, vitamin-mineral supplement mixture, and TM meal. Feed intake was recorded daily and growth was monitored periodically up to day 32. Chickens which had access to individual feed components showed a delay to display preference for TM, but consumed, overall, up to 50% of the total intake as TM meal. Feed intake and growth performance were lower in all periods for TM group (p < 0.02), whereas feed conversion ratio was improved on days 22–28 and days 29–32 of age (p < 0.01). Data from bivariate and multidimensional analysis indicate that birds started to reach a balance of ingredient intake at 25 days of age, showing a high correlation between consumption of each ingredient and the day of the experiment. Chickens exhibited a preference for T. molitor meal, resulting in improved feed efficiency, which allows us to conclude that it can be a suitable feed alternative for poultry.