Improving Poultry Production with Black Soldier Fly Larvae

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are emerging as a promising alternative to traditional protein and fat sources in animal feed and pet food.Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of BSFL meal as a partial or complete substitute for fishmeal and soybean meal in poultry diets, showing improvements in growth performance, feed efficiency, meat quality, and animal welfare.For laying hens, BSFL meal enhances egg production and quality and improves yolk fatty acid and amino acid profiles.These benefits are attributed to BSFL's rich protein content, balanced amino acid profile, essential fatty acids, and prebiotic properties.The nutritional composition of BSFL can be manipulated by varying their feed substrates, allowing customization to meet specific poultry species' needs and production goals.BSFL contain chitin, a prebiotic that supports a balanced gut microbiota, and lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid with antimicrobial properties, which can enhance gut health and potentially reduce antibiotic use in poultry production.Live BSFL can serve as environmental enrichment, promoting natural foraging behaviours and reducing stress-related behaviours.This enrichment improves leg health in broilers, enhances plumage status in layers and ducks, and reduces aggressive pecking in turkeys.The growing demand for BSFL in poultry feed has spurred commercial production efforts to provide sustainable and cost-effective protein sources.However, the optimal use of BSFL in poultry diets is still under investigation.This review aims to consolidate existing research on BSFL in poultry production, highlighting potential benefits and challenges.By identifying research gaps, this review provides valuable insights to guide future studies and support poultry farmers and researchers in optimizing BSFL use. Improving Poultry Production with Black Soldier Fly Larvaeprocessing methods [1][2][3].This variability can pose challenges in ensuring a consistent and adequate nutritional profile for different animal species. Nutritional composition of black soldier fly larvaeBSFL are an excellent source of protein, with crude protein levels ranging from 18% to 65.5% dry matter (DM), surpassing many conventional protein sources (Table 1) [1][2][3][4][5][6].This wide range is influenced by the substrate the larvae are raised on and the stage at which they are harvested.BSFL protein is particularly rich in lysine, an essential amino acid often limiting in plant-based diets but may be deficient in methionine and cystine (Table 4).