A Nutritional Evaluation of Insect Meal as a Sustainable Protein Source for Jumbo Quails: Physiological and Meat Quality Responses

Fezile G. T. Mbhele, Caven Mguvane Mnisi and Victor Mlambo
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Fezile G. T. Mbhele: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science, North-West University, Mafikeng 2735, South Africa
Caven Mguvane Mnisi: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science, North-West University, Mafikeng 2735, South Africa
Victor Mlambo: School of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Mpumalanga, Nelspruit 1200, South Africa

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 23, 1-10

Abstract: The use of insect meals in place of soybean meal in diets is critical for sustainable intensification of poultry production, but the utility of this alternative dietary protein source is unknown for the Jumbo quail. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of partial substitution of soybean with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal on feed intake, physiological, and meat quality parameters of Jumbo quails. Three hundred and fifteen mixed-gender quails (53.8 ± 5.19 g live-weight) were reared on five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets formulated by replacing soybean products with BSFL meal at 0 (BSFL0), 25 (BSFL25), 50 (BSFL50), 75 (BSFL75), and 100 (BSFL100) g/kg. Feed intake, body weight gain, gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), blood parameters, and carcass and meat quality traits were determined. Quadratic trends were observed for overall feed intake ( y = 605 (±17.56) + 2.1 (±0.82) x − 0.02 (±0.008) x 2 ; R 2 = 0.20; p = 0.023) and overall body weight gain ( y = 155 (±4.70) + 0.57 (±0.22) x − 0.005 (±0.002) x 2 ; R 2 = 0.22; p = 0.026) in response to BSFL levels. However, there were neither linear nor quadratic trends for meat quality and blood parameters, except for albumin-to-globulin ratio. Only gizzard size linearly increased ( y = 0.05 (±0.004) x + 2.3 (±0.09); R 2 = 0.18; p = 0.04) with BSFL levels. We concluded that BSFL meal could replace soybean products in Jumbo quail diets at 54 g/kg without compromising weight gain and meat quality.

Keywords: feed production; growth performance; insect meal; jumbo quails; meat quality; soybean; sustainable intensification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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