Production Performance and Egg Quality of Laying Hens Fed with Diet Containing Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL) are larvae of the Hermetia illucens beetle, which can serve as a protein source in poultry feed; however, their impact on production and quality remains inconsistent. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the utilization of BSFL as a protein source for laying hens in terms of production performance and egg quality. Study selection followed the PRISMA protocol. This meta-analysis retrieved 44 studies from 17 articles, utilizing Hedges’d as the effect size metric. The results indicated that the production performance of laying hens fed diets containing BSFL did not differ significantly from control diets regarding egg weight, egg mass, hen day production, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and feed intake. However, significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in all egg quality parameters except for shell thickness and cholesterol content. The inclusion of BSFL in laying hen diets significantly increased (P<0.05) Haugh Unit (HU), egg yolk color score, and level of lauric, myristic, and palmitic acids. Sub-group analysis of larvae forms revealed that non-defatted BSFL exhibited the best FCR. Meta-regression analysis identified the optimal BSFL inclusion level for laying hens as 12%.