Insects as an alternative protein source in poultry nutrition: review

Abstract

In today’s world, poultry farming is the most dynamically developing branch of agro-industrial complex, providing the population of the planet with products of animal origin. However, poultry meat producers in developing countries face the challenges of high cost and low-quality poultry feed. Limited use of available protein sources forces professionals to consider using alternative protein sources such as forage insects. Due to high content of fat (30–40 %) and protein components (40–60 %) and wide distribution, insects are a cost-effective and potentially sustainable feed resource for poultry feeding. The conducted studies confirm that insect meal (larvae of black soldier fly, housefly, large mealworm, silkworm, grasshopper and locust) can be considered as a potential replacement for fishmeal and soybean meal in poultry feed mixtures. A review of scientific literature is presented, which highlights the use of insects as a source of protein and biologically active substances (polyunsaturated fatty acids and antimicrobial peptides) for poultry feeding and possibility of large-scale insect cliching for feed production. Information is provided on the chemical composition, nutritional and biological value of insect-based feed meal in comparison with soybean and fishmeal. There is practically no information in the literature about the negative consequences for chicken growth when using insect meal in feeding. Most scientific publications indicate that physiological indicators and productivity, when insect meal was used in poultry feeding, were practically not inferior to those in birds fed with soy or fishmeal. Thus, the use of insects as a feed component in poultry farming is a promising aspect for sustainable development of animal husbandry, which allows solving the problems of waste processing and rational use of feed resources.