YELLOW MEALWORM LARVAE (TENEBRIO MOLITOR) GROWN ON DEOXYNIVALENOL-CONTAMINATED WHEAT AS A FEED INGREDIENT FOR BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to determine if yellow mealworm larvae (YML) grown on wheat contaminated with a high concentration of deoxynivalenol (DON) would affect broiler chicken performance. The YML were grown in containers of wheat that contained either low (LDW; <1,000 µg/kg) or high DON (HDW; 30,730 µg/kg). The DON concentration in the dried insect meals were 0 or 17.5 µg/kg for YML grown on LDW and HDW, respectively. Seventy-five male Ross 708 broilers were randomly placed into 15 cages and reared on one of three diets from day 1-35 (five replications/treatment). At day 14, bird numbers were reduced to four birds/replication. The diets consisted of a control containing no YML meal (CD) and two diets containing 5% that were grown on either LDW (LMD) or HDW (HMD). The diets were formulated to meet Ross 708 2019 performance standards and fed as a mash in two phases: starter/grower (0-21 days) and finisher (21-35 days). Titanium dioxide was included as a marker in the finisher diets to allow the measurement of crude protein (CP) and dry matter (DM) digestibility. Excreta was collected on days 33 and 34. Feed intake (FI) and body weight (BW) were measured over the duration of the experiment and used to calculate feed conversion ratio (FCR). On day 35, all birds were slaughtered and dissected to collect weights of the breasts, thighs, drums, wings, abdominal fat pads, liver, spleen, bursa of Fabricius, and gastrointestinal tract organs. A one-way ANOVA was used to assess the effect of diet on digestibility, performance, and carcass traits. Crude protein retention was higher in the LMD and HMD treatments compared to CD (68.17, 68.61, 66.17 respectively (P = 0.0091)). Dry matter retention was higher in the HMD diet compared to the CD and LMD diets (76.80, 74.93, 74.88 respectively; P = 0.0046)). Feed intake was lower in birds fed HMD compared to CD and LMD (2469.0, 2709.1, 2762.4 respectively; P = 0.0031)). The fatty acid profiles of the broilers fed diets containing YML differed from those on the CD (P < 0.05). Diet inclusion of YML did not affect the growth, meat yield or organ weights of the birds. The YML reared on DON-contaminated wheat (up to 30,730 ug/kg) and included in broiler diets at 5% could be an effective means of converting salvage wheat into a safe and sustainable source of protein.