Evaluation of the Production Performance and the Meat Quality of Chickens Reared in Organic System. As Affected by the Inclusion of Calliphora sp. in the Diet

Ainhoa Sarmiento-García; Carlos Palacios; Inmaculada González-Martín; Isabel Revilla

doi:10.3390/ani11020324

Evaluation of the Production Performance and the Meat Quality of Chickens Reared in Organic System. As Affected by the Inclusion of Calliphora sp. in the Diet

Animals (Basel). 2021 Jan 28;11(2):324. doi: 10.3390/ani11020324.

Authors

Ainhoa Sarmiento-García¹, Carlos Palacios¹, Inmaculada González-Martín², Isabel Revilla³

Affiliations

¹ Area of Animal Production, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
² Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromathology, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
³ Area of Food Technology, Polytechnical High School of Zamora, University of Salamanca, 49022 Zamora, Spain.

Abstract

The use of insects can be a possible source of protein. This study uses Calliphora sp. larvae (CLM) as a protein source in 320 one-day-old medium-growing male chicks (RedBro) during their first month of life. Chickens were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments. Each group consisted of 10 animals, and a total of 8 replicas. Control group was fed with a certified organic feed. The experimental treatments were supplemented with 5% (T2), 10% (T3), or 15% (T4) of CLM, reducing in each case the corresponding percentage of feed quantity. Productive development and meat quality were analyzed, and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used as a tool for classifying the samples. Chickens of T4 showed greater final body weight and total average daily gain, but they reduced consumption and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The chicken breast meat of T4 had lower cooking losses and higher palmitoleic acid content (p < 0.01). NIRS classified correct 92.4% of samples according to the food received. CLM is presented as a potential ingredient for the diet of medium-slow growing chickens raised in organic systems.

Keywords: Calliphora sp.; alternative protein source; insects; larva meal; meat quality; organic poultry; performance.