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The effects of insect meal on gut health have recently been reported in free-range and broiler chickens, but no data are available for intermediate growing chickens supplemented with black soldier fly (BSF) live larvae. Label naked neck chickens were reared from 21 to 82 days of age and randomly allotted into four groups (n=240, 10 birds/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) according to bird gender (male-M and female-F) and larvae provision (Control-C and larvae-L). LM and LF groups received 10% supplementation of BSF live larvae, based on the average daily feed intake. At slaughter, samples of liver, spleen, bursa of Fabricius, and gut were collected from 60 animals (15 birds/treatment) and routinely processed for histomorphological examination. The following morphometrical parameters were evaluated on duodenum, jejunum, and ileum: villus height (Vh), villus width (Vw), crypt depth (Cd), Vh/Cd ratio, total absorptive area, mucosal and muscular thickness. The observed histopathological findings were evaluated using a semi-quantitative scoring system (0: absent, 1: mild, 2: moderate, 3: severe). Morphometrically,Vh,TAA and mucosal tickness depended on sex ,being greater in M than in F(P0.05), liver degeneration depended on sex, being higher in F than in M (P= 0,025). In conclusion, despite the slight reduction of the total absorptive area in females, results showed that BSF live larvae provision did not impair gut and general health of organic chickens, assuring a physiological, sex-dependent gut morphological asset. Financial support for Poultrynsect project was provided by transnational funding bodies under the Joint SUSFOOD2/CORE Organic Call 2019.

Insects have shown to be a potential nutritional replacement in poultry nutrition as substitute of traditional protein sources, with positive effects on gut microbiota. However, only few studies have investigated the effects of live black soldier fly (BSF) live larvae provision on short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and microbiota composition in chicken’s gut. Label naked neck (LNN, n. 240) chickens were reared in an organic production system from 21 to 82 days of age and randomly allocated into four experimental groups (10 birds/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) according to bird gender and larvae provision. Experimental groups were fed with 10% supplementation of BSF live larvae, based on the expected daily feed intake (DFI). At slaughter, samples of cecal digesta were collected from 60 animals (15 birds/treatment), frozen and stored at -80°C until to be analyzed by SPME-CG-MS and DNA sequencing techniques, respectively. Results showed that seven SCFAs were identified, with butyrate as the most abundant. Even if no significant differences were found between treatments, the cecal SCFAs concentration in insect-fed animals were noticed to be less variable than control group. Cecal microbiota analyses of birds fed with BSF live larvae, showed a higher incidence of Coprobacillus, Synergistaceae and Christensenellaceae, with the latter to having the potential to degrade chitin’s insect meal, a compound with immunoregulatory properties. In conclusion, results showed that even a dietary 10% supplementation of BSF live larvae can slightly improve microbiota profile and potentially, SCFAs production in LNN chickens. These results confirm what observed in recent studies on broilers, but with lower (5% of DFI) live larvae inclusion levels. Financial support for Poultrynsect project was provided by transnational funding bodies under the Joint SUSFOOD2/CORE Organic Call 2019.

Introduction. Few studies on the effects of live larvae provision in poultry have been previously conducted [1,2,3]. However, trials on the long-term provision of live larvae in chicken reared for meat consumption have never been performed before. This study evaluated the impact of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) live larvae provision on growth performance and larvae consumption behavior of intermediate-growing strains. Material and methods. A total of 240 Label naked neck birds were reared from 21 to 82 days of age, and four experimental groups (10 birds/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) were considered according to the birds’ gender and larvae provision. Experimental groups were fed 10% supplementation of BSF live larvae based on the daily feed intake. The live weight (LW), feed conversion ratio (FCR), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG) were evaluated considering two periods: 21-35d and 35-82d. The larvae were provided daily and consumption times were analyzed considering periods of 10 days (5 time frame-T1,T2,T3,T4,T5). Data were analyzed by means of a GLMM (SPSS software, P

The POULTRYNSECT Work Package 3 “Laboratory and Sensorial Analyses” aims to evaluate the impact of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) live larvae inclusion as feed ingredient in chicken diet on chicken health and meat quality. Animal welfare and health affect many metabolic processes, which may impact meat quality after slaughter . Differences in feed composition may also be translated to differences in chemical composition of meat and thus changes in sensory attributes. In this report the meat composition preliminary results obtained from the first in vivo feeding trial performed with Label Naked Neck chicken are summarized. Besides chemical composition such as protein content and pH, physical parameters including drip loss, thaw loss and instrumental tenderness are reported and complemented by analysis of in vitro protein digestibility and content of oxidation products to evaluate potential health implications for human consumption.