Insect farming’s byproducts show promise as broiler feed

Waste byproducts from rearing insects commercially could play a role as a sustainable broiler feed, the results of research presented at the 2024 International Poultry Scientific Forum suggest. Scientists from Southern Poultry Feed & Research and EnviroFlight LLC tested a product made from the frass of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), which includes digested feedstocks and the exoskeletons of the insect larvae which are rich in chitin. The feed contains roughly 20% protein and 6% fat. In two experiments with male Cobb 500 chicks, they investigated the effects of different inclusion rates of the product in the diets at different growth stages, comparing performance of these chicks to that of birds fed a basal diet. Read more