The Impact of Whole Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Broiler Health and Growth During a Necrotic Enteritis Challenge

Increased demands for protein have led to a search for alternatives to traditional protein sources like soy and animal protein. Black Soldier Fly Larvae can be reared on many feedstocks to produce a high-quality nutrient source for livestock and pets. These insects contain biologically meaningful compounds like antimicrobial peptides, lauric acid, and chitin. This combination of compounds highlights the need to investigate BSFL as a functional ingredient in broilers. This study examined the impact of BSFL inclusion on broiler performance with and without a subclinical Necrotic Enteritis (NE) challenge over two experiments. In both experiments, diets included 0%, 2.5%, or 5.0% BSFL from 0–42 d. During Experiment 2, birds were given a live coccidiosis vaccine at hatch and challenged with C. perfringens at 19, 20, and 21 d. Primary variables include growth performance, lesion scores, and NE-specific mortality. A BSFL inclusion of 2.5% and 5.0% significantly improved feed conversion ratio in both experiments (p < 0.001); 5% BSFL inclusion also significantly improved body weight gain in both experiments (p = 0.014, p = 0.023, respectively). Overall, results indicate that BSFL is an effective and safe feed ingredient option for commercial broiler production, providing biologically relevant improvements in performance with and without disease pressure.