ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1605077

This article is part of the Research TopicSustainable Nutritional Strategies for Improving Health Status, Egg and Meat Quality in PoultryView all 7 articles

Dietary Inclusion of Defatted Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal: Impacts on Laying Hen Performance, Egg Quality, Serum Biomarkers, and Intestinal Morphology

Provisionally accepted
Lifei ChenLifei Chen1*Haoyang SunHaoyang Sun1Hanhan SongHanhan Song1Guiying WangGuiying Wang1Xiuliang MaXiuliang Ma1Jiacai TuJiacai Tu1Lei YangLei Yang1Junxia LiJunxia Li1Yuxi WangYuxi Wang1Xueqiang MengXueqiang Meng1Wenyu ZhangWenyu Zhang1Shenghao LiShenghao Li1Qile TianQile Tian1Yinling ZhaoYinling Zhao2Hongyan YangHongyan Yang3Peixian WangPeixian Wang4Lusheng LiLusheng Li1*
  • 1Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
  • 2Shandong Fengxiang Co., Ltd., Liaocheng, China
  • 3Liaocheng City Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, Liaocheng, China
  • 4Yantai Tianhua Breeding Co., Ltd., Yantai, China

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This study investigated the effects of 3% (G3), 6% (G6), and 9% (G9) dietary defatted black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal on 288 Hy-Line Brown laying hens over 210 days. While egg production and weight showed no significant differences (P>0.05), feed-to-egg ratios increased in higher inclusion groups (G6, G9) versus 0% control (G0) during later phases (P<0.01). G6 exhibited enhanced eggshell strength versus G0 (P<0.05), while G3 demonstrated thicker eggshells than all groups (P<0.05). Serum analysis revealed G3 had superior total antioxidant capacity and lower lipid peroxidation versus G0 and G9 (P<0.05), along with elevated gonadotropin-releasing hormone levels compared to G9 (P<0.05). Intestinal morphology remained unaffected across treatments. The 3% BSFL inclusion optimally balanced eggshell quality and antioxidant status under isoenergeticisoprotein conditions, supporting its viability as a sustainable protein source in poultry diets. Findings advocate BSFL meal as an eco-friendly feed alternative, with 3% identified as the most effective inclusion rate.

Keywords: defatted BSFL meal, Egg production performance, Eggshell strength, antioxidant capacity, Intestinal morphology

Received: 02 Apr 2025; Accepted: 15 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Sun, Song, Wang, Ma, Tu, Yang, Li, Wang, Meng, Zhang, Li, Tian, Zhao, Yang, Wang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Lifei Chen, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
Lusheng Li, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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