Evaluation of broiler performance when fed insect-protected, control, or commercial varieties of dehulled soybean meal

Animal Sciences Group of Wageningen UR, Nutrition and Food, 8200 AB Lelystad, The Netherlands. kees.kan@wur.nl

We evaluated the nutritional value of broiler diets containing approximately 35% soybean meal from insect-protected soybean containing CrylAc protein, or from a similar nontransgenic control, or from 7 reference commercial soybean varieties. The feeding trial lasted 41 d, and each treatment consisted of 10 replicates of 1-d-old Ross 508 broilers (5 pens males and 5 pens females). Each pen contained 12 birds, and at d 13, birds were randomly removed until 9 birds remained. Body weight and feed intake were measured on pen basis at 41 d. At d 42, 4 broilers per pen were slaughtered. The carcasses were dissected, and cut-up yields were determined. Dry matter, protein, and fat contents of breast meat as well as shear force of breast meat were determined. The data were analyzed by ANOVA. The BW and feed conversion ratio at d 41 averaged 2,435 g and 1.52, respectively. There were no significant treatment x sex interactions. Data for final BW, feed conversion, carcass yield, and breast meat data were not different (P < 0.05) between broilers fed insect-protected and those fed commercial soybean meal varieties. Thus, insect-protected soybean meal was nutritionally equivalent to nongenetically modified soybean varieties when fed to broilers.