Black Soldier Fly Larvae and Chicken: A Match Made in Heaven

 

Did you know black soldier fly larvae are an ideal nutritional supplement for chicken?

Raising chickens is a great way to get farm-fresh eggs, have an abundance of meat and generate some income from their sales. But, the best eggs and meat are produced when your chickens have an optimal diet.

In this article we will take a look at the optimal diet for chickens and how BSFL can boost many areas of niutration that your chickens need. Plus, we will look at how BSFL can increase your feed conversation ratio by letting BSFL recycle chicken manure.

The Optimal Chicken Diet.

If you are raising egg laying chickens or broiler chickens, there are several important nutrients that your chickens should be getting. An optimal chicken diet contains high levels of protein,fat, and calcium. Fortunately, black soldier fly larvae contains all of these nutrients  in sufficient quantities and can be added to any standard chicken feed as a supplement.

Let's take a look at each of this nutrients and why your chickens need them.

Protein

Most people confuse protein with meat, which is not necessarily true. Every cell - in every organism - uses protein like tiny cellular machines to give cells function. Proteins within cells are constructed out of smaller units called amino acids. While organisms like plants produce all of their own amino acids, most animals need to eat a variety of amino acids in order for their body to function properly. Chickens are no exception.

The protein in black soldier fly larvae  can help chickens during the molt, which is when a chicken loses all its feathers and re-grows new feathers. During this time, protein needs increase because feathers are about 90% protein.

Molting

Chickens need to consume a variety of amino acids in order to function, biuld and lay eggs, plus produce meat. Luckily BSFL contain an optimal amount of protein with a diverse amino acid profile. In fact, researchershave found that black soldier flies increase positive outcomes related to protein like egg quality, egg taste and texture, and fertility!

Fat

If you are trying to produce high-quality, low-fat chicken meat, feeding ample amounts of fat may seem counter-intuitive. But, an optimal diet for chickens contains relatively a high amount of fat for several reasons. First, good eggs are absolutely packed with fat. The yolk of an egg is almost entirely fat. So, to produce eggs chickens need fat in their diet. Second, just because chicken eats fat does not mean that the fat will be deposited in the meat of the chicken. Chickens are excellent at utilising dietary fat as energy, so an active chicken will easily convert the fat in their diet into lean muscle.

Black Soldier Fly Larvae contain up to 39% fat - an optimal amount for feeding chickens. Your chickens will remain active as they eat the black soldier fly larvae, ensuring that they maintain lean muscle. Further, the quality of their eggs will increase if they have plenty of fat available to make new eggs. You may even find your chickens start laying  eggs more frequently!

Calcium

Calcium plays several important roles in chicken biology. Egg shells, for instance, are made with very high level of calcium. But, chickens also need calcium to support the health of their bones, feathers, and even their nervous system! Many chicken farmers supplement their chicken diet with powdered calcium to ensure that chickens are getting enough.

However, BSFL have a ton of calcium! In fact, BSFL have over 10 times the calcium as super worms and other feeder insects. So, if you are feeding BSFL to your chickens you can be sure they are getting enough calcium. Eggshells will become stronger, and your chicken's bone health and overall appearance will also benefit. 

One added Benefit: Increased Activity 

Like all captive animals, a completely sedentary lifestyle almost always leads to negative health outcomes. Black Soldier Fly Larvae (live or dried) can give your chickens a good way to stay active. If you scatter black soldier fly larvae all around the chicken coop, your chicken will spend hours tracking down all the larvae thus even reducing cannibalism. This is a great way to keep your chickens active and engaged. Plus, more active chicken produce leaner meat!

How to feed BSFL to chickens 

Feeding black soldier fly larvae to your chicken is really easy. Simply take a handful of black soldier fly larvae and spread them throughout your chicken pen. Once your chicken know what the larvae look like and how they taste, they will definitely get excited when you approach the pen with a fresh bach of larvae. Researchers have found ou that feeding just BSFL as 5% of the total diet is an effective way to get your chickens the protein, fat, and calcium that they need. 

Increase Your Feed Conversion Efficiency 

Black Soldier Fly Larvae also have one more amazing ability: they can convert chicken manure into more BSFL and concentrated compost - frass. Black Soldier Fly Larvae are one of the world's best composters, and they can compost about any agricultural waste. So, by converting what would normally be lost as waste back into useable chicken feed, you are actually increasing your feed conversation efficiency. In other words you will be able to get more eggs and lean meat out of the same amount of feed.

However to achieve this and enjoy all the above benefits you will have to get some black soldier fly larvae.

To get some feel free to reach us out anytime on 0714545454 / 0720750667 for calls or WhatsApp https://wa.me/254720750667