Abstract:
An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio
molitor) meal inclusion in diets of indigenous chickens. A total of 160 mixed-sex indigenous Boschveld
chickens were randomly divided into four categories: control soybean meal (SBM) and yellow
mealworm with percentage levels of 5, 10 and 15 (TM5, TM10 and TM15, respectively). Five replicate
pens per treatment were used, with eight birds per pen/replicate. On day 60, two birds from each
replicate were slaughtered and eviscerated. Meat quality parameters were measured out on raw
carcass and cooked breast meat. The carcass weight, breast weight and gizzard weight of the control
group was higher (p < 0.05) than the treatment group (TM15). The cooking loss was lower (p < 0.05)
in the SBM control group but higher in the TM15 group. Colour characteristics of breast meat
before cooking was lighter in the TM10 and TM15 group, ranged from 61.7 to 69.3 for L* and was
significant (p < 0.05). The TM10 and TM15 groups showed a lighter colour than the SBM and TM5
groups. The breast meat pH taken after slaughter was different (p < 0.05) in TM5 and TM15, with
the highest reading (pH 6.0) in the TM5 group. In conclusion, our experiment indicated that dietary
Tenebrio molitor in growing Boschveld indigenous chickens’ diets could be considered a promising
protein source for Boschveld indigenous chickens.
Description:
The authors would like to acknowledge the University of Pretoria, Department
of Zoology and Entomology for providing the mealworm samples for this study. Our appreciation to
Emmanuel Nekhudzhiga from the Department of Consumer and Food Science for assisting with the
breast meat colour analysis.
