Growth Performance and Haematological Parameters of Cockerel Fed House Fly Larvae as a Substitute to Fish Meal

摘要

Background and Objective: Maggots seem to be one of the promising alternatives of animal protein for livestock. One of thecharacteristics of the Far-North Region, Cameroon, is the abundance of house flies during the hot ambient periods of the year. The presentwork aims to produce maggots and assess the growth performance and physiological status of cockerel-fed maggot meal as a proteinsubstitute for fish meal. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 40 cockerels (6 weeks), weighing 151.08±35.27 g, all from a producerof layer chicks, were used. Birds were randomly allocated to 4 treatments, each containing 10 cockerels. The 4 treatment groups wererespectively fed different diets from the beginning to the end of a 5th week experiment. Formulated diets contained maggot meal (MM)and substituting fishmeal (FM) at graded levels, 0, 25, 50 and 75. Throughout the experiment, feed intake, weight gain and feedconversion ratio were recorded weekly. At the end of the experiment, haematological parameters and production costs were evaluated.Results: The daily feed intake, the daily energy intake, the daily protein intake and the feed conversion ratio were not significantly (p0.05)different between treatments. As compared to a diet containing only fish meal (R0), the daily body weight gain of cockerels fed on a dietcontaining 75 maggot meal was significantly lower (p0.01). As compared to a diet containing only fish meal, the feed cost per kg ofbody weight gain, obtained in cockerels fed a 75 maggot meal diet, increased by 14.5. Haematological parameters were not affectedby treatments (p0.05). Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that the house fly maggot meal can be used safely in cockerelnutrition but fish meal replacement by house maggot meal should not exceed 50 in cockerel.