Effect of dietary supplementation with full-fat silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) chrysalis meal on growth performance and meat quality of Rhode Island Red × Fayoumi crossbred chickens

The objective was to study the effect of the partial substitution of soybean meal and oil with full-fat silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) meal (SWM) in the diet of growing chickens, on their growth and meat quality traits. A total of 195 1-day-old chicks of both sexes were allocated to 15 littered floor pens and assigned to three dietary treatments (5 replicates/treatments) until 8 weeks of age: a commercial diet (Control) and other two diets with an inclusion of either 25% (SWM25) or 50% (SWM50) SWM. At 8 weeks of age, two males/replicates were slaughtered and carcases dissected to compute yields. Pectoralis major muscle was subjected to pH and L*a*b* colour values, proximate composition and fatty acid profile analysis. All chickens showed satisfactory growth performance throughout the trial, with the best growth being observed in the SWM25 group. Carcase traits remained unaffected by the dietary treatment, but SWM25 chickens had a higher breast yield (p <.05) than the Control group. The pH of SWM50 breasts was higher than Control (p <.01). Dietary treatments affected meat protein content, differing between SWM25 and SWM50 (22.2 versus 23.3%, respectively; p <.05). SWM dietary inclusion increased n-3 PUFA and lowered the n-6 PUFA proportions in a level-dependent manner. Consequently, n-6/n-3 ratio diminished, thus improved, with the dietary SWM inclusion. Results showed that it is possible to partly substitute soybean meal/oil with SWM in the diet of chickens, ensuring satisfactory performance and carcase traits, and providing meat with a healthier n-6/n-3 ratio.Highlights Silkworm (Bombyx mori) chrysalis is a possible sustainable feed ingredient for growing chickens, alternative to conventional soybean. The dietary inclusion of silkworm full-fat meal in chicken diets provided satisfactory growth performance, carcase and meat quality traits. The dietary inclusion of full-fat silkworm meal in chicken diets enriched meat lipids with omega-3 fatty acids.