Prospects of Poikelocercus pictus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) as an alternative protein source for Rhode Island Red chicken

Abstract

Objectives: Insects have great potential as an alternative nutrient source in animal feed, fisheries, and poultry industries for sustainable development. Poikelocercus pictus (PP) is an edible grasshopper that has a high percentage of crude protein; thus, we evaluated it as an alternative protein source for Rhode Island Red (RIR) chicken. Methods: We fed RIR chicken on a commercial diet (control) and PP diets: T1 (PP meal throughout the trial, T2 (PP diet for the last 30 days of the trial), T3 (PP diet for the last 15 days of the trial). We maintained eight RIR chickens in four groups each with six replications. Results: Feed analysis indicated significantly higher crude protein levels (P < 0.05) in the PP diet than in the commercial diet. The feeding trial showed that PP diet feeding for 15 days did not record a significant difference with control for feed intake, food conversion ratio (FCR), and growth. RIR chicken demonstrated significantly higher feed intake and gained higher weight when fed on the PP diet as compared to the control (P < 0.05). Maximum FCR was observed when chickens were fed the PP diet for 45 days (3.21 ± 0.03). Conclusion: Our study indicated that the grasshopper species, Poikelocercus pictus, might serve as a protein source in poultry feed. Our results suggest that PP diets could replace or be used as a partial substitute for conventional plant-based protein sources in poultry feed.

Keywords

• RIR Chicks
• Rhode Island Red
• Insect-based protein
• Grasshopper