ABSTRACT
Recent studies have suggested the utilization of maggots as a feed supplement for enhanced broiler performance. Maggots, which are a major dietary source of protein, appear during the biodegradation of chicken droppings using house flies. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of maggot supplementation on the meat quality and growth performance of broiler chickens. A total of 600 one-dayold male commercial broiler chicks (Ross) were randomly assigned into 5 treatment groups consisting of 40 replicates of 3 birds. The birds were fed either a basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0% maggots. Overall, broiler chicken performance was influenced by the optimal amino acid profile; high protein (63.99%) and essential amino acid content (29.46%), or high protein digestibility (98.50%) of the maggots. Maggot supplementation caused linear increases in live weight gain but not the feed conversion ratio. The diets of 10 and 15% maggots was the most efficient in terms of average weight gain for the 4-5 week old broiler chickens(p<0.05). It also significantly increased dressing percentage, breast muscle, and thigh muscle (p<0.05). No differences were observed for liver, abdominal fat, or meat color, and the crude protein contents of breast muscle were constant. However, in the maggot-fed broilers, breast muscle lysine and tryptophan levels increased significantly as compared to the birds fed the basal diet (p<0.05). These results indicate that feeding diets containing 10 to 15% maggots in chicken dropping after biodegradation can improve the carcass quality and growth performance of broiler chickens.