Efeito dos níveis de inclusão de farinha de minhoca em substituição parcial ao farelo de soja na alimentação de poedeiras sobre a qualidade do ovo

Insect meal in poultry feed: a potential protein source

“…Earthworms (Eisenia foetida), commonly grown to recycle different sources of organic waste, are also an excellent source of low-cost alternative protein (Vielma-Rondón, Ovalles-Duran, León-Leal, & Medina, 2003). The nutritional composition of earthworm meal (Table 3) shows its potential as an alternative protein source in poultry diets, containing high levels of crude protein (approximately 60%), in addition to minerals and an amount of essential amino acids that is adequate for poultry farming, values which compare favorably with those of fish meal (Moreki & Tiroesele, 2012) and are superior to those of soybean meal (Cancian et al, 2020). (Moreki & Tiroesele, 2012;Bahadori et al, 2015;Gunya et al, 2019).…”

“…In laying hens, the inclusion of earthworm meal resulted in better indices for these variables: egg weight, yolk color, yolk weight, and shell thickness and strength (Cancian et al, 2020). These changes are related to the nutritional quality of EM; the authors explain that the size of the egg and the color of the yolk may be related to the higher content of tryptophan present in the diet with EM, and that the greater weight of the yolk is due to the greater availability of the amino acids that phosphorylate with phosphovitin, which corresponds to the granular fraction of the yolk, while the greater thickness and strength of the shell may have occurred due to the solubility of the calcium (Ca) present in EM.…”