African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 5 (19), pp. 1799-1802, 2 October 2006   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2006 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Dietary potentials of the edible larvae of Cirina forda (westwood) as a poultry feed

Oyegoke, O.O.¹, Akintola, A. J.¹ and Fasoranti, J. O.¹

¹Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, P. M. B. 4000, Ogbomoso. Nigeria.

²Department of Biological Sciences, University of Ilorin P. M. B. 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria.

*Corresponding authors E-mail: oyebamiji06@yahoo.com.

Accepted 2 May, 2006

An experiment was conducted to determine the performance of broiler chicks to the replacement of fishmeal with the larvae of Cirina forda. Three diets, namely Diet A (100% C. forda larvae and 0% Fish meal); Diet B (50% C. forda larvae and 50% Fish meal); and Diet C, which was the control (100% Fish meal and 0% C. forda larvae) were compounded and fed to the birds. The results showed that the consumption rate, the mean weight gain and specific growth rate of birds fed with Diets A and B did not differ significant (P > 0.05) when compared with the control. The potentials of the edible C. forda larvae as a protein source, which can replace and elicit similar growth trends in broiler chicks like the protein present in conventional fish meal, are discussed.    

Key words: Cirina forda, Conventional feeds, Compounded feeds Fishmeal, Broiler chicks.