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Gunya et al., 2019. J. Appl. Poult. Res., 28 (2) : 374-382

Document reference 
Gunya, B.; Muchenje, V.; Masika, P. J., 2019. The potential of  Eisenia foetida as a protein source on the growth performance, digestive organs size, bone strength and carcass characteristics of broilers. J. Appl. Poult. Res., 28 (2) : 374-382
Abstract 

The effects of Eisenia foetida (earthworm) meal as a protein source on growth traits, carcass digestive organs, bone strength, and characteristics of broilers were investigated. A total of 180 day-old broilers were randomly allocated to 5 treatments with 0% (EWO), 1% (EW1), 3% (EW3), 5% (EW5), and 10% (EW10) earthworm meal inclusion. Supplementing the diet with 5% earthworm meal improved weight gain of broilers. Furthermore, the study revealed the effectiveness of 3% E. foetida level on producing acceptable carcass and bone in broilers. However, the gizzard weight reduced with the inclusion of earthworm meal and no dietary effect was seen in gizzard pH. The highest intestine weight was observed in EW3 birds while the least was seen in EW10 birds. The bone strength increased as the inclusion level of E. foetida increased, but was less than control EW0. Nevertheless, ash content decreased with the increase inclusion level of earthworm meal in the diet.

Web 
https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfy081
Citation key 
Gunya et al., 2019
Document license 
CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0
Datasheets 
Earthworm meal