Dutch experiment: Feeding live insects to chickens
Dutch feed producer ForFarmers and the Department of Entomology at Wageningen UR, the Netherlands have together launched a trial in which broiler chickens are being fed live insects.
Insects are rich in protein. With this trial, both parties want to investigate whether the broiler chicks grow healthy and at the right pace when they receive live insects as an addition to the feed.
The trial is being carried out at the ForFarmers pilot plant in Nijkerk, the Netherlands with 1,000 chicks. The animals are divided in to 4 different groups, allocated 4 different diets.
| Watch the video of feeding live insects to chicks here |
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The parties involved hope to make a positive step forward regarding sustainability by encouraging chickens in their natural behaviour. The first results are expected at the end of September. Even if the results are positive, it will take some time before this feeding regime will be implemented in practice, because its application is fairly costly.
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