Supplementary results and videos from: Feeding live or processed black soldier fly larvae to slow-growing broilers impacts their behaviour differently

To address the growing public concerns regarding poultry rearing, the purpose of this study was to investigate if black soldier fly larvae (BSF) as part of slow-growing broiler (Hubbard JA757) diets or rations have the potential to improve broiler health and welfare. Four different BSF larvae products and product combinations were tested in this study: live larvae (L), a combination of BSF larvae meal and fat (MO) mimicking the nutritional composition of the live larvae, and BSF larvae meal (M) and fat (O) separately. All BSF larvae products and product combinations were tested at two inclusion levels (low and high). Per treatment group 8 replicate pens were used, with 24 broilers housed in each pen. The broilers arrived at as 1 day old chickens and the experiment lasted until they reached 51 days of age. Blood biochemical parameters were assessed to quantity the health of the broilers, while physical welfare scores, behavioural observations, and activity tracking were performed to quantify the broilers welfare. In this repository supplementary tables and videos supporting the article (to be added later) have been deposited. The supplementary tables present the composition of BSF larvae products and pellets used in the experiment, including the nutrients, amino acids, minerals, and fatty acids. They also include results from statistical analyses of broiler behaviour observations, growth performance, blood serum parameters, and measurements of immunological organs. The supplementary videos show different situations where male slow-growing broilers (Hubbard JA757) consume live BSF larvae.