| Summary: | This study aimed to determine whether broiler chickens display a preference for <i>Tenebrio molitor</i> larvae (TM) meal by evaluating ingredient acceptability and birds’ performance. Sixty 14-day-old male chickens were assigned into two treatment groups (5 birds/pen, <i>n</i> = 6) in a cafeteria-type study: the control (C) group, and the TM group. Each pen was equipped with one bell drinker and four through feeders allocated side by side; all feeders of the C group contained a complete standard diet whereas each feeder of the TM group contained one of the following ingredients: ground corn, extruded semi-whole soybean, vitamin-mineral supplement mixture, and TM meal. Feed intake was recorded daily and growth was monitored periodically up to day 32. Chickens which had access to individual feed components showed a delay to display preference for TM, but consumed, overall, up to 50% of the total intake as TM meal. Feed intake and growth performance were lower in all periods for TM group (<i>p</i> < 0.02), whereas feed conversion ratio was improved on days 22–28 and days 29–32 of age (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Data from bivariate and multidimensional analysis indicate that birds started to reach a balance of ingredient intake at 25 days of age, showing a high correlation between consumption of each ingredient and the day of the experiment. Chickens exhibited a preference for <i>T. molitor</i> meal, resulting in improved feed efficiency, which allows us to conclude that it can be a suitable feed alternative for poultry.
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