Animal Nutrients
Birds and Fowl
Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) contain high amounts of protein, fat, calcium, essential amino acids, and carotenoids, making them a valuable supplement for chickens, geese, ducks, and other birds. The high calcium content is a proven solution for chicken and poultry farmers that experience soft eggshells. Research shows that birds that are fed BSFL experience higher egg production, stronger eggshells, and healthier feathers, along with improved gut health and strengthened immune systems.
At Sonoma Organic, we are able to leverage the rich agricultural landscape and the incredibly diverse, sustainably-focused food landscape, where we are able to source top-quality, human-grade organic food that, for one reason or another, never made it into a customer's shopping cart in time. Rather than letting those precious nutrients end up in a landfill, we feed them to our larvae, who diligently break it down in record speed, resulting in strong, healthy grubs that then are fed to your flock!
We even tailor the exact foods we provide our grubs for specific outcomes -- this way, we are able to maximize the protein and calcium contents of our grubs for optimum nutrition for your pets and livestock.
Research shows a 10-20% diet of BSFL alongside traditional feeds can dramatically improve the health, well-being, and productivity of your chickens, poultry, or pet birds!
Fish and Aquaculture
Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) also are incredibly impactful in fish nutrition. Fish hatcheries across the nation are increasingly becoming aware of the value of feeding insect-based diets. In the wild, many fish, especially salmonids, spawn in streams and lakes, and feed off of insects early on in life, as they have since the beginning of time. Research is increasingly proving that fish that are fed insect-based diets experience increased disease resistance, faster feed uptake, and healthier, more resilient skin.
Especially in hatcheries, where there can be many fish swimming side-by-side, scratches and injuries could occur, which often is how diseases like coldwater bacterial disease can enter into a fish's bloodstream, causing impaired growth, disfigurement and death.
The chitin that is present in BSFL, coupled with the protein, calcium, and fat content, all contribute to healthier, more durable and disease-resistant skin. Research demonstrates that the more BSFL a fish population in a hatchery has in its diet, the lower the mortality rate -- with fish able to consume a 100% BSFL diet.
Catfish and BSFL Frass
Black Soldier Fly Larvae Frass is the manure of the Black Soldier Fly Larvae, coupled with the sheddings of the larvae skin (which can turn over five times during the larval stage). Frass is a potent soil amendment, but it is also a fantastic fish feed for catfish. Catfish are bottom-feeder fish that live off the byproducts of other life forms in their ecosystem. BSFL frass has been proven to dramatically increase the size, health, and immune systems of catfish, and is an incredibly cost-effective feed for such fish!
In fact, more studies are coming out that demonstrate BSFL frass as a potent fish feed for other species as well.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/dof/fly-frass-forms-fabulous-fish-food/
Pigs and other Swine
There is a real battle going on to protect livestock pigs from bacterial infection. Antibiotics are decreasingly useful over time, and infections in young pigs have the same effects they do on young fish -- resulting in stunted growth, decreased immunity, and heightened mortality rates.
More and more studies are coming out in favor of using BSFL in 10%-20% of overall feed in pigs to increase gut health, cut down on bacterial infections, lower mortality rates in young piglets, and increase overall feed uptake for larger, healthier, more productive pigs.
What impact does BSFL frass have on growth performance of nursery pigs?