For livestock farmers, finding adequate feed in terms of quality and quantity for their animals is a challenging task, especially owing to the drought situation ravaging most parts of the country. At a time when farmers are trying to cut down the cost of commercial feed and feed formulation, the use of crop by-products, such as grain waste, such as husks, brans, rice and maize, have become common.

As prices for crop-based feed soar due to shortages, a new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs in Kenya are adopting new alternatives, such as larvae of housefly maggots as feed for their animals.

Robert Mwakio, a farmer and researcher, explains the value of the housefly maggot as a chicken feed. The housefly, Musca domestica Linnaeus is one of the most common pests found in association with humans or human activities.

The development

While houseflies are considered a nuisance and transmitters of disease-causing organisms, Mwakio says feeding fly maggots to chicken is an easy and economical way to provide protein (65 per cent) and fat (25 per cent fat).

Apart from their high protein content, he says the maggots are also easy to produce, making them a perfect solution to the more expensive options.

So how are they produced?

“The flies lay eggs in dirt infested areas. The legless maggot emerges from the egg in warm weather within eight to 20 hours. Maggots immediately begin feeding on and developing in the material in which the egg was laid. Nutrient-rich substrates, such as animal manure provide an excellent developmental substrate. Little manure is needed for larval development, and sand or soil containing small amounts of degraded manure allows for successful below-ground development,” Mwakio explains.

“When the maggot is full-grown, it can crawl up to 50 feet to a dry, cool place near breeding material and transform to the pupal stage. Moreover, maggots can be used as a perfect way to biodegrade animal waste on the farm,” he adds.

Research conducted by the Department of Animal Science and Fisheries at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, proximates composition of housefly maggot (Musca domestica) meal produced from the decomposition of a mixture of whole undiluted blood (WUB) and wheat bran (WB) was evaluated to determine the crude protein, amino acids, crude fibre, ether extract, and ash contents. Results revealed that maggot meal contains 47.1 per cent crude protein, 25.3 per cent fat, 7.5 per cent crude fibre and 6.25 per cent ash at a dry matter level of 92.7 per cent.

“The amino acid profile showed that maggot meal contains 17 amino acids among which nine are essential. Tryptophan was not identified. The most limiting essential amino acids, lysine and methionine, were found to be higher in the maggot meal (six per cent and 2.28 per cent respectively) when compared with those of other conventional protein sources including fishmeal. The finding revealed that maggot meal for animal farming pig, fish and chicken is highly nutritious,” he says.

Pathogen transmission

The flies lay eggs in moist substrates, such as manure and garbage heaps. Maggots feed for four to five days and then migrate to pupate in a dry place. The adult fly feeds mainly on decaying organic matter. It needs to liquefy the food by regurgitating droplets of saliva, thereby transmitting pathogens. The flies mate and lay eggs between feeding periods. Large populations of flies can be obtained from relatively small amounts of the substrate; for instance, 450 grammes of fresh manure can feed 1,500 maggots.

How can a farmer “culture” maggots?

“As stated earlier, flies are everywhere, meaning this practice can be done anywhere in the world. You can secure plastic containers found within the environment. You can also use an old trough, basin or cut out jerry can. The container should be open and the size should be proportional to the number of maggots you want to make. Get any substrate preferably by-products, such as rice bran, wheat offal, maize shaft and cotton bran. Note, the substrate should not be smelly. The point is to produce the maggots in a conducive condition,” he says.

He continues, “In a separate container, mix some quantity of water with sugar or molasses to allow the mixture to stay for 24 hours, covering it in a cool dry place. The quantity of the mixture likewise is dictated by the size of the container you intend to have your maggot. For example, if it’s a 20-litre container for the maggots, have between two and five litres of the mixture,” he says.

Apart from molasses or sugar, he says you could use fermented wheat bran or chicken droppings. Chicken droppings should be stored in water for a day or two.

“Mix this water mixture with any substrate you have chosen till it forms a mesh and doesn’t waterlog the substrate. Leave the open plastic containing the substrate in an isolated place with little interference. The flies will naturally be attracted to the sweet mixture. After three days, you will notice a lot of flies around the plastic containing the substrate. Keep on sprinkling water to make the content remain in the form of a bubble,” he explains further.

He advises that you shouldn’t let the mixture dry up because once the content is dry, flies will only eat from the substrate and will not lay eggs. This would cause the system to produce little or no maggots.

After five days, adds Mwakio, you should notice a lot of white dots spread within the mixture; these are the flies’ eggs at the beginning of day six. That’s when you are supposed to close the open part of the plastic with a mosquito net, so that nothing goes in or out of the system, while the sprinkling of water daily is important. “Keep the plastic in a cool dry place under some shade to avoid direct sunlight. From day six, the maggots will start hatching. To increase their size and weight, you can sprinkle baker’s yeast that will act as a growth booster. However, you can leave them to grow naturally as long as you sprinkle the water daily,” he says.

Harvest time

Harvesting can start from the seventh day to the 12th day, depending on the size of fish or animal you want to feed them to. A literature study by Schothorst Feed Research in 2020 showed that housefly larvae are a viable protein source in sustainable layer nutrition, which can fully replace soya. The study says the worldwide demand for protein in food and feed will increase by 1.3 to 1.5 per cent per year over the next few decades.

Mwakio says in conclusion: “Insects are regarded as an alternative with high potential because the production of insects demands limited amounts of water and land, and they can add value to low-value by-products.”