Broiler chicks fed on reduced protein diet exhibited acceptable growth performance and carcass quality compared the broiler chicks fed on the standar

Usman Elahi was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. He completed his BS Poultry Science in 2012 from the University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore Pakistan. In 2013, he got admission in M.Sc Agricultural Sciences and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ARTS), Institute of Animal Science (ITW), University of Bonn, Germany. Stifterverband der Deutschen Wissenschaft and German Academic Exchange Service – DAAD awarded this master program as "Ten Best International Master Courses in Germany." The topic of the Master thesis was "Use of insects as an alternative feed source in poultry diets." Pr. Dr. Karl-Heinz Südekum was the supervisor, and Dr. Saskia Kehraus was the co-supervisor of his thesis project. In 2017, he was awarded a Chinese government scholarship (CSC). He pursued his Ph.D. in "Animal Nutrition and Feed Science" in Nutritional Modulation Lab Poultry, Feed Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. The topic of his doctoral dissertation was "Studies on soybean meal reduction in broiler's diet." Pr. Dr. Qi Guang-hai is his supervisor and Pr. Dr. Zhang Hai-jun is his co-supervisor.

In his doctoral study, two approaches were adopted to reduce soybean meal utilization (i) using insect meal (ii) reduction of dietary crude protein level. Insects are natural food for poultry and have the potential to use as a protein source. Insects feed on waste, convert into protein, and their manure used as fertilizer for agriculture. Thus, insect meal is a sustainable protein source. The housefly maggot meal and mealworm meal were used to reduce soybean meal utilization. Housefly maggot meal and mealworm meal in the dried or fresh form are acceptable for broiler chickens. Housefly maggot meal at the level of 8% and mealworm meal at the level of 4% in broiler chick's diet could be replaced with soybean meal, and it improved growth performance and meat quality without any adverse effect on chicken's health. In another approach of his study, soybean meal utilization was reduced by reducing protein content with glycine supplementation. Broiler chicks fed on reduced protein diet exhibited acceptable growth performance and carcass quality compared the broiler chicks fed on the standard protein diet.

His published work:

U ELAHI, Y Ma, J Wang, S Wu, H Zhang, G Qi. 2019. Growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and serum profile of broiler chicks fed on housefly maggot meal as a replacement of soybean meal. Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition. 01-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.13265

U ELAHI, J Wang, Y Ma, S Wu, J Wu, G Qi, H Zhang. 2020. Evaluation of Yellow Mealworm Meal as a Protein Feedstuff in the Diet of Broiler Chicks. Animals. 10 (2); 224. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10020224

Dr. Usman ELAHIPh.D. in Animal Nutrition and Feed Science

Feed Research InstituteGraduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GSCAAS)

12 Zhongguancun Nandajie, Beijing 100081, P. R. China

Cell: +8615600654335Email: [email protected]