Comparative analysis of diet effects on growth performance and nutrient composition in house cricket, Acheta domestica as an alternative protein source in Thailand

Figures & data

Table 1. The daily feed quantity for crickets based on farming practices at Kwanjai Farm Community Enterprise, amounting to a total consumption of 31 kg.

Day	Feed quantity (g/day)	Day	Feed quantity (g/day)	Day	Feed quantity (g/day)
1–2	200.00	12–14	375.00	22–23	687.50
3–4	225.00	15–17	425.00	24–30	875.00
5–8	275.00	18–19	500.00	31–34	1,200.00
9–11	325.00	20–21	587.50	35–42	1,400.00

Table 2. Ingredients, nutritional composition, and cost price of cricket feed formulated for five treatment groups at different protein contents on a dry matter basis.

Item	Protein contents (%)
	Commercial formula		New feed formula
	21	14	21	17	14
Ingredients
Corn meal (g)	NA	NA	494.00	290.00	238.00
Tapioca meal (g)	NA	NA	40.00	320.00	300.00
Rice bran (g)	NA	NA	75.00	60.00	100.00
Wheat bran (g)	NA	NA	0.00	0.00	140.00
Soybean meal (g)	NA	NA	340.00	274.00	160.00
Fish meal (g)	NA	NA	5.00	0.00	0.00
Calcium carbonate (g)	NA	NA	40.00	50.00	55.00
Salt (g)	NA	NA	3.00	3.00	4.00
Vitamin-mineral premix (g)	NA	NA	2.00	2.00	2.00
Mycotoxin adsorbents	NA	NA	1.00	1.00	1.00
Total (g)	1,000.00	1,000.00	1,000.00	1,000.00	1,000.00
Calculated chemical composition
Crude protein (%)	21.00	14.00	21.00	17.00	14.00
Crude fat (%)	3.00	2.00	3.00	3.00	3.00
Crude fiber (%)	5.00	7.00	4.10	4.00	4.50
Moisture content (%)	13.00	13.00	1.30	1.30	1.30
Available phosphorus, g/kg	NA	NA	7.00	7.00	5.00
Cost
Feed cost price (THB/kg)	20.00	17.00	14.18	13.17	12.33

Note: ‘NA’ is used to indicate a lack of information regarding commercial formulas, specifically in reference to a ready-made cricket feed from CPF. 1 THB = 0.025 EUR.

Figure 1. Demonstration of insect collection using translucent wide-mouth cylindrical bottle traps.

Table 3. Impact of feed recipes and feeding programs on the production performance of crickets.

Item	Treatment group (Mean ± SE)					Sample size (n)
	CF21	CF14	NF21	NF17	NF14
At 21 days
Body weight (mg/ind)	43.83 ± 0.06^c	39.75 ± 0.07^d	54.65 ± 0.03^a	39.55 ± 0.08^e	46.93 ± 0.03^b	240
At 42 days
Body weight (g/ind)
Male	0.22 ± 0.00^d	0.24 ± 0.00^c	0.28 ± 0.00^a	0.26 ± 0.00^b	0.23 ± 0.00^c	120
Female	0.40 ± 0.00^e	0.42 ± 0.00^c	0.49 ± 0.00^a	0.43 ± 0.00^b	0.41 ± 0.00^d	120
Total mean	0.31 ± 0.01^d	0.33 ± 0.01^bc	0.38 ± 0.01^a	0.35 ± 0.01^b	0.32 ± 0.01 ^cd	240
Body size (cm/ind)
Male	1.87 ± 0.01^c	1.93 ± 0.01^b	1.98 ± 0.01^a	1.94 ± 0.01^b	1.90 ± 0.01^b	120
Female	2.13 ± 0.00^b	2.14 ± 0.00^b	2.15 ± 0.00^a	2.14 ± 0.01^b	2.13 ± 0.00^b	120
Total mean	2.00 ± 0.01^c	2.03 ± 0.01^b	2.06 ± 0.01^a	2.04 ± 0.01^b	2.02 ± 0.01^bc	240
Total weight of production (kg/container)	9.94 ± 0.06^d	13.21 ± 0.04^a	9.28 ± 0.05^e	10.42 ± 0.14^c	11.18 ± 0.06^b	4
Survival rate (%)	57.13 ± 0.35^b	71.08 ± 0.23^a	42.99 ± 0.22^e	48.31 ± 0.67^d	51.83 ± 0.30^c	4
Feed conversion ratio	3.12 ± 0.02^b	2.35 ± 0.01^e	3.34 ± 0.02^a	2.98 ± 0.04^c	2.77 ± 0.02^d	4
Feed cost price (THB/kg)	20.00	17.00	14.18	13.17	12.33	1
Feed production cost (THB/kg)	62.37 ± 0.38^a	30.24 ± 0.10^c	35.93 ± 0.18^b	29.71 ± 0.41^c	25.92 ± 0.15^e	4

Note: The mean values with different superscript letters in a row are significantly different at the 0.05 level. "ind" denotes "individual", and "n" represents the sample size in each treatment group, with each group comprising four observations. The average body weight of 1-day-old nymphs was 1.01 ± 0.06 mg (n = 30). The average egg count was 1,126.50 ± 14.16 eggs/100 grams (n = 30). 1 THB = 0.025 EUR.

Table 4. Profit and net profit derived from an average reduction in costs.

Item	Treatment group	Average of profit		Range of profit
		Mean	Std. Error	Minimum	Maximum
Profit derived from an average reduction in costs (THB/kg)	CF21	0.00^d	0.00	0.00	0.00
	CF14	32.13^b	0.36	31.35	32.94
	NF21	26.44^c	0.55	25.17	27.75
	NF17	32.65^b	0.14	32.25	32.86
	NF14	36.45^a	0.49	35.04	37.33
Profit derived from an average reduction in costs (%/kg)	CF21	0.00^d	0.00	0.00	0.00
	CF14	51.51^b	0.28	51.01	52.11
	NF21	42.38^c	0.63	41.00	43.91
	NF17	52.37^b	0.40	51.50	53.32
	NF14	58.43^a	0.45	57.09	59.07
Total weight of production (kg/container)	CF21	9.94^d	0.06	9.81	10.10
	CF14	13.21^a	0.04	13.10	13.30
	NF21	9.28^e	0.05	9.20	9.40
	NF17	10.42^c	0.15	10.19	10.80
	NF14	11.18^d	0.06	11.00	11.30
Net profit (THB/production cycle)	CF21	0.00^e	0.00	0.000	0.00
	CF14	424.49^a	4.73	415.96	434.76
	NF21	245.26^d	6.33	231.52	260.86
	NF17	340.35^c	5.40	328.67	353.47
	NF14	407.54^b	7.44	385.50	418.10

Note: The mean values with different superscript letters in a column are significantly different at the 0.05. The calculation conditions used feed expenses from CF21 as a reference value, given that it represents an actual expense currently utilized by the farm. The sample size in each treatment group was four (n = 4), with each group comprising four observations. 1 THB = 0.025 EUR.

Table 5. The nutrient composition data of cricket.

Treatment group	Average and standard error values for chemical properties (%)
	Moisture	Protein	Fat	Carbohydrate	Ash	Fiber
CF21	4.53 ± 0.03^a	74.47 ± 0.37^a	6.75 ± 0.02^a	9.47 ± 0.37^a	4.79 ± 0.009^a	8.10 ± 0.04^a
CF14	4.52 ± 0.07^a	74.26 ± 0.44^a	6.80 ± 0.04^a	9.63 ± 0.33^a	4.84 ± 0.05^a	8.07 ± 0.05^a
NF21	4.61 ± 0.01^a	75.45 ± 0.48^a	6.24 ± 0.02^a	8.85 ± 0.44^a	4.85 ± 0.08^a	8.06 ± 0.09^a
NF17	4.54 ± 0.01^a	75.56 ± 0.53^a	7.08 ± 0.02^a	7.91 ± 0.51^a	4.91 ± 0.02^a	8.10 ± 0.06^a
NF14	4.57 ± 0.03^a	74.80 ± 0.44^a	7.12 ± 0.04^a	8.67 ± 0.43^a	4.84 ± 0.09^a	8.08 ± 0.08^a
Average	4.55 ± 0.02	74.91 ± 0.22	6.80 ± 0.07	8.91 ± 0.22	4.84 ± 0.03	8.08 ± 0.03

Note: The mean values with different superscript letters in a column are significantly different at the 0.05. Each treatment group consists of four observations (n = 4).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [T.J.], upon reasonable request.