HOW TO REAR SNAILS. Snail farming also referred to as heliculture is a lucrative business with high export potential.Snails are small,hardy and easy to manage.
They can be raised on small or large scale using various means of housing.
The snail business is easy to set up, with simple management.. Snail farming is not capital intensive, does not require specialized equipment ,the feed are readily available and cheap..
Snails dont constitute a nuisance to the environment because there is on noise from the pens, and waste is odorless.
The snail is divided into 3 parts; the shell, muscular foot and the visceral mass. The shell is the most visible part which makes up 30-40% of the whole body.
The shell is a means of identifying various species, and it has ornamental values.The shell increases with body size,thus its also a means of determining the age of the snails.
The muscular part also referred to as foot is the edible part, and makes up 45% of the body weight.Its also the means by which the snails move.
The visceral mass houses the internal organs and the reproductive organs. The snails are hermaphrodites, but they still require another snail to lay eggs. .
Snails can be housed using various enclosures depending on size of stock. Old tyres with wire netting,drums,wooden cages, cemented high/low fenced pens or natural gardens .The housing must be intact to prevent openings for rodents,ants and mosquitoes. The housing must provide shade,to prevent heating up the snails resulting in death.
Snails feeds on greens,tubers and fruits. Snails can feed on leaves of pawpaw,cassava,fruits of mango,banana,orange. They can also be fed with well ground broiler ration,chick mash or layer ration.
The feed must be balanced with adequate components of carbohydrate,fish meal and calcium supplements. Water is very important in snail diet and it must be readily available.
The floor of the house of the snail must be covered with loamy soil which must be kept moist to allow the snails to burrow and lay eggs.
The snails/ hatchlings that are to be the foundation stock must be carefully chosen, they should be of good weight (300-350g),with no cracks on shell and no nodules.
The snails must be well stocked to prevent cannibalism,death and poor growth. A stocking density of the snails should be 40-50 hatchlings/m2, 30- 40 growers/m2 and 12-15 adults/m2.
The sexual maturity of the snail is 5-6 months, upon maturity they lay eggs in presence of other snails and the eggs are buried deep in the sand to protect them. The snails lays about 80-100 eggs in clutches/batches.
In a year snails can lay up to 300 eggs ,making the business a very profitable one.
The incubation period is between 18-30 days and the hatchlings come out of soil a day after hatching.
If the soil is hard,the hatchlings will not be able to come out,hence wetting of the soil is important.
The snails bring more value during festive periods hence the marketing can be set to make better profit.
The snails can also be processed and exported as snail is a delicacy in African restaurants abroad.
Agribusiness, Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine, Cassava, Garri, food security, Agritech and the Red Meat Value Chain.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Agribusiness ideas.
Popular Posts
-
The impact of Covid-19 on farmers and entrepreneurs.The COVID-19 crisis has impacted farmers and entrepreneurs around the globe and has mad...
-
Cow urine is a good organic fertilizer and pesticide and its best for the cultivation of spinach .Its used as an organic pesticide, as ...
-
A rare strain of the avian influenza virus has infected 45 cats in Manhattan and there are concerns that the virus may have spread to recen...
-
Farmer in Burundi discovers an innovative method of storing tomatoes and preventing spoilage.Vital Nduwimana hated how many tomatoes he lo...
-
The veterinary medicine daily is a compilation of veterinary and medical news from around the world. Pet health and safety is top priority,...
-
Turmeric is one of the most potent natural anti-inflammatories available,says Dr. Randy J. Horwitz, the medical director of the Ari...
AGRIBUSINESS EDUCATION.
Translate
I-CONNECT -AGRICULTURE
AGRIBUSINESS TIPS.
AGRIBUSINESS.
The Agriculture Daily
veterinarymedicineechbeebolanle-ojuri.blogspot.com Cassava: benefits of garri as a fermented food. Cassava processing involves fermentation which is a plus for gut health. The fermentation process removes the cyanogenic glucosides present in the fres...
No comments:
Post a Comment