Feed and Feeding Techniques

Feed

Snails can feed on virtually anything, similar to pigs. They have taste buds, so will appreciate tasty things, even your ripe fruits and drinks. Their feeding pattern is similar to that of babies. They have chemoreceptors on their “nose” stalk, so can smell. The pictures in the slides show their different types of food such as leaves, fruits, meat, fish, formulated feed, different drinks etc.

However, snails don’t like tough things fibrous leaves because their teeth are delicate and easily worn out. That is why they take more of soft, less fibrous tasty food such as leaves, fruits, and roots. They also feed on special delicacies like tender meat (i.e cooked/seasoned/garnished meat. For instance, I hand-fed one over a decade ago, with a sliced thin meat tendon. The snail couldn’t eat but swallowed it. It was an interesting sight. When you are feeding your snails, try and give them fresh, soft, processed food. 

Feeding Techniques

From my research, I observed that a feed of about 35-40% CP and energy of 3,000-3,200 Cal/kg will encourage good development. This is for those who will like to try snail concentrate (feed). I produce commercial feeds for them. However, just like any animal (including man), you don’t just jump into a different diet, it must be gradual. They may die if their feed is suddenly changed to a new diet.

So, whatever you feed your snails with, ensure good hygiene, quality diet and good care. You can see pictures of snails eating cooked rice, beans and their concentrate on the slides. For a poultry farmer, your cracked eggs may be boiled and served, just like fruits, cut into 2 (or more) to expose the succulent part. They will eat all, including the shell, which is rich in calcium.

Alternatively, to save cost, I can harvest flying termites when it rains or maggots, process them properly and serve the delicacy to snails. These are cheap protein sources. They can be fed food leftovers like porridge, beans, pounded yam with soup etc. They should also be served drinks /water. Like little children, they won’t take much water, compared to tasty drinks. 

Therefore, feeding snails leaves or fruits make the management cheap, as paddock system minimizes production cost, though such scrubs may be planted and harvested to feed them.

Socio-economic Benefits of Snail

The benefits of snails include;

• Food. Snail meat is of a good and quality protein source. It has all essential amino acids as well as minerals needed by everyone. You can make various snacks like pie, and suya with it.
• Improves reproductive performance: That is, conception rate and spermatogenesis.
• Helps maintain good nervous system, especially for the aged.
• Increase blood level.
• Manage hypertension and migraine.
• Used for facial and skin treatment.
• Snail fluid is used in managing the otitis media – where fluid drops from the ear- of aged people.
• It has also been used to treat haematoma in dogs.

Snailery Challenges and Probable Solutions

There are four main factors required for quality snail production and health, which are the;

• Snail
• Feed quality and feeding method
• Facilities and the environment/weather
• Snailery management

Snail: When sourcing your snails, they should not be bought from the market where they can be exposed to heat-stress, which may later result in death. Rather, they should be transported on a cool day (morning or evening).

Apart from heat stress, there may be cross infection if you’re introducing them in bits. The best practice is to quarantine the new snails for about two weeks before adding them with the others. Your parent stock should not have cracked shell as it is a sign of stress or trauma.

Stress may precipitate disease condition in snail due to lowered immunity.

Feed: Ensure good hygiene, quality and enough feed. Cannibalism may be experienced, especially with Af when there is shortage of food. Also, avoid feeding snails with mouldy feed or using chemical sprayer after stocking your snails.

When spraying, wait for about two or three times of heavy rainfall to wash down the chemical or irrigate heavily. It is not advisable to do so when the snails are within as this may results in poisoning.

Environment; Whether you are using cage or paddock system, ensure that your snails are protected from direct sunlight or heat stress. Extremes of weather (coldness or hotness) should be avoided. Keep the environment cool and humid.

Egg Hatchability

A warm and humid environment together with an incubator of low microbial content is needed for good hatching. The soil should drain excess water to avoid water logging. Good irrigation is essential for the paddock system, while timely picking or management of laid eggs is essential for cage system. Of course, the snails should not be spent.

When stocking adult snail, the shell rings (sutures) should be between 5¼-6 for As and 6¼-7 for Aa and Af. Using weeks or months to determine maturity will not give you the accurate answer. Shell turns i.e no of rings from the apex will.  

Of course, expect your young snails to develop faster than the adults. However, when the growth is slow but with no record of death, check the diet or quality of the vegetation (for paddock), as well as the environmental condition (e.g. harmattan), which can limit their feeding duration. Activities may also be limited by some pests (e.g tiny flies), which irritates but do not harm the snails. They irritate their tentacles, thus disturbing them from eating. Some may even aestivate because of that.

Soil Treatment (As taken by Mrs Lawon Adejoke)

Loamy soil is the best soil for raising snail. It is important that you get your soil from a practicing farm. Some soil usually contains pests such as insects, carabid beetles, millipedes, centipedes etc. These can later contribute to the loss of your snails a few month after rearing them.

To treat your soil for snail farming;

• Pour your soil into an iron container
• Put soil container on fire
• Ensure that the smoke is coming out of the soil itself. This kills any animals or eggs that may be hidden in the soil.

After treating the soil;

• Allow it to cool for about 12 to 24 hours
• Introduce your calcium supplement to the soil
• Moisten the soil with water. This allows the snails to have enough moisture in the soil.
• Introduce your snails

Snail Parasites and Diseases

Predators and Parasites

Termites, Lizards, Snakes., Ants, Chicken, Turkey, Cricket, Flies, Spider, Millipedes are common enemies of snail. Humans are times are predators, especially when they come to steal snail. And since snails don’t make noise like other animals, we have to beware as stealing snail even on a big farm can happen without one noticing.

Snail Diseases and their Treatment

Snail diseases are as a result of improper management. However, these diseases can be treated. Common diseases in snail and their treatment include;

1. Hibernation/ Aestivation

This is a period when the snail is into itself. It happens mostly during dry season due to lack of moist and the right soil. A snail seals its shell opening with a dry layer called Epiphragrm. The snails stay in its shell and eat from the food stored in there. A snail can hibernate for 2 years. So it is advisable to make sure that the snails are well fed and are not dehydrated during this season.

Treatment: When your snails hibernate, don’t be fast to remove the Epiphragrm. Instead, sprinkle the surface with water and leave the snail. It will come out of hibernation.

• Cannibalism

This happens when bigger snails eat the smaller ones. To avoid this, carry out sorting. This is the practice of separating big snails from small snails and keeping them in different pens. Feed the snails adequately, so they will not feed on each other.

• Shell breaking

This happens when snails lack calcium and are not strong enough. For this reason, it is important to feed them with calcium while they are babies. Also note that it is important for snails to eat their shell when they hatch.

Treatment: Use powdered egg shell to form a paste (mix the powder with water). It should not be too watery and plaster it on the place where the shell is broken. Then, isolate the snail and feed it with cucumber.

• Oral Prolapse

This is when the snail is not able to feed well because there is a wound around the mouth (radular). The disease is caused probably by ants or rats feasting on the snail’s mouth.

Treatment; Mix water with vitamin and feed affected snails with vegetables and fruits like waterleaf and watermelon. Do not give them hard fruit like carrot. Then, separate the snail for proper monitoring.

• Bloating

Bloating is caused by over feeding and overbathing of snails. In another word, too much feeding and too much water either while spraying or bathing.

Treatment; Give them food in the right proportion and do not over wet the snails

• Insect Infection

There is a white insect that sucks blood from snail. You wouldn’t notice if you don’t look carefully. It is not healthy for snails.

Treatment; Bring out snails from the pen into a bowl of water, then treat the soil and return the snails back to the pen.

• Soil Acidity; When the soil is too acidic, it may lead to loss of the whole stock .

Treatment; Get moringa leave and scent leave, extract the juice, then feed your snails with it.