There are some basic factors that needs to be considered when selecting a desirable site for your snail farm in order to avoid related issues in the nearest future. Some of those important basic factors to be considered include but not limited to the following: 1. General Considerations Snails are generally very used to escaping from enclosures. A priority in setting up a productive snail farming venture, therefore, is to construct escape-proof housing. There are several types of snail housing to choose from depending on the size of the venture…
From the descriptions of the three major GALS species it is clear that snails, as cold-blooded animals, are sensitive to changes in atmospheric humidity and temperature. GALS, especially Achatina fulica, are able to put up with a range of conditions, but when temperature and/or humidity are not to their liking, they go into dormancy. The snail retracts its entire body inside its shell, sealing off the opening with a white, calcareous layer to prevent water loss from the body. This reaction is typical of all snail species. Aestivating snail sealed…
Coccidiosis can be treated organically using some proven natural materials at a particular rate of application. Coccidiosis in poultry is an acute poultry disease that renders farmer helpless; this disease can ravage a large flock of chickens within a few days of infection. As an organic farmer, you have two ways of coccidiosis treatment in chickens disease without using synthetic drugs: Proper litter or bedding management Use of herbal medications. Proper litter management is one of the organic ways of controlling coccidiosis in poultry. Although, it is one of the…
Description Archachatina Marginata popularly known by its abbreviation of “AM” characterized by (big black snail, giant African land snail) is a large snail, generally growing to about 20 cm and a live weight of 500g. The shell is much less pointed than the Achatina species, the roundness being especially obvious in young animals. Striation on the shell may give the appearance of a ‘woven’ texture. The head of the snail is dark-grey its foot is a lighter shade. This species has been the object of a series of stocking and…
Today we are going to be discussing about the actual definition of who a farmer is, the farming improvements in technology, the types of farming, the farmers techniques, farming groups, the occupational hazards and when farming evolved in human life. Now let’s start our discussion but first “Who is actually a farmer”? Who is a Farmer? A farmer (also referred to as an Agriculturer) is someone engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term normally applies to individuals who do some mixture of raising field…
Description Achatina fulica (garden snail, foolish snail) is a large snail, reaching 20 cm in length or occasionally more, with a shell length up to 20 cm and a maximum diameter of 12 cm. The conical, spiraled shell is predominantly brown with weak, darker banded markings across the spiral. Coloration is highly variable, depending on diet. A mature snail averages 250 g in weight. Distribution The species originated in the coastal regions of East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania), and spread by the 19th century into Southern Ethiopia, Southern Somalia, and Northern…
Achatina Achatina (giant snail, tiger snail), a widely distributed species in West Africa (particularly in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo), can be considered a good candidate for snail farming in most areas of West Africa, although it requires higher humidity than the other two species and needs a longer growing time to reach sexual maturity. Description Achatina achatina snails are reputedly the largest land snails in the world. Although usually much smaller, they can grow up to 30 cm in body length and 25 cm…
A list of edible snail species of African origin is provided below. Europe and North America have over 20 edible species, of which the most popular are petit-gris or the small grey snail, Helix aspersa, the Burgundy snail, H. pomatia, and escargot turc or the snail of Turkey, H. lucorum. Snail meat of these species is known as ‘escargot’ in France; snail meat of GALS is sometimes exported from Africa and sold as ‘escargot achatine’. The most popular edible snails in West Africa are the giant snail, Achatina achatina, and…
Biology of Snails Snails belong to a group of invertebrate animals known as molluscs. Most molluscs carry a shell. Other members of this group include slugs, mussels, squid and cuttlefish. This Agrodok concentrates on the farming potential of the giant African land snails (GALS), more specifically the species Achatina achatina, Achatina fulica and Archachatina marginata. These belong to the family Achatinidae, a diverse group of large pulmonate land snails, originally from western, eastern, and southern Africa, with long slen-der shells. Their size ranges from 3 cm to 25 cm. The…
Agromisa’s AgroBrief No. 3, Snail Farming (M. Leeflang, 2005) provides useful guidelines for anyone considering snail farming (see also Apendix’s below: Appendix 1). A sequence of five steps is suggested: 1 Plan (market, production, organization) 2 Pilot production and sales 3 Go or no-go decision 4 Investment in facilities and know-how (cages/pens, finance, knowledge) 5 Upscaling (logistics, quality, financial control) Prescriptions: The following chapters present prescriptions for the actual farming of snails, e.g. suitable snail species, environment, housing, stock, feed and health. Caution: Before embarking on snail farming make sure…
