Snail Feeds
and Feeding
Snails need carbohydrates for energy, and protein for growth. In
addition they require calcium (Ca) for their shells, as well as other minerals
and vitamins. Snail meat is low in crude fibre and fat. Snails
mainly feeds on green leaves and fruits though they can utilize other ranges of
foods. Feed your snails leaves, fruits, or even formulate from the feed mill.
Aside from food to grow tissues, snails need calcium to grow shells.
Snail
Feeding Materials
Leaves: Cocoyam leaves, pawpaw leaves,
okra leaves, cassava leaves, eggplant leaves, cabbage and lettuce leaves.
Fruits: Mango, eggplant, pawpaw,
banana, tomatoes, oil palm fruits, pears. and cucumber.
Once they start growing, separate the big ones from the small ones..
Tubers: - Snails also eat tuber crops like
yam, sweet potato, cocoyam and cassava when cooked, but without salt.
Agricultural by-products:-
Agricultural by products – wheat bran, rice bran, corn, soybean, residue bran,
palm kernel cake, peel of plantain, banana, fresh maize chaff etc, can also be
eaten by snails.
Supplements: - Feed supplements like fish meal
and blood meal are also good for snails.
Concentrates: - feed, fish feed, but without
salt. Dried and processed maize, groundnut cake, soybean meal, and sorghum.
Minerals: - Limestone, wood ash, fish meal,
bone meal. Snails also need a lot of calcium in-take for growth and shell
formation. Calcium or mineral supplement can also be derived from ground
eggshell, oyster shell, bone meal, or even soil.
Always
remember that the performance of your snails depends solely on the type of
feeds they are fed with. So feed your snails well for better growth and
increased returns.
