Snail Farming I SS2 Livestock Farming Lesson Note

Why Should We Farm Snails?

When people think of livestock, they think of noisy chickens or big cows. But there is a “silent” goldmine in agriculture: Snail Farming, also known as Heliculture. In Nigeria, we mostly farm the Giant African Land Snail because it grows big and loves our weather.

Why is it a great business?

1. Low Start-up Cost: You don’t need millions of Naira to start. You can even start in your backyard with a small wooden box.
2. Health Benefits: Snail meat (congo meat) is famous for being “white meat.” It is very high in protein but very low in fat and cholesterol. It is the best meat for people with heart issues or high blood pressure.
3. Quiet and Clean: Snails don’t bark, moo, or smell bad if you keep their home clean.
4. Space Savers: You can keep hundreds of snails in a small corner where you couldn’t even fit two goats.
5. Medicine and Beauty: Did you know snail slime (mucus) is used to make expensive face creams and medicines for healing wounds?

Choosing the Right House (Snaileries)

Snails are “escape artists” and very delicate. Their house, called a Snailery, must protect them from the sun, wind, and predators like snakes, rats, and ants.

Types of Snail Houses:

• Intensive (Trench Pens): These are square pits dug into the ground and covered with wire mesh. They stay cool because they are in the earth.
• Box Pens: These are wooden or plastic boxes kept on legs. The legs are usually placed in bowls of water or engine oil to stop ants from climbing up to eat the snails.
• Free-range (Fence Pens): A large area is fenced off with fine nets, and the snails live among planted crops like potatoes or bananas.

Golden Rule for Housing: Never use a plain concrete floor. Snails need soil (Loamy soil) to move, hide, and lay their eggs.

Snail Farm Equipment

You don’t need tractors for snail farming, but you do need these simple tools:

1. Water Sprinkler/Hand Spray: Snails love moisture. You need this to “rain” on them every evening, especially during the dry season.
2. Feeding Troughs: Flat plastic plates or shallow wooden trays where you keep their food.
3. Water Troughs: Very shallow containers. If the water is too deep, the snails might drown!
4. Hand Trowel: For turning the soil to keep it soft and for digging up eggs carefully.
5. Hygrometer: A small tool to check if the air is damp enough. Snails hate dry air.

What Do Snails Eat? (Feeding)

Snails are not picky eaters, but if you want them to grow “fat” and heavy, you must feed them well. They are mostly Vegetarians.

Their Favorite Foods:

• Fruits: Watermelon, pawpaw (they love this!), banana, and mango.
• Leaves: Pawpaw leaves (fresh or withered), cassava leaves, and cabbage.
• Tubers: Slices of sweet potato, yam, and cocoyam.
• Household Scraps: Peelings from potatoes or plantains (as long as they don’t have salt).

The “No-Go” List: Never give snails SALT. Salt is poison to snails; it draws out all their water and kills them almost instantly.

The Secret Ingredient – Calcium

If a snail doesn’t have a strong shell, it will die. The shell is made of Calcium. If the soil or food doesn’t have enough calcium, the snails will start eating each other’s shells!

How to give them Calcium:

1. Eggshells: Grind boiled eggshells into a fine powder and sprinkle it on their food.
2. Bone Meal: Ground bones from the butcher.
3. Oyster Shells: Crushed shells from the riverside.
4. Limestone: You can buy calcium powder from the market.

Daily Routine for a Snail Farmer:

• Evening (6:00 PM): This is when snails wake up. Wet the soil and put fresh food in the trays.
• Morning (7:00 AM): Remove any leftover food before it rots. Check if any snails have died or if ants are trying to enter.

Student Task: > Look around your house or school garden. Can you find 3 different types of leaves that snails like to eat? Bring samples to the next class for us to identify!