Simple Analysis for a Successful Snail Farming Business

Agric4Profits March 18, 2023May 28, 2023 0 Comments Snails

Snail farming business also known as Heliciculture or Heliculture or snail rearing is the process of raising edible land snails, primarily for human consumption or cosmetic use. The meat and snail eggs can be consumed as escargot and as a type of caviar respectively.

Snails also produce Mucus which is commonly known as snail slime and the mucus has medical properties and is used in cosmetics. Snails are Hermaphrodites meaning that a particular snail can act as a male as well as also act as a female.

Snail farming or snail rearing can either be reared as subsistence snail farming level or for commercial snail farming business level where you raise snails in large quantity and sell them to others for consumption or other purposes.

Meanwhile, Snail farming for beginners is very easy as snail farming does not require much knowledge to understand. As a beginner in snail farming business, all you need to do is carry an expert along on undergo a training in an already well established snail farm to acquire more practical knowledge about snail farming to guide and assist you establish and run a successful snail farm.

Snails are also cold-blooded animal and therefore their feeding activities are bound to be influenced by their environment, time and season. In preparing food for snails (snail food or snail feeding), the temperature inside the pen is hugely important, ensure that the snails are comfortable.

Simple Analysis for a Successful Snail Farming using Nigeria as a Case Study

If you start a snail farm with 1,000 matured snails and they lay say 100 eggs each in a year. Remember that snails can go 3 clusters in a year.

Equals to 100 x 3 = 300 each (that is 300 snails each in a year) but for the purpose of this let’s put it at 150 snails per year.

Cost of 1,000 snails for breeding = 1,000 x 350 = 350,000 (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira)

For 150 snails for 1,000 foundation stock = 150,000 snails in a year.

If after 1 year you decide to sell 100,000 snails out of the 150,000 snails, you have a total of 100,000 x 100 Naira per snail (Highly reduced price) N10,000,000 (that is ten million Naira) Is that amazing?

This is a rough projection which is obtainable in a good management practices I think with this little summary snail breeding is profitable.

It has also been discovered that one of the mistakes that have cost many snail farmers their businesses is believing that snails can eat anything. The right Snail feed for your snail farming business is an essential practice of snail farming that needs the highest priority, as its one of the major factors that influence the following:

The Flesh Size of Your Snails
How your snails lay eggs
Shell formation on your snails
The Taste of Your Snails Meat (the sweeter and healthier their feed is, the better they taste)
The Survival Rate of Your Snails

Meanwhile, snail feeding varies with Snail Species, but our focus is on the Archachatina Marginata (we are glad to be of help if you are still having challenges identifying the specie of snail ideal for sustainable snail farming).

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