Effect of different feeds on growth performance of <i>Archachatina marginata</i>

Abstract

An 8week completely randomized design [CRD] feeding trial was conducted to determine the growth performance of snails (Archachatina marginata) fed with five different feed materials. Forty Juvenile snails were allotted to five treatments, replicated twice with 4 snails/replicate. Snails were fed Treatment 1 (Chicken mash as the control), Treatment 2(Water melon peel), Treatment 3 (Oil palm fruit), T4 (Cocoyam leaves) and T5 (Sweet potatoes leaves), using a trench cage. The snails were obtained from a reputable market in Ekiti State and acclimatized for two weeks and fed for eight weeks. Data was collected on weekly basis by measuring growth parameters; shell length increase (cm), shell circumference (cm), and weight gain (g). Proximate analysis of the feed revealed that Moisture content and crude protein in Water melon peel (38.12% and 14.17%) were higher than oil palm fruit (28.01% and 7.64%); sweet potato leaves (28.17% and 7.96%) and Cocoyam leaves (23.74% and 7.66%). Considering the weight gained, chicken mash (control) (41.75 19.16) and water melon peel (30.13±2.71g) were significantly (p<0.05) higher than oil palm fruit (27.88±2.80g); cocoyam leaves (18.38 7.38g) and sweet potato leaves (14.75 0.40g). Thus, water melon peel could be exploited as a cheap feed resource for small holder snail production in the humid tropics.

Keywords: Snails, Water melon peel, Sweet potato leaves, Cocoyam leaves, Oil palm fruit, Growth