Performance, Carcass Yield and Meat Quality of Land Snail (Archachatina marginata) Raised on Three Different Feed Types

Abstract

This research was conducted to investigate the performance, carcass yield and meat quality of Land snails (Archachatina marginata) raised on three different feeding regimes. 120 snails were randomly distributed to 3 treatments, replicated 4 times with 10 snails per replicate in a complete randomized design (CRD). Snails on Treatment 1 were fed a solid state fermented mixture of okara and palm kernel cake (PKC), those in Treatment 2 were fed a formulated compound feed while those in Treatment 3 received fruits leftover/reject. The research lasted for a period of 58 days. Data was collected on live weight gain, final feed intake, feed conversion ratio, carcass characteristics and sensory evaluation of meat. No significant differences were found for live weight gains and the sensory qualities of the snail meats but snails fed fermented mixture of okara and PKC recorded significantly (p<0.05) higher carcass weight (31.88g) while those fed concentrate diet had lower value (26.93g) relative to the control. It is therefore recommended that solid state fermentation of mixture of okara and PKC would be a feasible technology for producing Land snails raised in captivity.