REPRODUCTIVE AND CARCASS EVALUATION OF SNAILS FED DIETS CONTAINING BOTANICALS AS GROWTH PROMOTERS

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of botanicals (mixtures of Neem leaf, Bitter leaf and Moringa leaf meals) as growth promoters on the reproductive and carcass quality of snails (Archachatina marginata). The treatment groups were NBM1, NBM2, NBM3 and NBM4 which contained 0, 1, 2 and 3 % inclusion of (NBM), respectively. A completely randomized design was used for the trial and each treatment was replicated four times with 10 snails per replicate. Data were collected on reproductive indices and carcass yield. The results revealed that the mean total egg laid was influenced (P<0.05) by the inclusion of NBM in the diets. The highest number of eggs laid was recorded in the snail fed a diet of 3% NBM level, and was relatively similar to snails fed a diet containing 2% NBM. The incubation period was not affected (P>0.05) by the dietary treatments. The mean general acceptability of snail meat was relatively the same (P>0.05) across the treatments. The sensory evaluation of the meat of the snails fed experimental diets showed that NBM had no adverse effect on the meat quality. The results from the study indicate that mixtures of leaves of neem, Moringa Oleifera and bitter leaf plants improve reproductive indices and carcass quality of the snails. It could be concluded that NBM can be used as growth promoters in the diet of snails at up to 3% of the entire diet.