Feeding snails (Archachatina marginata) with leaves: growth performance, carcass characteristics, nutrient digestibility, proximate composition and minerals contents of snail meat

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2024-11, Vol.56 (8), p.270-270, Article 270
• Main Authors: Obakanurhe, Oghenebrorhie, Irabor, Arnold Ebuka, Okpara, Oghenesuvwe, Jn Pierre, Hardin Aaron
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed - analysis; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; body weight; Body weight gain; carcass characteristics; Carcasses; Centrosema; Composition; crude fiber; crude protein; Diet; Diet - veterinary; Dietary minerals; Digestibility; Digestion; Gastropoda; growth performance; kitchen waste; Leaves; leftover foods; Life Sciences; Meat; Meat - analysis; Mineral composition; mineral content; Minerals; Minerals - analysis; Moisture content; Mollusks; Moringa oleifera; Moringa oleifera - chemistry; nitrogen; Nutrients; Nutrition; Plant Leaves - chemistry; proximate composition; Random Allocation; Regular Articles; snail meat; Snails; Snails - chemistry; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Water content; weight gain; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-024-04167-9

This study explored the dietary impacts of some plant leaves ( Centrosema pubescence leaves, Moringa oleifera leaves and Ipomea batata leaves) on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of Archachatina marginata reared in confinement. A twelve (12) weeks feeding trial on nine hundred and sixty (960) African giant land snails ( A. marginata ) fed various leaves was evaluated. The snails were allotted randomly on their experimental diets. The experimental diets were kitchen waste (leftover food) designated as the control (T1), C. pubescence leaves (T2), M. oleifera leaves (T3), and I. batata leaves (T4). Each treatment had two hundred and forty snails and was replicated four times with sixty snails each per replicate. The proximate compositions of these leaves were analyzed and showed significant values on the moisture content, crude protein, ether extracts, crude fiber, ash, and Nitrogen free extracts respectively. Data were collected on the performance, carcass characteristics, nutrient digestibility, proximate composition and minerals contents of snail meat. The results on the final weight, weight gain, average weight gain and FCR of snails showed that T4 (121.46, 36.10, 0.52 g and 1.49) were significantly ( p