Effect of Calcium Source in Supplemental Diets on the Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of the Giant African Land Snails (Archachatina marginata) in the Western Highlands of Cameroon ()
Affiliation(s)
1Department of Animal Production Technology, College of Technology, University of Bamenda, Bambili, Cameroon.
2Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, North West Regional Delegation, Bamenda, Cameroon.
3Helvy Farms Upskill Research, Bamenda, Cameroon.
ABSTRACT
To contribute to the diversification
of protein sources, the conservation and preservation of the Giant African Land
Snails (Archachatina marginata), a
study was carried out between March and July 2019 at the Helvy Farms-WVED Cameroon located at Station Bamenda to investigate the effect of three calcium
sources on their growth performance and carcass characteristics. 180 juvenile
snails aged 4 months initially weighing between 24.2 and 28.5 g, shell length ranging
between 40.25 - 48.35 mm, and shell diameter of
between 14.08 - 18.44 mm were randomly allotted
to 3 treatments containing each a different calcium source (crushed snail
shell, eggshell and agricultural limestone) and a control treatment constituted
of natural plant feeding materials of the snail. There were 45 snails per
treatment, constituted of three replicates with 15 snails per replicate. Each replicate was housed in well-constructed surface
trench pens equipped with drinking and feeding troughs. The basal diet made up
of feedstuffs like pawpaw leaves and watermelons was provided ad libitum. The initial weights of the
snails were recorded at the start of the experiment followed by weekly weight
measurements, while the snail length and width were measured with a digital
caliper of 0.05 mm accuracy. The snails were monitored for a period of 21 weeks and data was
collected for 20 weeks after a 1 week adaptation period. The results showed that the
weight gain (g) of snails for diets containing calcium sources in the
supplemental diets were all significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the
corresponding values recorded for the control diet with natural plant material.
It was observed that the shell length (0.34 ± 0.02), shell width (0.16 ± 0.02),
weight gain (13.13 ± 0.03) and feed conversion efficiency (1.977 ± 0.11) were
highest in snails fed snail shell diet as calcium source compared with snails
from other treatments. These values were however not significantly higher than
corresponding values for the other two supplemental diets containing eggshell
or agricultural limestone. It can be deduced that the snail shell is an
important calcium source for growing snails and can be adopted and used in the
diets of snails. This will amount to some good methods of recycling in snail
production.
Share and Cite:
Niba, A. , Unji, O. , Tuncha, N. and Takwe, H. (2022) Effect of Calcium Source in Supplemental Diets on the Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of the Giant African Land Snails (
Archachatina marginata) in the Western Highlands of Cameroon.
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
12, 537-545. doi:
10.4236/ojas.2022.123041.
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