Thesis Abstract

Abstract
The Africa giant land snail (Archachatina marginata) is a commercially important species in the snail farming industry due to its high protein content and palatability. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different protein sources on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of Africa giant land snails. Three protein sources were used in this experiment soybean meal, fishmeal, and earthworm meal. A total of 90 juvenile snails were randomly divided into three dietary treatment groups with three replicates per treatment and 10 snails per replicate. The experiment lasted for 16 weeks. The results indicated that the protein sources significantly influenced the growth performance of the snails. Snails fed with fishmeal-based diet exhibited the highest growth rate, followed by the soybean meal group, while the earthworm meal group showed the lowest growth performance. Feed conversion ratio was also significantly different among the groups, with the fishmeal group having the best feed conversion ratio, indicating efficient utilization of the feed. Carcass characteristics such as shell length, shell width, and dressed weight were also measured at the end of the experiment. Snails fed with fishmeal had significantly larger shell length and width compared to the other groups, indicating better shell development. However, there was no significant difference in dressed weight among the treatment groups. In conclusion, the protein source in the diet had a significant impact on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of Africa giant land snails. Fishmeal was found to be the most effective protein source for promoting growth and shell development in these snails, while earthworm meal showed the least favorable results. These findings suggest that the choice of protein source in the diet can greatly influence the productivity and quality of snails in a farming system. Further research is needed to explore the optimal inclusion levels of these protein sources in the diet to maximize the growth and performance of Africa giant land snails for commercial production.

Thesis Overview

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of different proteinsources at varying levels on the performance and the carcass characteristics ofthe African giants land snail (Archachatina marginata). Soyabean meal andgroundnut cake were used as test proteins. Four diets were formulated from eachof the two proteins such that each was included at 16%, 18%, 20% and 22% ofthe diets. A 2 x 4 factorial arrangement in CRD was used with eight treatments.Each treatment was replicated thrice with four snails per replicate. The trial

lasted for 90 days.

The protein source main effects were significant (P<0.05) inaverage daily feed intake, percentage shell weight and percentage edible weightof the snails fed the experimental diets. The protein levels main effect were alsosignificant (P<0.05) in protein efficiency ratio, percentage shell weight,percentage edible weight and percentage visceral weight. The interactionsbetween protein sources and protein levels were also significant (P<0.05) inprotein efficiency ratio, percentage shell weight, percentage edible weight andpercentage visceral weight of the snails fed the treatment diets. Mortality was notrecorded during the experiment. The growth performance show that soybeanbased diets were better than groundnut cake based diets and that soyabean should be included at 22% for an optimum growth of snails
ABSTRACTAn experiment was conducted to study the effects of different proteinsources at varying levels on the performance and the carcass characteristics ofthe African giants land snail (Archachatina marginata). Soyabean meal andgroundnut cake were used as test proteins. Four diets were formulated from eachof the two proteins such that each was included at 16%, 18%, 20% and 22% ofthe diets. A 2 x 4 factorial arrangement in CRD was used with eight treatments.Each treatment was replicated thrice with four snails per replicate. The trial

lasted for 90 days.

The protein source main effects were significant (P<0.05) inaverage daily feed intake, percentage shell weight and percentage edible weightof the snails fed the experimental diets. The protein levels main effect were alsosignificant (P<0.05) in protein efficiency ratio, percentage shell weight,percentage edible weight and percentage visceral weight. The interactionsbetween protein sources and protein levels were also significant (P<0.05) inprotein efficiency ratio, percentage shell weight, percentage edible weight andpercentage visceral weight of the snails fed the treatment diets. Mortality was notrecorded during the experiment. The growth performance show that soybeanbased diets were better than groundnut cake based diets and that soyabean should be included at 22% for an optimum growth of snails