PERFORMANCE AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF AFRICAN GIANT LAND SNAIL (Achatina achatinta) FED DIFFERENT LEVELS OF WHOLE JACKFRUIT MEAL

Abstract

A study was undertaken to investigate the performance and economic evaluation of the African Giant Land Snail Achatina achatina fed different levels of Whole Jack Fruit Meal (WJFM). A total of 120 growing snails of similar weight were used for the study which lasted for 8 weeks. The Snails were randomly allotted to four treatment groups, (T1, T2, T3 and T4) with the inclusion levels of Whole jackfruit meal and each of the treatments replicated three times in a CRD experimental design. The jackfruit was sourced from IgboUkwu in Aguata local government area of Anambra state. At the end of the experiment the following growth parameters were evaluated and observation noted; Weight Gain, Average Daily and Total Feed Intake, Shell
Length, Shell Aperture, Shell Girth, Shell Thickness, Feed Cost and Feed Conversion Ratio. The finding revealed that the snails fed with WJFM showed a progressive increase in body weight with no significant difference (P>0.05) among the mean body weight at the end of the experiment and also with the Shell Aperture (P>0.05). Increase in Shell Length, Shell Girth and Shell Thickness were all recorded, with significant difference (P<0.05) among treatments. There was also no significant difference (P>0.05) between treatments in Average Daily and Total Feed Intake, Feed Cost/ Weight Gain and the Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR). Thus it can be deduced from the study that farmers may incorporate whole Jackfruit meal based diet on the production of snails since it proved acceptable to snails and at the same time influenced the overall performance of the snails.