ABSTRACT
An experiment was conducted to study the effects of different protein
sources at varying levels on the performance and the carcass characteristics of
the African giants land snail (Archachatina marginata). Soyabean meal and
groundnut cake were used as test proteins. Four diets were formulated from each
of the two proteins such that each was included at 16%, 18%, 20% and 22% of
the 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) in
average daily feed intake, percentage shell weight and percentage edible weight
of the snails fed the experimental diets. The protein levels main effect were also
significant (P<0.05) in protein efficiency ratio, percentage shell weight,
percentage edible weight and percentage visceral weight. The interactions
between protein sources and protein levels were also significant (P<0.05) in
protein efficiency ratio, percentage shell weight, percentage edible weight and
percentage visceral weight of the snails fed the treatment diets. Mortality was not
recorded during the experiment. The growth performance show that soybean
based diets were better than groundnut cake based diets and that soyabean
should be included at 22% for an optimum growth of snails.
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