Cost Evaluation For Snail Farming Business

Just before venturing into this agribusiness, you must first estimate the cost evaluation for snail farming business. You are probably familiar with the phrase; snail farming requires less capital but you still wonder what is meant by ‘less capital’. Well, lets take a look together at the cost evaluation for snail farming business.

Proper planning is important before venturing into any business. The cost of establishing a snail farm can be low but you have to get your facts and figures right as well as the necessary equipment and knowledge before starting out so as not to be stranded.

It is important to analyze how profitable your snail farming business will be, how long it will take to begin raking in the big bucks and the potential risks or challenges in snail farming business.

Snails are mollusk, soft bodied creatures having shells as their primary house and for protection. Snail meat is a delicacy world over and a delight to the taste buds. Snail slime is used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industry.

Snail shells are used in livestock feeds, arts industry and in engineering. There is no part of the snail that is a waste.

This article will guide you through the process of establishing a snail farm for maximum yield and huge profits.

From the cost of snail house to the possible cost of regular water supply to the cost of snail feeds and continuous hygiene, it is imperative to get the facts and figures all ready before starting out so as to get the desired result.

Cost Evaluation To Start A Snail Farm

To start a snail farm, here are the requirements;

1. Snail house and snail pen
2. Foundation snail stock
3. Snail feeds, equipment and feeding techniques
4. Farm management and snail habitat

Cost of Starting A Snail House

Snail house is the first important thing to consider because snails are free spirited animals. They crawl around and therefore snail house serve as protection from harsh weather, pests, predators and thefts. The house should also be moist, cleaned and comfortable for the snails.

The type of snail house depends on the size of your farm and the purpose of having the snail farm. There are various types of snail housing.

Snail housing however are not like other livestock farming needing sophisticated structure or equipments. Materials needed for a snail house construction include;

1. Wood
2. Concrete bricks
3. Tyres
4. Expanse of land For large scale farming
5. Polythene
6. Iron sheets
7. Mosquito nets
8. Nails, catchers, padlocks

The cost of these depends on your location and you can even get some free such as tyres. On the average, you would be spending about 5000 naira for small scale farming and for a commercial scale snail farm, it varies.

Cost of Foundation Snail Stock

On a quick note, lets take a sneak peek at the cost of snails in the market. A big sized snail costs between 500 naira to as high as two thousand naira depending on the customer and it will take about 8 months to reach maturity.

To start a snail farm, you will need about 100 matured snails for a medium scaled snail farm to about 1000 matured snails for a much bigger snail farm. These matured snails can start laying eggs as soon as the breeding season starts unlike if you are getting the young snails.

Obtaining your foundation snails should be from trusted sources to be sure of the viability and productivity of the snails. The snails from the market however cannot be said to be viable for rearing as they are not well taken care of.

So, 100 snails at 500 naira will equal 50000 naira, this is the cost of the foundation snail stock. These snails can mate and lay up to 200 eggs in a year. This implies 200 eggs multiplied by 100 snails will give about 15000 new snail hatchlings as it is possible that not all the snail eggs will hatch.

This just in a year; now imagine what it will be at the end of the year. You can have about 25000 new snail hatchlings in one year. Selling them as new hatchlings or waiting for them to reach maturity is solely dependent on you.

Having about 25000 snails now, let us assume you will sell 10000 snails at 500 naira; you will be having 10000 multiplied by 500 which will give 5 million naira. That sounds juicy right? Well, its the least.

If however, you sell to restaurants or hotels, you can be sure to sell even at higher rates as they in turn sell expensive cuisines. LOL.

Good farming practices can only make this achievable as restaurants and hotels will only buy healthy and matured snails for their snail delicacies.

Snail Feeds, Equipments And Techniques

Snails are dominantly herbivores, feeding on plants. They are also nocturnal; active, eat and play around at night and enjoy moist and wet environment. This implies that snails eat in the cool of the day and at night.

Depending on the snail specie, snails feed on various plants and fruits such as pawpaw. They have to be given variety of feeds and are not to be overfed.

Snails should not be given their meals on bare floor as this can encourage invasion of ants which is a threat to snails. A feeding tray should be used.

Snails also have teeth though chitinous which they use to hold on to food such as leaves, fruits etc. Snails find delight in ripe and succulent fruits such as pawpaw and watermelon.

Snails can also be fed formulated concentrates just like poultry but they have to be rich and healthy. This will aid the growth and in turn improve your profit. Snail feeds should not be changed suddenly to avoid morbidity.

There should also be regular supply of potable water for making their houses moist and for drinking too.

Farm Management

Practicing good hygiene and other management practices will boost the output of the snails. Best management practices in snail farming include:

• Proper documentation
• Good hygiene
• Good feeding habits
• Regular checks and sorting of snails

Conclusion

Starting a snail farm is less expensive when compared to livestock farming however, proper farming practices and good farm management is the only way to achieve a robust productivity and profit.

From snail house to getting your foundation snail stock and to the snail feeds, it is important to get everything ready before starting out to avoid being stranded.

Let us know the total cost evaluation establishing your snail farm in the comment section!