If you are a farm snail producer, You've probably wondered when is the best time to pick them up..
The truth is that this depends on several things., like the weather, the type of snail, the start time of each season, etc.
En is fasting, We explain everything you need to know about how to raise snails and when to collect them from a farm..
INDEX
How to raise snails
Before talking about when to collect the snails, it is important to understand how to raise them.
On farms that follow our production model, fingerling snails are introduced (newborn snail) at the beginning of spring, usually March and April.
Snails that did not reach completion the previous season are also introduced so that they complete their development during the spring..
They are released in enclosures where they have good vegetation cover and shelters that ensure their survival and development..
They are fed with space feed that provides them with everything they need at all times so that their development is rapid but totally natural until they reach adulthood..
Snails are hermaphroditic animals, which means that each individual has both male and female sexual organs.
During the mating season, they mate and lay eggs. But, above all, Their mortality skyrockets due to how demanding the reproductive period is for them and how easily diseases and parasites proliferate during this phase..
On this website you will find a lot of information, you want to know more about how to breed snails.
The breeding stage of the farm snail
Farm snail breeding is divided into several stages.
1.- The first stage is the reproduction, where snails mate and lay eggs. After an incubation period, The eggs hatch and the young emerge..
This phase is done externally to the fattening farms., being the most recommended acquire the I raised to companies specialized in its production. In this way, you will ensure you have the ideal amount at the right time for its implementation.
One of the factors that will determine when to collect the snails from your farm is precisely the moment in which you introduce them to the fattening farm., so it is crucial that you take care of this detail.
2.- In the second stage, The pups are fed a special diet to ensure they grow up healthy and strong..
Your farm must provide good habitat and feeding conditions so that this phase “flows normally and naturally”.
3.- The third stage is the collection, where snails that reach adulthood are collected and removed from the hatchery for sale before they mate and reproduce in the fattening farms (PROBLEMS).
Do you need to improve the results of your Snail Farm?
The best time to collect snails
The best time to collect farm snails, as we have been pointing out previously, It depends on the moment in which the fattening process has started and the type of snail that has been introduced into parks.
Fattening farms that are filled with the “chickpea snail” that did not reach term the previous year
If your farm was already active last season, you will almost certainly have a snail that did not reach adulthood the previous year and, therefore, you couldn't market it.
This snail can enter your farm, in a separate room, to complete its development.
Its release usually takes place around the month of April (depends on several things) and the normal, is that it is finished around a month and a half or two months after introducing it to your fattening farms..
So, in the area of your farm where the starting point was the previous year's snail (chickpea snail), you will collect finished snail from mid-May to mid-June.
Fattening farms that are filled with fingerling snails (newborn)
In parks where a filling with newborn snails is planned, the most common dates are from early March to mid-April., although several factors such as geographical location would have to be taken into account, farm status, etc.
This snail needs good plant cover, developed and bushy, that provides them shelter and ensures their nutritional supplement.
It is important to have shelters so that the snail can use them as it grows and, besides, facilitate the provision of food in the hatchery.
With good conditions, the fry snail introduced in early spring, will begin to be ready for collection between 3 y 4 months after his release.
In this way, in the parts of your farm that you have started with snail fry, Snail collections will begin at the end of June and will continue until the end of the campaign (end of september).
Online Heliculture Course
You will learn how to set up a snail farm step by step 100% rentable
How to know which snail to collect
Maybe, This is a topic to be discussed in more detail in another article., but basically, The snail that you have to collect from the farm is the snail that is already fully developed.
To differentiate it you have to look closely at her shell. This must have a well-formed and hard rim or visor, that does not break.
This is an unmistakable sign that the snail is ready to collect, purge and sell.
It's not a question of size, you can find large unfinished snails (leave them in the park) and smaller fully developed snails (pick them up without hesitation).
Another very important thing that you have to keep in mind is that the collection of the snail has to be done before playback since if there begins to be mating and laying, the viability of both the hatchery and the snail you are collecting will be seriously compromised..
Conclusion
In summary, The timing of snail collection on a farm depends on several things., release date, type of snail, climatology of the campaign, feeding, etc.
For best results, It is recommended to collect the adult snails (well edged and hard) and before reproduction appears en masse in parks.
If you follow these tips, you can have a successful and productive snail farm.