Snail havesting - Small snail animals with finished edge must be discarded the obtaining by harvesting brings prepared some complications, although amendable.
He is more advisable to carry out it at the end of winter and beginnings of spring. They have all its reproductive potential and they begin its activity to plenary session. Just they leave the natural period of hibernation, is the moment of smaller risk with respect to pathologies.
Those snails of greater size are due to choose, (30 mm or more), observing that do not have the edge of the finished opening, this must be filoso, fine and of indefinite white coloration. The finished edge is white and defined well, with a thickness of approximately 1-1,5 mm and its appearance and texture they remember a tiled one.
This edge means to snail harvesting adulthood guarantee of the residual number of positions is not had, however the edge without finishing says of its youth and aptitude to us, giving us certain margin as far as the amount of future positions, although first they can not be optimal.
August 04, 2007
Snail harvesting
July 26, 2007
How to obtain final snail products - Part I
For obtaining snail products ready for consumption and selling there will be necessary to follow a series of processes by stages.
The first step will be setting up a group of snail reproducers- there are two ways:
- Purchasing reproducers with sanitary certification, age and guarantee
- Recollecting snails from nature to set up the group
Buying snails increases the initial investment. Though, you have to turn to European institutions for this purchase.
This way you accelerate the process. It is way to make more viable the future selling of the snail products due to the guarantee of origin and quality that purchase supposes. It implies quarantine, adaptation period, and mortality casualties during adaptation, during transportation, possible diseases and others, adaptation to nutrition or foods adaptation. On top of this, overcoming the import processes.
Define the number of snail reproducers to buy or recollect according to:
- Expected production level
- Natural decrease of snail eggs per lay
- Natural mortality during snail reproduction
- Egg and snail discard for lack of commercial size
- Natural mortality during all raising phases
The snail mortality percentage decreases with the progressive development of the baby -considering a 35% a very bad number – depending of course on the methodology of handling and prophylactic measures.
A well-organized snail farm should NOT go beyond the 20% of mortality.
The first step will be setting up a group of snail reproducers- there are two ways:
- Purchasing reproducers with sanitary certification, age and guarantee
- Recollecting snails from nature to set up the group
Buying snails increases the initial investment. Though, you have to turn to European institutions for this purchase.
This way you accelerate the process. It is way to make more viable the future selling of the snail products due to the guarantee of origin and quality that purchase supposes. It implies quarantine, adaptation period, and mortality casualties during adaptation, during transportation, possible diseases and others, adaptation to nutrition or foods adaptation. On top of this, overcoming the import processes.
Define the number of snail reproducers to buy or recollect according to:
- Expected production level
- Natural decrease of snail eggs per lay
- Natural mortality during snail reproduction
- Egg and snail discard for lack of commercial size
- Natural mortality during all raising phases
The snail mortality percentage decreases with the progressive development of the baby -considering a 35% a very bad number – depending of course on the methodology of handling and prophylactic measures.
A well-organized snail farm should NOT go beyond the 20% of mortality.
March 28, 2007
Snail Farm: Intensive System
It is the snail; farming system is the one that need the most of investment and professionalism. But in reward, it offers profitability as long as the investment made.
A detailed and polished planning, followed by a consequent and systematic organization is the key to make profitable an intensive system snail farm. You should have present the possibility is building a processing plant if you want to avoid intermediation, otherwise, it would not be rentable.
The Snail Product
To achieve having a snail product for sale it will be necessary to have a series of processes by stages. The fist step will be the set up of a reproducers farm. There are 2 ways:
- Buying reproducers with sanitary certificate an guaranteeo Recollecting snails from nature to form the farm.
- Buying increase the initial investment. You have to specialized places where they sell snail reproducers.
It accelerates the start. It is a way to make more viable the future sale according to the origin and quality guarantee that buy supposes. It entails a period of quarantine, of adaptation, having death losses during adaptation, during transportation from the original place, the incidence of pathologies; and others, adaptation to nutrition, or adapting new foods. Besides, overcoming importing processes.
Defining the number of reproducers of buying or recollecting according:
- Projected volume of reproduction
- Natural decrease of the number of eggs
- Eggs that do not hatch
- Natural mortality during reproduction
- Rule out of eggs and animals for not having commercial size.
- Natural mortality during all the phases of snail farming.
March 24, 2007
Snail Raising Process
Do I start with selection or recollection reproducers?
You can start with any of these two options.
For the first one, SELECTION we would have 2 possibilities:
1. Buying reproducers with guarantee of age, reproductive capacity, and product and sanity certification.
The answers come up:
o Where to buy?
o Are there any authorized snail farms in the U.S. that offer guarantees?
o Should we import?
2. Make our own farm of selected reproducers, taking the time it takes. (3 to 4 generations).
Whatever the option we choose, we have to keep very well in mind there will always be the rule out for non-commercial size. Of course, using the option Selection, the number of not-so-good snail will be less.
March 03, 2007
Building a snail farm
The snail business basically involves three different, but much related levels, that otherwise none would have sense without the others: Raising, processing and sales, in that order.
That is, there would be needed three different structures for a same purpose.
- First, the snail farm will be designed according the sale volumes in function to the demand.
- Second: the snail processing plant will not be so complicated, but it does have a relative important cost.
- Snail selling structure
We can deduce that the international sale cost will be divided in three. If we decide to outsource the two final stages we will be getting a small part of that selling price, or worse, not even cover the snail farming costs.
That is, the problem to resolve passes through the snail product processing for sale. This takes us to the conclusion that before putting up a snails farm, we have to have clear in mind if we are going to do it by our own or we will outsource. If it is the latter, we must have the exact cost of the snail processing (in the case of being able to rent the structure or the services), or the price the processing company will pay for our snail products, if it buys from us. Got this numbers, we can make our calculations on the probable area and profits.
Building a snail farm can be done with creativity and a “bit” of money, but a snail processing plant has to follow the rules and policies of state and sanitary authorities, lots of money and a bit of creativity.
You can choose to build installations to produce among 1000 to 2000 pounds a month. As long as the production increases, the initial investment will increase.
Getting the union of a group of snail producers of no more than 10 would be a great solution.
In fact, what the buyer will demand will be a determined volume of snails and a determined delivery frequency.
But, do all buyers demand the same quantity? The answer can be found through a market research. It is easy to suppose the resistance of other not so big “buyers”. There is the big chance for the small snail producer.
That is, there would be needed three different structures for a same purpose.
- First, the snail farm will be designed according the sale volumes in function to the demand.
- Second: the snail processing plant will not be so complicated, but it does have a relative important cost.
- Snail selling structure
We can deduce that the international sale cost will be divided in three. If we decide to outsource the two final stages we will be getting a small part of that selling price, or worse, not even cover the snail farming costs.
That is, the problem to resolve passes through the snail product processing for sale. This takes us to the conclusion that before putting up a snails farm, we have to have clear in mind if we are going to do it by our own or we will outsource. If it is the latter, we must have the exact cost of the snail processing (in the case of being able to rent the structure or the services), or the price the processing company will pay for our snail products, if it buys from us. Got this numbers, we can make our calculations on the probable area and profits.
Building a snail farm can be done with creativity and a “bit” of money, but a snail processing plant has to follow the rules and policies of state and sanitary authorities, lots of money and a bit of creativity.
You can choose to build installations to produce among 1000 to 2000 pounds a month. As long as the production increases, the initial investment will increase.
Getting the union of a group of snail producers of no more than 10 would be a great solution.
In fact, what the buyer will demand will be a determined volume of snails and a determined delivery frequency.
But, do all buyers demand the same quantity? The answer can be found through a market research. It is easy to suppose the resistance of other not so big “buyers”. There is the big chance for the small snail producer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
