PRODUCTION

OUR FARM INCLUDES:

Room for reproduction and incubation of snail eggs

Rroom for cuvettes with hatched snails, called juveniles

Glasshouse / foil tunnel for snail pre-fattening before they are released for breeding on the field

Breeding ground / green area for proper growth, fattening before harvesting

Breeding stages of Helix aspersa snails:

Reproduction (from February to May)

Egg incubation (from February to May)

Hatching (from March in the room)

Juvenile (baby snail) rearing, called pre-fattening (from March to May in the foil tunnel)

Fattening (from may do October in the breeding ground)

Snail harvesting once they reach the appropriate size (from August to October)

Snail cleaning, drying and segregation

Snail hibernation (from October to February in the cooling room)

Important factors directly affecting snail breeding success (breeding in the park):

  • SOIL

    slightly limestone, can be sandy, neutral to alkaline

  • WATER

    daily sprinkling in the evening

  • DENSITY

    max. 400 adult snails per 1 sq. m.

  • FOOD

    feed composed of the appropriate proportions of herbs, vegetables, fruit and other plants

  • AIR HUMIDITY

    60% to 80%

  • NATURAL SUNLIGHT

Remember to prepare the ground well in the breeding park before you sow plants. Early spring is the best time to organise breeding ground. But first, try to get rid of weeds and cultivate the soil. Plants most commonly used in the snail breeding include Perko turnip, curly kale, clover. These plants stand for valuable variety of snail feed, and also provide shade and keep moisture in the hot summer days.

Essential elements of snail park are pastures, on which we administer feed and on which snails eat at nights.

We can make pastures with the use of wooden boards or pallets. Always remember to set them at a slight angle, on short legs of 20 cm from the ground.

Protecting the breeding ground against snail escaping is another important issue. An electric wire, together with Helitex fence is a good solution. You can also use a cheaper method, i.e. fencing the whole area using geotextiles, or horticulture fabric.

To dig an anti-mole netting is also a good idea to protect your breeding stock against rodents.