What conditions must be met for raising field snails (river snails) in rice paddies?
Raising field snails in rice paddies is nothing new to field snail farmers; it is currently the most widely used method for farming field snails, because it can both increase rice paddy yields and allow field snails to be raised at the same time. This method of achieving two goals at once has been adopted by many people.
A brief analysis of the requirements for raising field snails in rice paddies
1. Rice paddy requirements: The rice paddies used for raising snails must not dry up all year round, and pesticides must not be used.
2. Rice paddy preparation: Leave empty paths when transplanting rice, and dig ditches within 1 week after planting, with a ditch width of 20—27 cm and a depth of 13—17 cm. After releasing the snails into the rice paddy, set up fences or polyethylene gauze with small mesh at the water inlet and outlet, and strictly prevent rats and snakes from burrowing holes and causing leaks in the surrounding field ridges, so as to prevent the field snails from escaping.
3. Timely stocking: During the rice tillering to heading stage, that is, from late June (15 days after rice transplanting) to early August, stock them in time. Generally, 2000—4000 young snails weighing 2—4 grams are released per 1 mu of rice paddy. If natural food is abundant, release appropriately more; otherwise, release appropriately less. If duckweed is grown in the rice paddy, the stocking density can be increased to 8000—10000 snails.
4. Proper feeding: Generally, about 25 days after raising snails in the rice paddy, the amount of natural food decreases. For fields where food is clearly insufficient, put land grasses, vegetable leaves, melon rinds, etc. into the ditches, with the amount fed just enough to satisfy the snails' feeding needs.
5. Timely harvest: They can be harvested 30—50 days after stocking. Before catching, drain the surface water of the field, guide the snails into the ditches or lure them together with bait, catch the large ones and leave the small ones. They can be stocked once and harvested multiple times.
6. Scientific fertilization and reasonable disease and pest control: For rice fertilizer in snail fields, apply 1 basal application before planting, appropriately supplemented with topdressing. For disease and pest control in rice paddies, choose low-toxicity, high-efficiency pesticides such as chlordimeform, bisultap, and validamycin, and spray with water; it is not suitable to mix with soil and broadcast.
Prospects for field snail farming
Field snail meat is a nutritious natural health food, and abroad it is also known as a beauty food. It contains 10.3% protein and 1.2% fat, and also vitamins, calcium, iron, and other elements essential to the human body. The nutrition of field snail meat is superior to that of chicken, duck, goose, and pork, and is no less than that of crucian carp and sea cucumber. Field snail meat can nourish kidney yin, improve eyesight and clear the mind, enhance muscle elasticity, and make the skin delicate.
Field snails can be used as an everyday meat dish, and can also be processed into a series of foods, cooked into various medicinal dishes, and used to prevent and treat diseases. At present, naturally growing field snails are far from meeting market demand, and field snail farming grows quickly, has high yield, and raising field snails has broad “money” prospects.
High-yield farming techniques for field snails
1. Choose the site.
Field snails have strong vitality and disease resistance. Ditches, paddy fields, and shallow ponds with a source of flowing water can all be used for stocking. Generally, pond-based farming is adopted. The snail pond is generally 2-3 m wide and 10-15 m long, with ridges built around the pond, ridge height 0.7 m, and netting installed around it to prevent field snails from escaping. Spread 20 cm thick fertile mud on the bottom of the pond, inject fresh water, and grow water hyacinth, small gourd, red and green duckweed, etc. on the water surface. To provide food for the field snails, insert small bamboo poles or wooden sticks in the pond for the snails to perch on and lay eggs.
2. Stock the seed snails.
Select breeder snails or young snails and put them into the pond. After the pond is built, generally choose April-November for stocking and farming. Every year from June-September is the season when field snails lay large numbers of eggs. You can pick them up in rice paddies and river ditches, or buy them on the market. The characteristics of female snails are: light brown color, relatively thin shell, relatively round body, and blunt tail. Select female snails of 15-20 grams and put them into the pond. Generally, stocking 10 female snails per sq m is enough. If young snails are selected as seed snails, stock them at a female-to-male ratio of 2:1. Female snails are larger in size, with a relatively round body and a concave, flat operculum shell; male snails are slightly smaller, with a longer body and a raised operculum shell. Young snails can be caught and sold on the market after about one year of farming.
3. Feeding and management.
Field snails have abundant food sources. Microorganisms in the water, organic matter, and the tender stems and leaves of aquatic plants are all their main food. During the peak growth season for young snails, from April-November each year, supplement with rice bran, wheat bran, tofu dregs, cooked sweet potato, small insects, small fish and shrimp, and animal offal, etc. Compound feed can also be fed. Feeding time is once a day at 8-9 o'clock, and larger pieces of food should be chopped before feeding. The daily feeding amount is about 1.5% of the snail body weight. Change the water regularly to keep the water quality fresh, about once every 10 days. When the water temperature is above 30°C, frequently inject fresh water and deepen the water level; at ordinary times, keep the water depth at 30 cm. In winter, lower the water level during the day and increase light exposure. At night, deepen the water level. This preserves warmth, and combined with applying some pig manure and barnyard manure, it raises the temperature and fertilizes the water quality. Field snails are relatively sensitive to pesticides and industrial sewage. Attention should be paid to avoiding them, and attention should also be paid to harm from ducks.
4. Catching and selling on the market.
After one year of farming, those reaching a body weight of 15 grams or more can be caught and sold on the market. The catching method can be draining the pond to catch them, or catching them in shallow water. At the same time, attention should be paid to leaving some female snails to prepare for breeding young snails the following year.
5. Overwintering management.
When the water temperature drops to 8-9°C, field snails begin hibernation. During hibernation, field snails burrow into holes, leaving a small opening on the soil surface and occasionally bubbling. At this time they neither eat nor move. The water depth should be kept at 10-15 cm, and the water should be changed once every 4-5 days to increase the oxygen content and allow the field snails to overwinter safely.
Field snail farming costs
Because field snail farming does not require feeding much bait, the cost of the bait is also very low. Therefore, basically little cost is needed. As long as your family has a field, what remains is the field snail seedlings.
The benefits of field snail farming are relatively significant. For field snail farming alone, 667 sq m can produce 400 kg. The current market price is 3-4 yuan/kg. Calculated at 3.5 yuan/kg, the output value of 667 sq m can reach 1400 yuan. In addition, a small number of grass carp can be polycultured in the field snail pond to increase the benefit per unit area of the snail pond. Because field snail farming does not require feeding much bait, the cost of the bait is also very low. Therefore, the net profit of field snail farming is about 1000 yuan/667 sq m, and the benefit is relatively considerable.
Although the method of raising field snails in rice paddies is very good, and if the effect is good, one field can be used for multiple purposes, and one field can create double or even more profit. However, raising field snails in rice paddies also requires mastering certain techniques and methods. If handled improperly, it can also mean double the loss at the same time.