Heliciculture installation

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Skip to content Congratulations on your first step in heliciculture or snail raising. Loading Comments The term heliculture, basically means the same as heliciculture — both terms refer to snail farming. You might think that eating snails is part of a new and latest fad or trend. However, eating snails dates all the way back to prehistoric times. In Roman times eating snails was perceived as a privilege reserved for the elite.

Moreover, statistics show that snail farming is on the rise in the last few years. The number of snails farms in Europe and in the US is increasing in rapid speed. It is highly recommended you will get yourself familiar with snails anatomy in order to better care for the snails.

First Name: Email address:. The most popular edible snail species are Helix pomatia and Helix aspersa. The term Escargot usually refers to these two species and is also most commonly used in gastronomy. Sometimes these species are also called garden snail, but this term could also refer to many other snail species. Related article : Nutritional value of snails. It can be found across Europe and USA.

They live in vineyards, gardens, valleys and forested mountains up to meters feet. These snails can grow up to 45 mm across the shell. Together with their rich flavor the Helix pomatia species is very popular with foodies all over the world.

This is another species which is very popular with foodies. Helix aspersa has a life span of 2 to 5 years. They are considered mature when the shell measures 30 to 45 mm across. What is very special for Helix aspersa is they can adapt to almost any condition and climate, which is why Helix aspersa is so commonly considered as profitable farming. Related article: What do snails eat? Like any business, snail farming requires an investment. However, this investment can be easily managed and reduced if you are learning as much as you can ahead of time.

As you can expect, the small size of snails also play a rule in the costs. Meaning, the cost of setting up a farm for snails is significantly less than a farm of cows. You will need less space, less food, etc. In addition, snails farm is much better for the environment than other types of farms.

First, you will need a building for reproduction and something called a breeding park — for fattening the snail. The size of those buildings will depend to your ambition and need as the breeder. You can start breeding edible snails in several ways:. Snails need to be able to graze and move around on very different substrates. They must produce a lot of snail mucus or snail slime to do this. Furthermore, the temperature and composition of the soil play a very important role.

Much like humidity, snails like warmth. The soil should have a higher lime content — then the substrate will contain heat for longer which will in turn promote the growth of snails. Liming is the application of calcium- and magnesium-rich materials in various forms to soil. These materials are marl, chalk, limestone, burnt lime or hydrated lime.

In acid soils, these materials react as a base and neutralize soil acidity. Our Institute has a goal: guiding you in getting to know our sector, and giving you our perspective into a world that has much potential. The magnitude of heliciculture, as we interpret it, combines two aspects: the aspect of agronomy and zootechnics in a sustainable way. These times lead to inescapable concerns obligating us to respect the environment. On the other hand, we do it to the extent that will yield the greatest gastronomic result.