Snails like to hide.
Farming of escargot, or snails, used to be primarily a French endeavor. Today farming of escargot takes place in many European and North American countries as well. There are several types of snails and, particularly in the United States, there are regulations concerning production of certain species. Before beginning snail production or farming, do some research concerning the types of snails best suited to your area, any regulations your area may have and marketing strategies to use.
Instructions
1. Make a business plan. Farming escargot, also known as heliciculture, is a business and should be treated as such. Do some research on various techniques of raising snails, check local regulations and regulations with the Department of Agriculture. Know which types of snails to breed, where to obtain beginning resources and know where and set up the "nursery."
2. Put together a marketing strategy. Not only is it important to know where to obtain tangible items needed for escargot farming, it is important to know where and to whom you will sell the product. Learn all that is possible about the buyers of the product, what their needs are, pricing the product and reach those buyers.
3. Set up a nursery for young snails. Set up cages or indoor pens with plenty of room to begin growing and breeding. Add soil that has been moistened and is at least 2 inches deep.
4. Keep the soil composition moist and at a temperature of between 70 and 80 degrees F. Soil should be 50 percent organic material. Keep only 20 to 25 snails per each square meter of enclosure. Snails, if overpopulated, will regulate their population by not laying as many eggs. Give them enough room to grow, mate and populate even if this means having more than one enclosure.
5. Provide moist soil and adequate food.
Construct an outdoor fattening pen, if you are in a feasible climate. As the snails begin to grow they need vegetation, not only for food sources, but to hide in. Keep the area sufficiently moist and take precautions against pests and predators as much as possible. Add topsoil and earthworms to the soil in the bottom section of fattening pens to keep the pens cleaner.
6. Spread meals and mashes about to enable the snails to claim the food in a lot of areas without a lot of stress or place nearly flat food and drinking dishes around the enclosure. You can add corn meal, oats, chicken mash and other outside sources of food.
7. Know ahead of time where and process and ship the escargot.
Harvest and prepare to ship the escargot only after a lip has formed on the shell. Research the laws regarding live snail shipments carefully. Alternatives to live shipping are processing the escargot in boiling water, removing the visceral sac and freezing or canning.
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