Utilization of noodle waste as replacement for maize in the diets of growing snails

Abstract

Maize is a major source of energy. It is expensive because of competition between man, animal and a strong demand for it by the manufacturing/industrial sector. Noodle waste (NW) (a by-product from the wheat noodle processing industry) which attracts little/ almost zero cost was used to replace the maize fraction of the diet of snails with the intent of reducing feed cost. A total of 120 growing snails (Archachatina marginata) of mean weight 73.42 ± 2.5g of about 3 months of age were used for the feeding trial. Four diets were formulated to contain NW at 0% (N₁) as the Control, 50% (N₂), 75% (N₃) and 100% (N₄) as replacement for maize in the diet of growing snails. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used for the trial and each treatment was replicated thrice with 10 snails per replicate. The diets were formulated to contain about 24% crude protein and energy of 2400 kcal/kgME. Feed intake and weight gain were calculated. Shell length, thickness and width were measured. Feed conversion ratio was calculated as the ratio of feed intake to weight gain. Feed cost and cost per weight gain were also calculated. Carcass analysis was carried out at the end of the feeding trial. Significant differences were observed in the mean total feed intake of the snails fed diets containing varied levels of NW (P<0.05). The feed conversion ratio was not significantly different (P>0.05) across the treatments. The dressing percent of the snails was relatively the same in all the treatments (P>0.05). The results of cost analysis showed that cost /kg feed and total feed cost reduced as the level of NW in the diet increased. The lowest cost/weight gain was recorded in the diet containing 75% NW as replacement for maize while the highest cost/weight gain was recorded in the diet containing 100%NW. It was concluded that NW could replace maize fraction of the diet up to 75% without any adverse effect on performance. This replacement reduced cost markedly

Key words: Dressing Cost/weight gain, dressing percentage, feed efficiency, rice noodle waste, snails.