White snail feed and preparation method and application thereof

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of white snail feed and its preparation method and application.The feed includes leafy grass powder and oyster shell powder;Preferably by the following weight parts of raw materials are composed of: leafy grass powder 7080 parts, oyster shell powder 10-15 parts, corn flour 8-12 parts, yeast powder 1-5 parts, can also add salt 0.20.5 parts and calcium hydrogen phosphate 13 parts.Leafy grass powder is the whole plant of leafy grass after 2540 ℃ low-temperature drying ultrafine grinding to 80~200 mesh powder;Oyster shell powder is at least 200 mesh powder after calcination at 700800 ℃.When preparing, leafy grass powder, corn flour, yeast powder are mixed, and warm water is added to ferment, then oyster shell powder is added, etc., and it is obtained by bulking granulation.The feed can significantly improve the egg laying rate and hatching rate of white snail, reduce the soft shell rate, has the advantages of balanced nutrition, good palatability, easy to store and industrial production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of feed technology, specifically to a feed for white jade snails, particularly a composition feed containing leafy grass powder and oyster shell powder, its preparation method, and its use in improving the egg-laying rate, hatching rate, or reducing the soft-shell rate of white jade snails. Background Technology

[0002] White jade snails are highly valued for their tender, nutritious meat, making them a healthy food source that is high in protein, low in fat, and rich in various amino acids and trace elements. Furthermore, their meat, shell, and eggs can all be used in traditional Chinese medicine, possessing properties such as clearing heat and detoxifying, and softening hardened masses. Therefore, large-scale farming of white jade snails has a promising market prospect.

[0003] In the breeding of white jade snails, feed is a key factor determining their growth rate, reproductive performance, and health status. Existing technologies, such as Chinese patent application CN201310327685.6, disclose a white jade snail feed that primarily uses straw as roughage, supplemented with cornmeal, corn flour, soybean meal, yeast powder, and bone meal. While this feed addresses the shortage of green fodder in northern winters to some extent, its main ingredient, straw, has relatively low nutritional value and does not provide an efficient calcium source for the growth and repair of the snail's shell, thus having limited effectiveness in preventing common diseases such as soft shells and top shell shedding.

[0004] On the other hand, Chinese patent application CN201410516746.8 discloses a feed additive for preventing the shedding of the top shell of the white jade snail. This additive promotes calcium absorption and enhances disease resistance by adding calcium carbonate, earthworm powder, diatomaceous earth, vitamins, and various traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. However, this additive has a complex composition, high cost, and needs to be used in combination with a basic feed, increasing the steps in the breeding process. Furthermore, the basic feed portion still largely uses traditional green fodder or ordinary compound feed, failing to fundamentally optimize the nutritional structure of the main feed.

[0005] Leafy grass ( Rumex patientia × R. tianschanicus *Oryza sativa*, commonly known as "protein grass," is a perennial herbaceous plant that is high in protein, high in yield, and highly adaptable. Its crude protein content can reach over 30%, and it is rich in various vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, making it a potential high-quality feed ingredient. However, there are currently no reports of combining this leafy grass with specially treated oyster shell powder specifically for use as feed for white jade snails, while simultaneously improving egg production, hatching rate, and reducing soft-shell rate.

[0006] Furthermore, in existing snail feed preparation processes, calcium sources (such as bone meal and shell powder) are usually directly mixed with the main ingredients before pelleting, without considering the sequential process of fermentation before mixing the calcium source. This results in reduced fermentation efficiency and low utilization of active calcium. In addition, traditional feeds are mostly green fodder or powder with high moisture content, which are not easy to store for long periods, and the feeding amount is difficult to control precisely.

[0007] Therefore, developing a new type of feed that is nutritionally complete, has a high calcium source, is easy to prepare, and can significantly improve the reproductive performance and shell quality of white jade snails is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the problems existing in the prior art, this invention provides a feed for white jade snails, its preparation method, and its application. The feed comprises leafy grass powder and oyster shell powder; preferably, it consists of the following raw materials in parts by weight: 70-80 parts leafy grass powder, 10-15 parts oyster shell powder, 8-12 parts corn flour, and 1-5 parts yeast powder. Salt (0.2-0.5 parts) and dicalcium phosphate (13 parts) may also be added. The leafy grass powder is obtained by ultra-finely pulverizing the whole plant of the leafy grass to 80-200 mesh after low-temperature drying at 25-40℃; the oyster shell powder is obtained by calcining at 700-800℃ and pulverizing to a finer powder (above 200 mesh). In preparation, the leafy grass powder, corn flour, and yeast powder are mixed, fermented with warm water, and then the oyster shell powder is added, followed by puffing and granulation. This feed significantly improves the egg-laying and hatching rates of white jade snails, reduces the rate of soft-shell snails, and has the advantages of balanced nutrition, good palatability, easy storage, and industrial production.

[0009] On one hand, the present invention provides a white jade snail feed, which includes leafy grass powder and oyster shell powder.

[0010] Leafy grasses are rich in nutrients and are recognized as high-protein, high-fat forage grasses, already used in the preparation of feed for cattle and sheep. In preliminary experiments, this invention discovered that the white jade snail not only does not reject feed prepared from leafy grasses but also shows a certain preference for it. Therefore, by exploring components that can be matched with leafy grasses to prepare feed, a leafy grass-rich feed particularly suitable for the white jade snail was developed.

[0011] Extensive research has proven that adding both leafy grass powder and oyster shell powder to the feed of white jade snails not only meets their core nutritional needs for protein and calcium but also improves egg production, hatching rate, and survival rate. Leafy grass, as a high-protein forage, provides white jade snails with a comprehensive and balanced intake of amino acids and various vitamins, promoting their rapid growth and reproductive performance. Meanwhile, the active calcium source formed from calcined oyster shell powder is easily absorbed and utilized by white jade snails, effectively strengthening shell hardness and preventing soft-shell disease. The combination of these two ingredients exhibits a significant synergistic effect, substantially improving farming efficiency.

[0012] Furthermore, the white jade snail feed comprises the following raw materials in parts by weight: 70-80 parts of leafy grass powder, 10-15 parts of oyster shell powder, 8-12 parts of corn powder, and 1-5 parts of yeast powder.

[0013] This invention provides high-quality plant protein and various vitamins through leafy grass powder, supplements highly active calcium to strengthen the shells with oyster shell powder, increases dietary fiber and improves feed stickiness and palatability with corn flour, and makes the feed softer through fermentation, promoting intestinal health and nutrient absorption. The four components work synergistically to achieve a balanced supply of protein, calcium, fiber and prebiotics, which can effectively improve the growth rate, egg production rate and hatching rate of white jade snails and reduce the risk of soft shells.

[0014] Improving the egg-laying and hatching rates of white jade snails can yield more healthy juvenile snails within the same breeding scale and cycle, thereby significantly expanding the population and accelerating the propagation speed. At the same time, higher egg-laying and hatching efficiency means lower feed, labor, and management costs per unit of output, which can effectively reduce breeding costs and improve the overall economic benefits and competitiveness of the farm.

[0015] Soft-shell disease can cause death in white jade snails in a short period of time. The key to preventing soft-shell disease is ensuring that the feed is nutritionally complete and contains sufficient calcium. The feed formula provided in this invention can effectively help prevent this problem.

[0016] The preferred ratio is 75 parts leafy grass powder, 12 parts oyster shell powder, 10 parts corn powder, and 3 parts yeast powder. This ratio ensures sufficient protein and calcium sources while taking into account the fermentation performance and digestibility of the feed.

[0017] Furthermore, the white jade snail feed also includes 0.2-0.5 parts salt and 1-3 parts dicalcium phosphate.

[0018] Adding salt (0.2-0.5 parts) and dicalcium phosphate (1-3 parts) to the feed of white jade snails has multiple benefits: Salt not only provides sodium and chloride ions to maintain the osmotic pressure and acid-base balance of the snail's body fluids, but also increases appetite and promotes the secretion of digestive juices; dicalcium phosphate can efficiently supplement phosphorus and calcium, and work synergistically with oyster shell powder to optimize the calcium-phosphorus ratio in the feed, making calcium deposition more efficient, thereby further strengthening the shell hardness and thickness, effectively preventing soft shell disease, and promoting the growth and reproductive performance of white jade snails, increasing the egg-laying rate and hatching rate.

[0019] In some embodiments, the white jade snail feed also includes 0.3 parts salt and 2 parts dicalcium phosphate.

[0020] Furthermore, the edible grass powder is made by ultra-finely pulverizing the whole plant of edible grass to a mesh size of 80-200 after drying at a low temperature of 25-40℃.

[0021] Low-temperature drying can retain the original proteins, vitamins, chlorophyll and various active enzymes in the leafy grass to the greatest extent, avoiding heat-sensitive nutrient loss caused by high-temperature processing; while ultra-fine grinding to 80-200 mesh can fully break the plant cell walls, release intracellular nutrients, significantly improve the digestibility and absorption rate of leafy grass powder by white jade snails. At the same time, the fine powder is mixed more evenly with other raw materials, fermentation is more complete, and the feed pellets are more delicate and palatable after pelleting, thereby comprehensively improving the nutritional utilization efficiency and feeding effect of the feed.

[0022] Furthermore, the oyster shell powder is calcined at 700-800℃ and then pulverized into powder with a mesh size of at least 200.

[0023] High-temperature calcination decomposes the organic matter in oyster shells and converts its calcium carbonate into calcium oxide, significantly improving the activity and solubility of calcium. At the same time, it kills residual pathogenic microorganisms, ensuring the safety and hygiene of the feed. Ultrafine grinding to over 200 mesh greatly increases the specific surface area of ​​the calcium powder, making it easier to contact with digestive juices. This greatly improves the absorption and utilization rate of calcium by white jade snails, effectively strengthens the shell hardness of white jade snails, prevents soft shells, and provides sufficient calcium source for egg laying and hatching.

[0024] On the other hand, the present invention provides a method for preparing white jade snail feed, wherein the method involves mixing leafy grass powder, corn powder, and yeast powder, adding warm water for fermentation, adding oyster shell powder, etc., and then puffing and granulating.

[0025] By first fermenting leafy grass powder, corn flour, and yeast powder in warm water, the microorganisms decompose plant fiber, eliminate anti-nutritional factors, and synthesize active substances such as small peptides, organic acids, and vitamins, significantly improving the digestibility and palatability of the feed. After fermentation, calcium sources such as oyster shell powder are added and the feed is extruded and granulated. This process avoids the destruction of active ingredients by high-temperature calcination and denatures proteins through extrusion, making the feed pellets crisp and porous. This further kills bacteria, enhances the palatability and stability of the feed, and thus comprehensively improves nutrient utilization, promoting the feeding, growth, and reproductive performance of snails.

[0026] Furthermore, the method includes the following steps: (1) Weigh out the edible leaf powder, corn flour, yeast powder and dicalcium phosphate according to the formula, mix them evenly to obtain the primary mixture; (2) Add 30-40% of the weight of warm water to the primary mixture, stir evenly, and then seal and ferment at 25-30℃ for 4-6 hours to obtain fermented material; (3) Mix the fermented material with oyster shell powder and salt evenly to obtain a secondary mixture; (4) The secondary mixture is fed into an extrusion pelleting machine to pellet, dried, cooled and packaged to obtain the finished feed.

[0027] First, leafy grass powder, corn flour, yeast powder, and dicalcium phosphate are mixed and fermented. Dicalcium phosphate not only provides a phosphorus source and buffer for yeast, promoting fermentation efficiency, but also partially dissolves in an acidic environment to form soluble calcium phosphorus, improving utilization. Sealed fermentation at 25-30℃ for 4-6 hours (preferably 5 hours) can effectively degrade plant anti-nutritional factors, generate organic acids and beneficial bacterial metabolites, significantly improving palatability and digestibility. At the same time, the fermentation time should not exceed 6 hours to avoid the adverse effects of acidification. After fermentation, oyster shell powder is mixed in to avoid the high-calcium alkaline environment inhibiting yeast activity or destroying fermentation products, thus protecting the active calcium source. Finally, extrusion granulation further gelatinizes the starch, kills miscellaneous bacteria, and forms crisp and porous granules, thereby improving feed intake, nutrient absorption rate, and feed storage stability, comprehensively optimizing the overall quality of the feed.

[0028] Furthermore, in step (2), 0.1-0.2% of brown sugar or sucrose by weight of the primary mixture is added to the warm water.

[0029] Adding 0.1-0.2% brown sugar or sucrose to warm water can provide yeast with a readily available carbon source, promoting rapid fermentation and accelerating yeast reproduction, thereby improving fermentation efficiency and shortening fermentation time. At the same time, after being metabolized by yeast, sugar can produce aromatic substances such as alcohols and esters, further improving the flavor and palatability of the feed and stimulating white jade snails to eat it. In addition, sugar can help maintain the osmotic pressure and microenvironment stability in the early stage of fermentation, which is conducive to the establishment of dominant bacterial groups, thereby significantly improving the quality and nutrient conversion rate of fermented feed.

[0030] In some methods, sucrose is preferred, as it helps to increase the egg-laying and hatching rates of the white jade snail and reduce the rate of soft shells.

[0031] Further, the puffing and pelleting process in step (4) is carried out using a twin-screw extruder with a screw speed of 150-300 rpm. After puffing at 100-140°C, the pellets are cut into granules with a diameter of 0.3-3 cm, dried at 50-60°C until the moisture content is less than 8%, and then packaged after cooling to obtain the finished feed.

[0032] Processing the feed using a twin-screw extruder at 150–300 rpm and 100–140°C ensures uniform heating, full starch gelatinization, and moderate protein denaturation, resulting in a porous and crumbly texture that significantly improves digestibility and palatability. The feed is then cut into 0.3–3 cm diameter pellets for easy absorption and consumption by white snails. Subsequently, drying at 50–60°C to below 8% moisture content effectively preserves the heat-sensitive active substances produced during fermentation and extrusion, prevents mold growth, and extends shelf life, thereby comprehensively improving palatability, nutrient utilization, and storage stability.

[0033] In another aspect, the present invention provides a white jade snail feed for improving the egg-laying rate, hatching rate, or reducing the soft-shell rate of white jade snails. The feed is given twice a day, and the amount is 2 to 4% of the body weight of the white jade snail.

[0034] Based on the feeding habits of white jade snails, they should be fed twice a day (e.g., once in the morning and once in the evening), with each feeding amount being 2-4% of their body weight. This ensures that the snails receive a continuous and sufficient supply of nutrients to meet their high energy requirements during the peak breeding season, while avoiding feed waste and pollution caused by overfeeding at one time. The stable nutrient intake, combined with the high protein and high calcium characteristics of the feed of this invention, can significantly improve the physical condition of breeding snails and follicle development, thereby increasing the egg production rate and hatching rate. At the same time, it strengthens the shell hardness, reduces the soft shell rate, and thus improves the overall breeding efficiency and the commercial qualification rate.

[0035] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: Using leafy grass powder as the core protein source, combined with corn flour, yeast powder, etc., it provides snails with the amino acids, energy and prebiotics they need; combined with oyster shell powder, dicalcium phosphate and salt, it scientifically supplements mineral elements such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and chlorine, and optimizes the calcium-phosphorus ratio. The prepared feed can effectively prevent soft-shell disease in white jade snails, and at the same time significantly improve the egg-laying rate and hatching rate of white jade snails.

[0036] 2. Leafy grasses are dried and ultra-finely pulverized at low temperature, retaining heat-sensitive active ingredients and breaking cell walls; oyster shells are calcined at high temperature and then ultra-finely pulverized, significantly improving calcium activity; through the "fermentation followed by puffing" process (fermentation of yeast powder with sugar and warm water → mixing calcium source → twin-screw puffing granulation), anti-nutritional factors are degraded and aromatic substances are generated, while starch is gelatinized and the granules are crisp and porous, greatly improving the feed's palatability, digestibility, and nutrient absorption rate.

[0037] 3. High-temperature calcination of oyster shells can kill pathogenic microorganisms, and the puffing and granulation process further sterilizes them; the finished product has a moisture content of less than 8%, and with sealed packaging, it can be stored for a long time without easily becoming moldy, reducing feed loss and disease risk in aquaculture.

[0038] 4. More healthy baby snails can be obtained within the same breeding cycle, reducing feed, labor and management costs, improving product qualification rate and economic benefits, and making it suitable for large-scale and standardized production.

[0039] 5. Leafy grasses are high-yield forage grasses, and oyster shells are by-products of aquatic product processing. Both are widely available and have low costs, which reduces feed costs and achieves resource recycling. Attached Figure Description

[0040] Figure 1 Photo of the prepared white jade snail feed; Figure 2 Photographs showing the dimensions of the white jade snail feed; Figure 3 and Figure 4 All photos show white jade snails being fed with the feed provided by this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are intended to facilitate the understanding of the present invention and do not limit it in any way.

[0042] Example 1: Preparation of feed for white jade snails The preparation process of the white jade snail feed provided in this embodiment is as follows: I. Raw Material Preparation 1. Edible leaf grass powder: Take fresh whole plant of edible leaf grass, remove impurities and dry at a low temperature of 35℃ until the moisture content is less than 10%, then use an ultra-fine pulverizer to pulverize to 100 mesh to obtain edible leaf grass powder for later use.

[0043] 2. Oyster shell powder: Place the washed oyster shells in a muffle furnace and calcine them at 750℃ for 2 hours. After cooling, crush them and pass them through a 200-mesh sieve to obtain active oyster shell powder for later use.

[0044] 3. Other ingredients: corn flour (food grade), yeast powder (commercially available Angel high-activity dry yeast), salt (food grade), dicalcium phosphate (feed grade), sucrose (food grade).

[0045] II. Preparation Process (1) Primary mixing: Weigh 75 parts of edible leaf powder, 10 parts of corn powder, 3 parts of yeast powder and 2 parts of dicalcium phosphate according to the above formula weight, put them into a three-dimensional mixer and mix for 20 minutes until uniform to obtain primary mixture.

[0046] (2) Fermentation with added sugar and warm water: Add 35% of the total weight of the primary mixture to warm water (about 32°C). Dissolve 0.15% of the weight of sucrose in the warm water beforehand (i.e., the amount of sucrose used is 0.15% of the weight of the primary mixture). After stirring evenly, put it into a sealed fermentation tank and ferment at a constant temperature of 28°C for 5 hours to obtain fermented material. At the end of fermentation, the material has an alcoholic aroma and a pH value of about 4.5 to 5.0.

[0047] (3) Secondary mixing: Add the fermented material, 12 parts of pre-weighed oyster shell powder, and 0.3 parts of salt into the mixer and continue mixing for 15 minutes until uniform to obtain the secondary mixture.

[0048] (4) Extrusion and granulation: The secondary mixture is conveyed to a twin-screw extruder, the screw speed is set to 220 rpm and the extrusion temperature is 120℃. After the material is cooked at high temperature in the extrusion chamber, it is extruded from the die hole and cut into cylindrical particles with a diameter of 0.5cm by a rotary cutter. Figure 1The resulting granules are fed into a fluidized bed dryer and dried at 55°C to a moisture content of 6%, then naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the finished white jade snail feed. Figure 2 ).

[0049] III. Usage Method This feed should be given twice daily (once at 8:00 AM and once at 6:00 PM), with each feeding amount being 3% of the total weight of the white jade snails. It is suitable for adult and sub-adult white jade snails, effectively improving egg-laying and hatching rates while reducing soft-shell rates. A photo of white jade snails fed this feed is shown below. Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown.

[0050] Example 2: Comparison of feeding effects of different feeds This embodiment focuses on the same batch of sub-adult white jade snails, feeding them with three different types of feed to examine the feeding effects.

[0051] Three hundred 4-month-old subadult white jade snails were divided into two groups: an experimental group of 100 snails and a control group of 100 snails each. Both groups of snails were raised under the same environmental conditions (temperature 25±2℃, humidity 85±5%, light 12 hours / day).

[0052] Experimental group: The feed prepared in this example was fed twice a day (once at 8:00 am and once at 6:00 pm) until the white jade snails reached sexual maturity and completed their first egg-laying (approximately 60 days of feeding).

[0053] Control group 1: The white jade snail feed of Example 1 of CN201310327685.6 was used, and the feeding method, dosage and environmental conditions were the same as those of the experimental group.

[0054] Control group 2: Commercially available pig feed (Shunfeng 311S - complete pig feed, existing feeding method for white jade snails) was used, with the same feeding method, dosage and environmental conditions as the experimental group.

[0055] Observe and record the following indicators during the feeding period: Egg laying rate: The percentage of white jade snails that can lay eggs normally out of the total number of snails in each group (white jade snails are hermaphroditic, and each one can lay eggs, so the number is based on the actual number of individuals that lay eggs).

[0056] Hatching rate: The percentage of snails that successfully hatch from the total number of eggs produced in each group.

[0057] Soft shell rate: The percentage of white jade snails in each group whose shells become thinner, softer, or even fall off out of the total number of white jade snails in that group.

[0058] The statistical results after 60 days of feeding are shown in Table 1.

[0059] Table 1. Comparison of feeding effects of different feeds The data above show that, compared with control groups 1 and 2, the experimental group fed with the feed prepared according to this invention showed the following: the egg-laying rate increased by 21-26 percentage points, indicating that the feed can effectively promote snail gonadal development and increase the proportion of breeding individuals; the hatching rate increased by 18-22 percentage points, indicating that the sufficient calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, and other nutrients in the feed significantly improved egg quality and the embryonic development environment; and the soft-shell rate decreased by 16-18 percentage points, confirming that the synergistic effect of leafy grass, active oyster shell powder, and dicalcium phosphate in the feed can effectively strengthen shell hardness and reduce the occurrence of soft shells.

[0060] In summary, the white jade snail feed and its preparation method provided by this invention have significant beneficial effects in improving egg production rate, hatching rate and reducing soft shell rate, and are suitable for promotion and application in large-scale white jade snail farming.

[0061] Example 3: Screening of different feed formulations This embodiment compares the effects of feeds formulated with different protein sources (leafy grass powder, soybean meal, fish meal) and different calcium sources (oyster shell powder, stone powder, bone meal, protein powder, white jade snail shell powder, etc., among which the preparation method of white jade snail shell powder is the same as that of oyster shell powder) on the reproductive performance and soft shell rate of white jade snails, and selects the optimal combination.

[0062] Six hundred healthy, 4-month-old sub-adult white jade snails of similar weight from the same batch were randomly divided into 10 groups of 60 snails each. All groups were raised under the same environmental conditions (temperature 25±2℃, humidity 85±5%, light 12 hours / day), and fed twice daily (8:00 AM and 6:00 PM), with each feeding amount being 3% of the snail's total weight, for 60 consecutive days.

[0063] Feed was prepared according to the method provided in Example 1. The basic formula for each group, excluding the variable components, contained 10 parts corn flour, 3 parts yeast powder, 0.3 parts salt, and 2 parts dicalcium phosphate. Specific variable settings are shown in Table 1. The egg-laying rate, hatching rate, and soft-shell rate of each group were examined using the methods described in Example 2. The test results are shown in Table 2.

[0064] Table 2. Screening of different feed formulations Compared with groups 1-3, the combination of "leafy grass powder + oyster shell powder" used in this invention has significant advantages over either leafy grass powder or oyster shell powder alone. With oyster shell powder alone, the mortality rate of white jade snails reaches over 98%, essentially preventing growth. With leafy grass powder alone, significant malnutrition occurs, resulting in low egg-laying and hatching rates, and a high incidence of soft-shell snails. Only through the synergistic effect of both can the goals of high egg-laying rate, high hatching rate, and low soft-shell rate be achieved.

[0065] Compared with groups 3 to 7, when using different calcium sources, group 3 (oyster shell powder) showed significantly better egg-laying rate, hatching rate, soft-shell rate, and weight gain rate than the other groups with different calcium sources. This indicates that oyster shell powder calcined at 700-800℃ has higher calcium activity and absorption rate, and can more effectively strengthen shell hardness and promote reproductive performance.

[0066] Compared with groups 3 and 8-10: Group 3 (leafy grass powder) outperformed the other groups in all indicators. This indicates that leafy grass powder not only provides high-quality plant protein but also contains abundant vitamins, active enzymes, and growth-promoting factors, making its comprehensive nutritional value higher than soybean meal and fishmeal. The optimal combination was group 3 (leafy grass powder + oyster shell powder), which had the highest egg-laying rate (87%), the highest hatching rate (94%), and the lowest soft-shell rate (2%). Compared with other groups, all indicators showed significant advantages, proving that the core combination of "leafy grass powder + oyster shell powder" has a synergistic effect in improving the reproductive performance of white jade snails, reducing the occurrence of soft-shell disease, and promoting growth, making it the optimal technical solution.

[0067] Example 4: Comparison of Fermentation Effects By comparing the effects of feed prepared by three processes—unfermented, fermented without sugar, and fermented with sugar—on the growth performance, reproductive performance, and feed utilization of white jade snails, the superiority of the fermentation process used in this invention is verified.

[0068] A total of 240 healthy, 4-month-old sub-adult white jade snails of similar weight from the same batch were randomly divided into 4 groups of 60 snails each. All groups were raised under the same environmental conditions (temperature 25±2℃, humidity 85±5%, light 12 hours / day), and fed twice a day (8:00 am and 6:00 pm), with each feeding amount being 3% of the snail's total weight, for 60 consecutive days.

[0069] All groups used the same raw material formula (75 parts leafy grass powder, 12 parts oyster shell powder, 10 parts corn flour, 3 parts yeast powder, 0.3 parts salt, and 2 parts dicalcium phosphate), but the fermentation process differed, as detailed below: Group 1 (Unfermented): All raw materials are directly mixed and extruded into granules without fermentation. Group 2 (fermentation, no sugar added): Mix leafy grass powder, corn flour, yeast powder, and dicalcium phosphate, add 35% warm water (no sugar added), seal and ferment at 28℃ for 5 hours, then mix with oyster shell powder and salt, and puff and granulate. Group 3 (fermentation, sugar addition): Same as in Example 1, leafy grass powder, corn powder, yeast powder, and dicalcium phosphate are mixed and then 35% warm water is added (0.15% of sucrose by weight of the primary material is pre-dissolved in the warm water), sealed and fermented at 28°C for 5 hours, and then mixed with oyster shell powder and salt, and puffed and granulated. Group 4 (fermentation, sugar addition): After mixing leafy grass powder, corn flour, yeast powder, and dicalcium phosphate, add 35% warm water (pre-dissolve 0.15% brown sugar by weight of the primary material in the warm water), seal and ferment at 28℃ for 5 hours, then mix with oyster shell powder and salt, and puff and granulate. Except for the variable components, the basic formulas for each group were identical to those in Example 1. The egg-laying rate, hatching rate, and soft-shell rate of each group were examined using the methods described in Example 2. The results are shown in Table 3.

[0070] Table 3. Comparison of Fermentation Effects As shown in Table 3, all indicators of the unfermented feed (control group 1) were significantly lower than those of the fermented group, proving that the fermentation process can effectively eliminate anti-nutritional factors in plant raw materials, decompose macromolecular proteins into small peptides and amino acids, and generate organic acids and aromatic substances, thereby significantly improving the digestibility and absorption rate of the feed, improving the reproductive performance of white jade snails, and reducing the soft shell rate.

[0071] Compared to fermentation without added sugar, adding 0.15% sucrose or brown sugar provides yeast with a readily available carbon source, promoting rapid yeast reproduction and metabolism, resulting in more complete fermentation (lower pH, higher total acidity, and more thorough protein degradation). It also generates richer flavor compounds. In terms of feeding effects, the sugar-added fermentation group outperformed the un-sugar-added group in terms of egg production rate, hatching rate, and soft-shell rate. Furthermore, adding sucrose is more effective than adding brown sugar.

[0072] Optimal process confirmation: Based on the above data, the fermentation process of yeast powder + warm water + 0.1~0.2% sucrose adopted in this invention is the optimal solution, which can maximize the gain effect of fermentation, provide high-quality intermediate materials for subsequent extrusion and granulation, and finally obtain high-quality white jade snail feed, significantly improve the egg laying rate and hatching rate of white jade snails, and effectively reduce the soft shell rate.

[0073] Example 5: Effects of different addition times of oyster shell powder and dicalcium phosphate on fermentation and feeding effects By comparing different combinations of adding oyster shell powder and dicalcium phosphate before or after fermentation, the superiority of the order of "adding dicalcium phosphate before fermentation and adding oyster shell powder after fermentation" adopted in this invention is verified.

[0074] A total of 240 healthy, 4-month-old sub-adult white jade snails of similar weight from the same batch were randomly divided into 4 groups of 60 snails each. All groups were raised under the same environmental conditions (temperature 25±2℃, humidity 85±5%, light 12 hours / day), and fed twice a day (8:00 am and 6:00 pm), with each feeding amount being 3% of the snail's total weight, for 60 consecutive days.

[0075] Each group used the same raw material formula and fermentation conditions as in Example 1, but the timing of the addition of oyster shell powder and dicalcium phosphate differed, as detailed below: Group 1: Oyster shell powder and dicalcium phosphate are added before fermentation, and then mixed with leafy grass powder, corn flour and yeast powder before fermentation. Group 2: Oyster shell powder and dicalcium phosphate are added after fermentation, and neither oyster shell powder nor dicalcium phosphate participates in fermentation; Group 3: Oyster shell powder is added before fermentation, mixed with leafy grass powder, corn powder and yeast powder and then fermented. Calcium phosphate is added after fermentation. Group 4 (Example 1): Calcium hydrogen phosphate was added before fermentation, mixed with leafy grass powder, corn flour and yeast powder and then fermented. Oyster shell powder was added after fermentation. The egg-laying rate, hatching rate, and soft-shell rate of each group were examined, and the detection methods were as shown in Example 2. The detection results are shown in Table 4.

[0076] Table 4. Screening for different addition times As can be seen from Table 4, Group 4 (Example 1) was the best in all feeding indicators, especially the egg-laying rate and hatching rate, which reached 87% and 94% respectively, and the soft-shell rate was only 2%.

[0077] Group 1 (both are listed first): Due to inhibited fermentation, the palatability and digestibility of the feed are poor, the feed intake is low, the weight gain is slow, the egg-laying rate and hatching rate are significantly reduced, and the soft-shell rate is as high as 12%.

[0078] Group 2 (both later): Although the fermentation process was good, the lack of early addition of dicalcium phosphate resulted in a loss of the phosphorus source's promoting effect on the yeast. Furthermore, the subsequent mixing with oyster shell powder may have affected the uniformity and absorption efficiency of calcium and phosphorus, leading to lower performance across all indicators compared to the experimental group.

[0079] Group 3 (before oysters, after phosphoric acid): Fermentation almost failed, feed quality was the worst, feed intake was the lowest, white jade snails gained weight the slowest, egg laying rate was only 52%, hatching rate was 62%, soft shell rate was as high as 16%, and feed conversion rate was the worst.

[0080] Therefore, oyster shell powder must be added after fermentation: oyster shell powder may severely inhibit yeast activity, leading to fermentation failure. Regardless of when dicalcium phosphate is added, if oyster shell powder is added before fermentation, fermentation is significantly inhibited, resulting in a significant decrease in fermentation quality and feeding effectiveness. Therefore, this invention's arrangement of adding oyster shell powder after fermentation is crucial to ensuring successful fermentation.

[0081] Dicalcium phosphate is best added before fermentation. Adding it before fermentation provides a phosphorus source for the yeast and has a mild buffering effect, which helps maintain a suitable growth environment for the yeast. While adding dicalcium phosphate after fermentation does not affect the fermentation process, the yeast viable cell count and protein degradation rate are slightly lower in the experimental group due to the lack of prior phosphorus supply, resulting in a less effective feeding outcome. Therefore, this invention arranges for the addition of dicalcium phosphate before fermentation, which has a beneficial effect.

[0082] In summary, the order in which dicalcium phosphate is added before fermentation and oyster shell powder is added after fermentation, as used in this invention, ensures efficient fermentation (high yeast viable count and sufficient protein degradation), avoids the inhibitory effect of alkaline calcium sources on fermentation, and achieves optimized calcium and phosphorus supplementation. It is significantly superior to other order schemes in terms of fermentation quality and feeding effect, significantly improves the egg-laying rate and hatching rate of white jade snails, and effectively reduces the soft-shell rate.

[0083] While the present invention has been disclosed above, it is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various modifications and alterations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention; therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A type of feed for white jade snails, characterized in that, This includes leafy green powder and oyster shell powder.

2. The white jade snail feed as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The ingredients include the following parts by weight: 70-80 parts of leafy green powder, 10-15 parts of oyster shell powder, 8-12 parts of corn flour, and 1-5 parts of yeast powder.

3. The white jade snail feed as described in claim 2, characterized in that, It also includes 0.2-0.5 parts salt and 1-3 parts dicalcium phosphate.

4. The white jade snail feed as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The edible grass powder is made by drying the whole plant of edible grass at a low temperature of 25-40℃ and then ultra-finely pulverizing it to a powder of 80-200 mesh.

5. The white jade snail feed as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The oyster shell powder is calcined at 700-800℃ and then pulverized into powder with a mesh size of at least 200.

6. The method for preparing white jade snail feed according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Mix leafy green powder, corn flour, and yeast powder, add warm water to ferment, then add oyster shell powder, etc., and then puff and granulate.

7. The preparation method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: (1) Weigh out the edible leaf powder, corn flour, yeast powder and dicalcium phosphate according to the formula, mix them evenly to obtain the primary mixture; (2) Add 30-40% of the weight of warm water to the primary mixture, stir evenly, and then seal and ferment at 25-30℃ for 4-6 hours to obtain fermented material; (3) Mix the fermented material with oyster shell powder and salt evenly to obtain a secondary mixture; (4) The secondary mixture is fed into an extrusion pelleting machine to pellet, dried, cooled and packaged to obtain the finished feed.

8. The preparation method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step (2), 0.1-0.2% of brown sugar or sucrose by weight of the primary mixture is added to the warm water.

9. The preparation method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The extrusion and pelleting process described in step (4) uses a twin-screw extruder with a screw speed of 150-300 rpm. After extrusion at 100-140°C, the pellets are cut into granules with a diameter of 0.3-3 cm, dried at 50-60°C until the moisture content is less than 8%, and then packaged after cooling to obtain the finished feed.

10. The use of the white jade snail feed according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or the white jade snail feed prepared by the preparation method according to any one of claims 6 to 9 in improving the egg-laying rate, hatching rate, or reducing the soft-shell rate of white jade snails, characterized in that, The white jade snail feed is given twice a day, with the amount being 2-4% of the snail's body weight.

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