Where do you keep snails when you farm them?

62. If you decide to farm snails you must keep them in a pen. Snails kept in a well- built pen will not get away easily and you can watch them and take care of them well.

63. After the first year you will need at least two pens. If you decide to farm more snails you may want even more pens. You will learn how to use two or more pens in the next booklet.

Two pens the second year

64. In each pen you can give your snails the right kinds of plants for them to eat and to use as shelter.

65. In each pen you can put the food and shelter plants near each other so that the snails can move easily from one to the other.

66. Each pen you build must also keep the snails safe from their enemies. Snails have many enemies. You must be careful to protect them from

• mice and rats

• shrews and moles

• walking insects that live on the ground such as ants and beetles

• slugs and other snails that eat snail meat

• birds that eat snails

• frogs and toads

• thieves

Protect them from…

67. A snail pen can be small or large depending on how many snails you want to raise. However, when you first begin, start with a small pen. You will need fewer materials. It will be easier to take care of.

68. In addition, with a small pen you will need fewer snails to begin. When you know more about raising snails, you can build a bigger pen and get more snails to raise.

69. A good size for a pen is 5 x 5 metres. Later in this booklet you will learn how to build a small pen of this size.