Category: Dairy camels breed

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Camel Physiology Dairy camels breed General about camel

The Diary Traits of Camel

A dairy camel with clear dairy traits
A milking camel with clear dairy traits

Q: Can a camel be a dairy animal?

A: Yes, because of many reasons but a camel for dairy doesn’t mean the monocultural cow dairy model.

Q: What should be the salient features and goals of a dairy camel?

A: There are many characteristics that are considered the best tools to select a camel for dairy purposes.

  • A female camel with good reproductive performance like first calving (5 years of age), calving interval (2 years), zero or very low abortion rate
  • A camel owing the dairy characteristics (discussed in many articles)
  • Thriftiness (but not feed conversion efficiency like in the cow model), in camel farming we provide according to the needs but not as a reward for milk
  • Mothering ability (the connection with the calf and the presence of the calf) is very crucial for milk production in camels
  • Efficient milking ability (machine milking ability as well)
  • Social, friendly, and good in temperament (happy and friendly camels produce in stress-free conditions
  • Having an average production above 1500 kg per lactation (300 days)
  • Having a lactation of more than 8 months

Camel is a very good dairy animal in many ways, an efficient biological machine, highly adapted to climate change, and produces milk in extreme weather. https://camel4all.info/index.php/2023/11/16/the-charecteristcs-of-a-dairy-camel/

A very typical example of a high-yielding dairy camel. Udder, teats, milk vein, and rib cage of a high-yielding camel. Such signs will help you in selecting a dairy camel. This camel is producing >20 kg per day. The udder conformation (in the following image) tells most of the dairy traits in camels.

Maximum of the dairy traits can be seen in this image. Camel is an effecient and true dairy animal.

Coordinated body parts, clearly defined organs, healthy coat, barrel shape thoracic region, spacy belly, medium-sized hump, and shining body coats are the salient features of a dairy camel. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/216145752_Camel_a_potential_dairy_animal_in_difficult_environments

Camel milk production is stable in almost all seasons, which is very important for pastoralists when the milk of other animals is seized in the dry period. Camel intake per kg of milk produced is very low, making it an efficient biological model. Understanding the potential of the camel as a milch animal.

Categories
Dairy camels breed General about camel

The Charecteristcs of a Dairy Camel

Arvana dairy camel in Uzbekistan
Arvana dairy camel in Uzbekistan

In the following image, I’m going to tell you about the salient features of the dairy camel. A very typical example of a high-yielding dairy camel. Udder, teats, milk vein, and rib cage of a high-yielding camel. Such signs will help you in selecting a dairy camel. This camel is producing >25 kg per day. The udder conformation tells most of the dairy traits in camels.

A picture of dairy camel, showing the charecteristics of a good milking camel.

Camel is a Sustainable Dairy Animal

Camel milk production is stable in almost all seasons, which is very important for pastoralists when the milk of other animals is seized in the dry period. Camel intake per kg of milk produced is very low, making it an efficient biological model. Understanding the potential of the camel as a milch animal.

A beautiful dairy camel

I conducted a comprehensive scientific study (my Ph.D. research program) to chalk out the lactation curve of mobile camel herds in the above-mentioned mountainous region. The study revealed that camel is a potential dairy animal (average milk 10.22 liter/day) with a lactation yield of >3,000 liters. This production was harvested from the camels depending on the natural grazing with good access to water. This yield was gained from a unique eco-friendly, low inputs, free of drugs & antibiotics production system, providing safe milk. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/precious-camel-milk-resource-unappreciated-among-policy-kakar/

Udder, milk vein, belly and skin can tell the charecteristics of dairy camel.

The camel milk is getting appreciation from the different spheres of life. https://camel4milk.wordpress.com/tag/camel-dairy/

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Camel Breed Dairy camels breed General about camel

Khawara camel breed of Arabian Peninsula

Author with a Dhofari camel in Salalah
Author with a Dhofari camel in Salalah Oman

Philosophical Note

Dhofar is centric on the frankness trade and history of the region. Almost 60% of the Omani camels are inhibited in the Dhofar region which is predominantly comprised of the Dhofari or Khawar breed followed by MAHALI (a thorough crossbred of Khawar, Majaheem, and Brela). Such a combination is also called a MUHAJAN or Majajan. Khawara is resistant to mange (to a high level), beautiful in color, docile, and a good milch breed. A rich color diversity, having dark brown, light brown, fawn, reddish, white, and creamy red colors, color diversity comes with the diversity of landscapes and ecosystems. With a medium-sized head, the breed has a deer’s mouth (Their lower lip is not hanging like other fellows of the desert). They have a medium head with a medium-sized neck and ears.

Like other camel fellows, Khawarah is a multipurpose animal, performing many tasks for their owners but milk production tops the other features in the Khawarah camels. There are some very important arguments proving it is a fashoosh camel. Fashoosh means a friendly camel with highly desirable teats and udder with very easy milking.

https://arkbiodiv.com/2017/12/19/easy-and-fast-vs-the-difficult-and-slow-milking-camelsthe-arabs-traditional-knowledge/
Selection of dairy camels for milking-ability in machine

Habitat of Khawara or Dhofari camel breed

Mostly found in the Southeastern Arabian Peninsula. True specimens of the breeds are found in the Dhofar region, especially Salalah. The nucleus herds of the breed with purity are found in the mountainous region of Salalah, where they can browse on good woody vegetation of combtree (anogeissus dhofarica), Acacia, and other trees and shrubs.

Khawar is one of the dairy queens

Based on my personal long experience with dairy camels, our best high-yielding and easy-milking camels are mainly from the Khawarah breed. I have been working with the world’s most modern and pioneer camel dairy in the world. They have medium-sized teats with strongly attached but deep udder. The teats are conical in shape and very well fit for the machine milking. They have very good milking ability and shorter actual milking time (AMT) in the machine milking because of their behavior and well-fit teat size.

Author with a Dhofari camel in Salalah
Author with a Dhofari camel in Salalah Oman

The cameleers have maintained the pure genetic line of the breed and they have strong oral and traditional knowledge about the genealogy and husbandry of the breed. Here you can find the best specimens of the breeds with a promising yield of milk up to 35 kg/day.

https://arkbiodiv.com/2022/04/15/the-camel-dairy-queen-khawar-breed-of-salalah-oman/
The dairy queen, Khawarah camel of Dhofar region