Moez Ayadi
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Title: Strategies to improve milk production in camels
Biography
Biography: Moez Ayadi
Abstract
Nowadays there is an increasing interest in camel’s milk for human nutrition due to its functional properties. As a result of market demand for commercial milk production, intensive dairy camel’s farms using modern machine milking have been recently created. However, the genetic improvement for milk production in dairy camels is slow due to long life-span, low fertility, low numbers of offspring, delayed age at first calving, high calf mortality and abortion rates, and unknown heritability of specific dairy traits. Moreover, the lack of camel Identification (ID), milk recording systems and selection of adequate udder morphology to the machine milking are considered to be major obstacles that face any attempt to develop camel agribusiness. Modernization of livestock farms led to the adoption of ID tools such as visual (e.g., brands, tattoos, ear tags, and collars) and electronic (e.g., injectable, ear tags, and boluses). Recent results indicated that ear tag retention is not fully satisfactory to identify camels, needing the use of a second ID system (dense electronic ruminal bolus is recommended). The high readability of dense electronic boluses recommends their use as a permanent ID device of reference in camels. Performance recording of individual animals is usually associated with selection for genetic improvement. Different factors should be taken into account when implementing a new milk recording scheme in dairy camels, such as: farming systems, breed, milking routine, operator training, cooperation between camel farmers, and recording organizations and health status. Udder morphology traits should be considered as economically important traits in camel selection programs. Therefore, excluding camels with pendulous udder as well as blew-up teats and low milk flow peak is the first step to select for the future dairy camels. Recent results shown a sufficient udder pre-stimulation (90-120 seconds) ensures higher milk flow rate and faster milking in dairy camels.