Review of milk let-down in camels and proposition of a milk recording method
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Review of milk let-down in camels and proposition of a milk recording method Ismaïl Boujenane 1 Received: 11 May 2020 / Accepted: 24 September 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The aim of this article was to review the milk let-down in camels and to propose a simple milk recording method. Milking of camels generally starts between 1 and 3 months postpartum. The udder is stimulated for 0.5 to 2 min by either calf suckling or hand massaging to induce the milk let-down. About 40% of daily milk yield is consumed by the calf before and after milking. The best interval between milking is 8–12 h. Lactation length is in the range 8–18 months, and the mean total milk yield is 1000– 4000 kg. Peak yield of 4 to 10 kg is attained between 2 and 7 months post calving, and persistency is greater than 85%. The proposed milk recording method for camels has been adapted from ICAR’s procedures. The milking (manual or machine) starts after a suckling period of 1 month. Before each milking, the udder is stimulated for 1 min, either by calf suckling or by hand massaging. The milk recording interval is 36 days. The first test recording must take place within 75 days following the end of the suckling period. Milk yield recorded is the milk off-take or milked only. The lactation period corresponds to the milking length. Records are standardized to the reference lactation of 335 days. At each recording day, milk yields are recorded and milk samples are collected alternatively at either morning or evening milking. It was concluded that using this method, a sound milk recording database will be built for camels. Keywords Dromedary . Lactation . Calf suckling . Milk yield . Milking
Introduction The camel is a domestic species that is well-adapted to arid and semiarid regions. The worldwide camel population is about 35.5 million heads (FAO 2018). Of this estimated population, 95% are believed to be one-humped dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) and the remaining twohumped (Camelus bactrianus) (Faraz et al. 2019). Camels provide meat, milk, and hair fiber for the human population, and they are used for transportation and draught (Alhadrami and Faye 2016; Faye 2016; Zarrin et al. 2020). Camel meat and whole fresh milk production is estimated to be about 0.557 million tons and 3.137 million tons per year, respectively (FAO 2018). Moreover, the world’s annual camel milk production has increased from 0.629 million tons in 1961 to
* Ismaïl Boujenane [email protected] 1
Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, PO Box 6202, Rabat-Instituts, 10101 Rabat, Morocco
3.137 million tons in 2018, i.e., by 398% over the same period. In the past, selling of milk was not practiced. The milk was almost entirely reserved for calves, with a small quantity consumed by the farmer’s family or offered to relatives and neighbors. Recently, as a result of the increasing demand, a new tendency toward commercialization of camel milk has flourished rapidly, coupled with the development of new semi-intensive and intensive camel systems
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