Characteristics of good breeding bull and female
Bull
- High milk production capability among daughters
- Fast growth rate
- Good body conformation (tall, large body frame and well built), upright in standing, high ability to chase and mount females and
- Adaptable to the environment (feed availability, terrain suitability etc)
Female
- History of producing high milk volume
- No history of diseases
- Good adaptability to the environment
- Good body conformation (slender body and large stomach)
- Well developed and pronounced milk veins
- Large and well set udder with four teats
- Good mothering ability and no history of stillbirths, abortions etc
Recommended bull: female ratio
- The camel keeper should maintain one dominant bull of between 6 to 12 years with one younger bull as his replacement. In some areas, breeding bulls are shared with the neighbors or even with the community.
- However, more than one breeding bull may be required depending on the herd size
- A bull: female ratio of 1:50 is appropriate when sufficient forage is available
Sexual maturity
- Females become active at 4 to 5 years of age and give birth when about 5 to 6 years old. Although sexual maturity varies with breed, it is very much dependent on management level in terms of nutrition and health. When enough good feed is available, camels develop faster and maturity will be at an earlier age.
- Males attain sexual maturity at around 5 years but begins to serve actively at around 6 years when their canine teeth are sufficiently developed for fighting
Breeding season
- Camels are seasonal breeders. The breeding season coincides with the cool rainy period of the year.
- Release of the egg (ovulation) in females is initiated (induced) by mating. This means conception only take place during the second mating which should take place after 20 – 25 days when the heat cycle returns after the first attempt to mate.
Mating
- Mating among camels is a violent affair and can lead to injury in females. Precautions should be taken, and they should be taken care of by physically strong people.
- Keep the breeding bull separate from the females especially when rutting since it can physically injure the females and the calves.
- Sometimes the female does not voluntarily sit and she is forced to do so by the male who often chases her around, biting her neck, back of the hump, and pressing her down. This may result in severe wounds to the female. It is advisable to make the female sit before bringing the male to mate with her,
- The mating process takes about 15 minutes
- It is also advisable that rutting males are herded by strong, mature people since they can easily hurt children.
Pregnancy diagnosis
- A traditional method of telling if a camel is pregnant, is to stand near it and raise your hand, then check for the raising of the tail and passing of some urine. If it does so, this indicates pregnancy,
- A pregnant camel will also raise her tail when a bull approaches her,
- The camel begins to show this sign 2 – 4 weeks after conception.
Signs of rut in male
- Loss of appetite and condition
- Unusually aggressive and difficult to handle (Chases away all the other males and even humans)
- Frequent urination and splashing urine on the back by flicking the tail,
- Prolific secretion from the poll glands situated behind the ears and rubbing the secretion onto plants as a way of marking its territory
- Protrusion of a soft palatal flap from the mouth (with air, in form of a pink balloon as shown in the picture below)
- Making characteristic noises and continuously grinding their teeth with saliva flowing from the mouth
- Rutting bulls should be separated as they may fight to death
Signs of heat in female camels
- She may become restless
- May show swelling of the vulva and mucous discharge
- Frequent urination
- Making characteristic noise
- May have reduced milk yield
- May sniff urine from other females
- The heat is repeated after 20 – 25 days for females that fail to conceive
Recommended breeding practices and their advantages
1. Avoid inbreeding by:
- Replacing the breeding bull at 12 years when its first daughters becomes sexually mature
- Exchanging bulls with neighbors
- Use of two or more breeding bulls
Advantages
- Minimizes congenital/inherent problems e.g. deformities
- Enhance calf growth
- Reduce calf mortality
2. Use bulls younger than 13 years
Advantages
- Young bulls have high ability to follow and mount females
- Young bulls come to rut faster after the dry season and serve for a longer period in any given breeding season
- Young and active bulls ensures higher conception rates of females
- Retired bulls can be castrated and fattened for meat or other uses
3. Use females of less or equal to 6 calvings
Advantages
- These are young females who normally have good body condition
- Produce more milk for the calf and humans and their calves show higher growth rate
4. To upgrade your camels through cross breeding, look for a bull with the traits you desire
Advantage
- A bull propagates desired traits in a herd very fast as it has capacity to serve 50 dams in a breeding season. A female can only give birth to one calf at a time and it takes a long long time before you have introduced the desired traits into the herd.
Care of pregnant camels, a month before giving birth
- Closely monitor the camels as this is the most critical stage
- Graze the camels near settlement or boma as they may require some assistance in giving birth
- Avoid grazing such camels in areas with pot holes, gulleys, rocky areas, slippery grounds since such camels may easily fall down and severely injure themself
- Do not allow the camels to wallow in the soil
- Do not put such camels in sloppy bomas as it is difficult to stand on such a ground
Signs of labor
- Enlargment of the udder
- Sagging of the ligaments at the root of the tail
- Restlessness including lying down and standing up
- Loss of appetite
- Make characteristic noise
- Isolating themselves from other camels