| What the herder/helper* should do | Why |
| Separate the camel from the rest of the herd and keep it in the boma | You can keep a close eye on her |
| Be near the camel | She might need assistance |
| In case of difficult calving, pull out the calf gently (after washing hands and equip- ment thoroughly) | This is to avoid damage of the uterus or injuring the calf |
| Make the mother lie down to ensure that the calf is not dropped while the mother is standing | Dropping the calf while the mother is standing can injure the calf |
| Remove birth fluids on the calf body particularly around the nose | Removing fluids from the nose and body is meant to avoid suffocation of the calf and pneumonia due to cold and possible death since camels do not lick their calves |
| Treat the cut end of the umbilical cord with some iodine, strong salt solution or just tie it in a knot or with a string that is either boiled or disinfected with Dettol or Savlon | These measures prevents entry of bacteria or foreign bodies which may cause secondary infection |
| Put the calf in front of the mother until the mother makes some low groaning noise | Groaning normally indicates her acceptance of the calf |
| Assist the calf to suckle and if the mother refuses to suckle her calf which is especially common with first calvers, smear the mother with some birth fluids around the nostrils. If she still proves difficult, isolate her so that she only see the calf around her. This helps in forcing her to accept the calf. In case of death of the mother, cover the foster mother with hide of the dead mother to enhance acceptance. | Early suckling (the first 3 to 6 hours) is very important because of colostrum** which gives the calf essential immunity to infections in the first few months of life |
| Note: If mother dies before two months post birth, the calf rarely survives. Must witness dropping of placenta although retention is very rare; can also be removed manually | Retained afterbirth in camels may lead to severe post-birth complications |
* It is advisable to call an experienced herder, community based animal health worker (CBAHW) or veterinarian to assist in complicated birth
** The dense milk that animals produce for the first 2 to 3 days after giving birth. The antibodies in the colostrum can pass the intestinal wall and enter the blood during the first hours after birth.
Additional calving management tips If the calf has breathing difficulties soon after birth, do the following;
- Cold water poured over the chest and head has the effect of shock and makes the calf raise and shake the head
- Massaging with two fingers from the eyes along the nose to the nostrils clears out the mucus
- Irritation of the nostrils with a straw makes the calf sneeze and expel the mucus
- Turn the calf upside down (for example by putting its rear legs across your shoulder and get someone to hold them there) with its head towards the ground and massage the chest moving down towards the head
Note: Do not reach into the mouth with your fingers!! This can cause an infection and diarrhea in the calf.
Calf Rearing
Colostrum feeding
Allow unlimited access of the calf to the antibodies, vitamins, proteins rich and easily digestible colostrum within the 1st 3 to 6 hours. If the dam does not produce milk, induce the let down by palpating the udder and the abdomen. In the absence of milk from the mother, feed the calf on milk from other camels. Note: Herders sometimes deny or give very little colostrum to the calves, claiming that excess colostrum causes diarrhea, especially among the second calvers . Research has shown that irregular feeding and bacterial infection causes the diarrhea and not the colostrum. Other causes includes worms and ingestion of dirt
- Colostrum gives the calf passive immunity and washes the stomach
- The quality of colostrum depreciates with time
- Antibodies are proteins, and can only pass through the walls of the intestines in the first 24 hours after birth
Housing
Camel calves need to be protected against cold especially at night. The pen can be made with thick and strong bushes cut from the surrounding. The pen should be swept at least once a week to avoid accumulation of ecto- parasites
- Over-exposure to cold breeze can cause pneumonia and death, a strongly built pen protect calves from predators while regular cleaning helps in control of ticks
Tick control
Ticks contribute significantly to the high camel calf mortality. A camel keeper should thoroughly wash young calves with acaricides e.g. triatix once in two weeks or even shorter interval depending on the tick load
- Ticks cause paralysis and eventual death of the calves if not controlled
Diarrhea management
Note: Different camel keeping communities use different traditional methods to manage diarrhea. However, these methods are largely ineffective as evidenced by high mortality rates. Effective modern and traditional methods of managing diarrhea are explained below.
Method 1: Rehydration of the calf using a mixture of water, table salt and sugar/honey
- Take three table spoonfuls of sugar or honey and one and half table spoonfuls of table salt and mix with three litres of clean water
- Give a soda bottle (300mls) full of this solution through the mouth on four hourly intervals until the diarrhea stops.
- Diarrhea contributes significantly to the 12-60% camel calf mortality levels reported among camel herds in Kenya
- When a calf has diarrhea, it looses a lot of water that leads to death if not replenished. The honey-table salt-water solution has rehydrating and treatment effects
Method 2: Traditionally eggs from chickens which interact with camels is used
- Give one egg by the mouth daily to a calf with diarrhea until it stops.
- The eggs of chicken which interacts with camels and feed on ticks and other flies from camels have been observed to have both treatment and preventive effects on the diarrhea
Method 3: Use of conventional drugs
- Give sulphur based drugs e.g. S-dime tablets according to manufacturer’s instructions
- Note: The sick calf should continue suckling, be kept in a clean environment and separated from the healthy ones until it recovers
- These measures prevents spread of the diarrhea to other calves
Calf management in the first four months of growth
- Let the calf run with its mother during the day for the first three months
- After the third month when the calf is able to graze actively, gradually reduce the milk allowance depending on the quantity and quality of forage available and its growth performance
- In case of death of the mother or calf rejection, bottle feeding is advised
- This allows the calf adequate milk. Heavy milking for human consumption at this stage negatively affects calf growth rate hence delaying its reproductive and physical maturity
- Early separation contribute to calf diarrhea since such a calf stays hungry the whole day and when the mother returns home in the evening, it takes a lot of milk at one suckling. The milk tends to cramp the undeveloped stomach leading to diarrhea.
- Letting the calf accompany its mother during the day also triggers early rumination because of early access to forage and water
Management of the non suckling calves (weaners)
- Gradually wean (dry) the calf from suckling
- Deworm at weaning
- Vaccinate the weaners for trypanosomosis
- Feed the weaners on good quality forage
- Gradually increase the watering interval
- Supplement with minerals
- Wash weaners for external parasites
- Camel keepers wean the calves at an average age of one year. Under pastoral management, calves before weaning mostly graze around and are watered at home. However, after weaning the calves join the main herd that is normally subjected to long distance foraging and watering. This abrupt change in management contributes to stress which may be disastrous to the calf. The practices outlined here minimize the stress.
- Additional methods of managing diarrhea in camel calves (this works in some cases with cattle calves, dose may need to be increased for camel calves)
- Drench with Kaolin (about 2 handfuls in a soda bottle mixed with a bit of cud from the mothers mouth and filled with clean (preferably boiled and cooled) water. Drench at least twice per day until symptoms disappear.
- Charcoal drench: Crush charcoal very finely. Put about 2 handfuls in a soda bottle, fill clean water and shake. Drench morning and evening.