Reproductive Performance of Camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Saudi Arabia

(Adel bin Abdullah Hezbe)

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Abstract

Reproductive performance of the camels in Saudi Arabia was assessed through the analysis of one hundred and ten records gathered by the author from meetings with owners of camel herds from various parts of the kingdom. Reproductive parameters included in this study were age at first mating for females and males, conception rate, calving rate, days open and calving interval. The mean values of age at first mating for females and males, and calving interval were 52.4, 65.0 and 23.5 months, respectively. Moreover, conception and calving rates were 89 and 57.5 percent, while days open were 30.8 days. The results of this study indicated that the major constraints to improving camel reproductive performance were: the practice of delayed first mating, the long calving interval and the high pre-and postnatal losses. However, a great potential to improve the productivity of camels in Saudi Arabia exists if new reproductive techniques are taken into consideration. Key words: Camel, Reproductive Performance, Saudi Arabia.
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