This study aimed to clarify the impact of early weaning and some farming practices on constituents and nutritional values for the milk of camels reared under a modern farming system during four months postpartum. Eight lactating camels and eight calves were selected immediately after calving and assigned to two equal groups under a semi-intensive system in farm of Camel Research Centre, University of Khartoum, Sudan. In the early weaning group (G1) all calves were allowed to suckle freely their mothers teats from birth to thirty days postpartum. Afterward, calves were used to stimulate milk letdown for each of the camels teats for a few seconds before milking procedure. While in the late weaning group (G2) the calves were freely feeding on their mother's teats up to eighty days postpartum. Afterward, calves could be used to stimulate milk letdown as in (G1). Collection of milk samples started in the second week of postpartum and continued over biweekly intervals up to sixteen weeks to determine major fat, protein, lactose, solid non-fat (SNF), and density percentages by automatic milk analyzer device (lactoscan Model-90, Europe). The results revealed a significant difference in fat, lactose, and density content between groups, whilst it showed a lack of difference for protein and solid non-fat between the two groups. Otherwise, a significant increase of fat, lactose, protein, and solids non-fat levels besides fluctuation of density percentage was recorded with the advance of the lactation stage. In conclusion, camels whose were early weaned produced milk, contained high level of fat, and solid non-fat compared to the late weaning camels.
Key words: Dromedary camel, Early weaning, Milk constituents, Nutritional value, Postpartum.
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