Good Feeding: Nutrition and Feeding of the Arabian Camel (Camelus dromedarius)

This chapter discusses the impacts of modern camel farming on the welfare principles of the nutrition and feeding of the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius). In order to better manage camels under an intensive husbandry system, we need to develop a better understanding of the camels’ biological system and the environmental factors that impact on its health and well-being. The nutritional aspects dealt with in this chapter are related to digestion, absorption and metabolism, while the feeding aspects are mainly to do with the provision of nutrients. Therefore it is important to meet the behavioural needs alongside the provision of required nutrients. Confining a browsing animal, that has evolved to wander around and walk for long distances, to a yard and hand feeding it may result in a negative impacts. Also, treating the camel like a dairy cow or a racing horse without knowing the exact necessary nutrient requirements puts the camel under stress that may be overwhelming with welfare consequences. Forcing the camel to lose weight in order to be lighter for racing may force the camel into ketosis. On the other hand, feeding a camel a low-fibre diet and a large volume of starch-rich feed in one or two meals a day could lead to fermentative acidosis and laminitis and abnormal behaviours. Exposure to foreign items such as plastic bags, hay bale robs, or metal objects may have lethal consequences.