Improving early reproductive characteristics of Tunisian camels by nutritional and management interventions

In Tunisia, two groups of camels, one bought as weaners in the market and one reared from birth on the station, were fed concentrate and straw rations. Station-bred animals were consistently heavier and bigger in relation to mature stature and conceived at earlier ages than market animals. Average age at conception in 10 of 12 animals was 31•8 months, when they were 64% of mature weight and averaged 81-94% of mature size in a range of body measurements. Improved nutrition in early life reduces the age at which the first reproductive events occur and is an option that would be acceptable to traditional farmers whereas hormonal treatment, which is another possibility for reducing the age at which early reproductive events take place, may not be.