Metabolisable energy and protein requirements of the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Camels are browsing herbivores, evolved with the capacity to utilise fibre-rich diets. Under normal feeding conditions, their feeding behaviour is affected by season as they feed on shrubs and trees during the dry season and shift to ground grasses and forbs after substantial rainfall during the wet season. Such feeding behaviour enables them to select the nutritious parts from a variety of vegetations to meet their nutrient requirements. However, when camels are intensively managed and hand-fed in yards, nutritionists face the challenge of providing them with the quantity and quality of feeds that are most suited for their system. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge about the nutrient requirements of camels and the impacts of intensive nutritional management systems on their feeding behaviour. Few studies are available on the nutrient requirements of camels and requirement tables, similar to those of other livestock, are not available. Two studies were selected from the literature for the purpose of calculating metabolisable energy and protein requirements for camels. These studies reported calorimetric and balance data of metabolisable energy and protein requirements for maintenance and the efficiencies with which dietary metabolisable energy was utilised for maintenance and production. This article seeks to generate some requirement estimates based on reliable experimental values. Metabolisable energy and protein requirements for maintenance, body gain and milk yield were calculated and presented in tables for use by nutritionists. Each section contains an introductory information to justify and explain the reasons behind doing this work and how each value was calculated. Further testing (field-based animal feeding trials) is required in order to verify the reliability of these estimates.