Abstract:
The present study was conducted in the Camels Farm in University of Kordofan, Elobeid
town, Sudan during the period from January to July 2017. The objective of theresearch was
to study the effect ofMoringa olifera and Prosopis chilensis as additive feeds on the
performance and carcass characteristics of Sudanese Arabi camel. Twenty four male of
camel calves of Sudanese Arabi breed with age range from 2 to 3 years old andwith initial
body weight range from 216.67± 29.61 to 215.33 ± 48.30 kg were selected for the study.
Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was usedwhere the calves were divided into four
groups each with 6 animals and each group was fed individually under semi-intensive
feeding system. The first group was fed withMoringa olifera (M) ration, the second group
was fed withProsopis chilens (P),the third group was fed with mixed diet composed
ofMoringa olifera and Prosopis chilensis1:1(M+P) while the fourth group was left
dependent on natural pasture as control. The data were statistically analyzedusing Duncan's
Multiple Range Test to compare between means.The results showed that, the highest daily
body gain of 356.9±0.14 gram / day was achieved when animals fed with M diet, followed
by 351.9±0.25 gram / day for animals that fed with P diet and 339.3±0.17 gram / day for
animals which were fed with a mixture of M+P. The lowest body gain of 183.3±0.16
gram/daywas recorded when animals left on natural pasture. The daily body gain for camel
calves fed on M, P and a mixed diet ofM+P was rising up gradually during the first three
months of the experiment and then declining at the last two months. On the other hand, the
daily body gain for camel calves grazed on natural pastures reached its peak in the second
month and then declined in the last three months of the experiment. Regarding the carcass
characteristics, no significant differences at p≥0.05 were detected on carcass cut weights
among the three rations M, P and M+P. The highest values of hotand cold back legs were
58.00±6.08kg and 57.00±6.08 kg and hotand cold hump cut weights were5.50±3.04kg and
5.17±2.93 kgrespectively and they were obtained by camels fed with M meal.The highest
V
values of hot and coldfore legs cut weightswere 44.00±11.53 kg and 42.67±11.06 kg
respectively and they were achieved when the camels were fed with P diet.The highestvalue
of hot and cold ribs were 35.00± 6.08 kg and highest values of hot and cold neck cuts were
17.17±1.26 kg and 16.17±1.71kg respectively and they were reported when animals were
fed with mixture of M+P ration. In contrast, the lowest values for previous cutsof hot and
cold carcass weights were obtained in animals that relied on natural grazing. It was
concluded that feedingSudanese Arabi camel calves withMoringa olifera or Prosopis
chilensis or with their mixture increases their weight and carcass characteristics significantly
as compared to calves relied only on natural pasture. The study recommends using Moringa
olifera or Prosopis chilensis or with their mixture in feeding of camel calves.
