Effect of Different Feeding Performance on Some Blood Constituents of Sudanese Camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Abstract

This work was designed to study the effect of different feeding performance on blood constituents of the one- humped camel (Camelus dromedaries). 45 camels (18-24 months) of age, weighing 190-260 kg body weight were utilized in this study. The camels were divided into two groups, zero grazing group (15 Darfurian and 10 Butana) fed concentrate ration composed of traditional ingredients such as sorghum as the main source of energy, groundnut cake as a source of protein, Dura whitings as roughages, sugar cane molasses and urea as major sources of energy and nitrogen.The 2nd group was a free grazing camel (11 Darfurian and 9 Butana) with out any supplement. Blood was collected weekly for 120 days after two weeks that served as adaptation period. Different blood constituents were estimated using standard analytical methods. The results revealed a significant increase (p< 0.05) in the concentrations of plasma glucose, cholesterol, serum urea, creatinine, sodium, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase in the blood of the zero grazing group compared to the free grazing group. However, highly significant increases (p< 0.05) in triglycerides were found in the blood of the free grazing group. Availability of feed could induce significant physiological and biochemical changes in the camel and therefore, it is beneficial to provide concentrate feed to camels kept under controlled management system.