Camel Herd Composition and Milk Yield in Central Libya

Abstract

The survey was conducted through a questionnaire and guided interviews with camel owners in selected regions around the five main towns of the Elgufra (Waddan, Hun, Soukana, Zalla and Fougaha) in central Libya. In this study, a questionnaire was designed to investigate camel herd composition and estimation of milk yield of shecamels in different age groups and in different seasons under traditional production system. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The result of the study showed that, the percentages of the herd structure decreased as the camels age group increased, they were 13.1%, 13.4%, 11.6%, 10.2%, 9.6%, 8.5%, 7.2%, 7.2%, 6.3%, 6.3% and 6.7 % for age groups less than year, 2years, 3 years, 4 years, 5years, 6years, 7 years, 8 years, 9 years, 10 years and more than 11 years respectively. The study showed that Waddan area was recorded higher percentages than the other areas in herd structure for first age and second group. In the third group (3 years ) there were variations in the herd structures, Soukana was the least percentage in herd structure and Hun was the highist. In the age groups between 7 to 11 years there were variations in the structure in Algufra.