| dc.description.abstract | A study was conducted in Ngurunit and Kargi locations of Marsabit district in Kenya to determine
the effect of mineral supplementation on milk yield and calf growth of settlement based camels. Two
mineral supplements ~ere formulated; one comprised of locally collected, ground bones mixed with locally
available natural salt and the other of commercial ingredients. Fifty nine (59) and 56 camels in early
lactation and their carves were selected at Kargi and Ngurunit, respectively. Of these, 22 and 21 camels
were randomly assigned the commercial supplement while 12 and 11 were assigned the local supplement
at Kargi and Ngurunit,.respectively. There were 25 and 23 control camels in Kargi and Ngurunit, respectively.
Each dam was individually fed 200 g of mineral supplement daily for 190 days. During the data collection
period, milk yield measurements were taken at weekly intervals and calves weighed monthly. The results
showed that supplemented camels produced higher (P = 0.000) amount of milk than controls in Ngurunit
(3.2 ld' versus 2.3 Id'). In Kargi, the mean milk yield for supplemented and control camels were similar
(P> 0.05) at 2.6Id·l. Calves from the supplemented dams grew faster (P.= 0.000) than the controls, gaining
441.3 gd:' and 424.8 gd·l·compared with 275.7 gd·l and 307.7 gd·1 for controls in Kargi and Ngurunit,
respectively. The results suggested that mineral deficiency existed among the Rendille camels. The problem
could however be reduced by judicial use of locally available raw material. | en |
