Camel & Dromedary
Camelus bactrianus & Camelus dromedarius
Natural diet Camel & Dromedary
Camels are herbivorous intermediates between grazer and browsers. Similar to cows, camels are ruminants, meaning they regurgitate the food back up from their stomach to chew it again. They can survive without food or water for long periods as they often travel through arid climates.
Feeding advice Camel & Dromedary
Feed quantity per day
1.5-2.5%
Sample percentage calculation
If an animal weighs 500 kg and eats 2% of its body weight, it will get
500 x 0,02 = 10 kg feed in total per day
Feed composition
10% Concentrates
60% Grass, alfalfa, roughage
30% Browse
Proportions (fresh product)
0,1 x 10 kg = 1.000 g concentrates
0,6 x 10 kg = 6.000 g grass, alfalfa, roughage
0,3 x 10 kg = 3.000 g browse
Feeding advice Camel & Dromedary
Feed quantity per day
1.5-2.5%
Sample percentage calculation
If an animal weighs 500 kg and eats 2% of its body weight, it will get
500 x 0,02 = 10 kg feed in total per day
Feed composition
10% Concentrates
60% Grass, alfalfa, roughage
30% Browse
Proportions (fresh product)
0,1 x 10 kg = 1.000 g concentrates
0,6 x 10 kg = 6.000 g grass, alfalfa, roughage
0,3 x 10 kg = 3.000 g browse
Diet Suggestions
Recommended
Variety of hay
Variety of browse
Salt lick
In moderation
Lucerne hay
Not recommended
Fruits
Common diseases
An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:
- Bloat
- Metabolic bone disease
- Dental disease
- Nutritional muscular dystrophy (NMD)
Additional advice
- Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
- Supplement adequate vitamin E by feeding sufficient concentrates.
- Supplement the diet with ad libitum roughages and/or browse.
- The browse used in the diet can be a mixture between dried and fresh browse (read more about browsers and grazers).
- Supplement the dromedary diet with a bit more browse compared to the camel.
- Feeding fruits might lead to abnormal fermentation in the hindgut because of high sugar levels (read more about nutritional values of (wild) fruits and vegetables).
- Stimulate foraging behaviour by hiding, stacking or hanging the feed (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).
Diet Suggestions
Recommended
Variety of hay
Variety of browse
Salt lick
In moderation
Lucerne hay
Not recommended
Fruits
Common diseases
An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:
- Bloat
- Metabolic bone disease
- Dental disease
- Nutritional muscular dystrophy (NMD)
