Dam parity and calf sex affect maternal and neonatal behaviors during the first week postpartum in stabled Maghrebi dairy camels.

Currently, a trend toward the commercialization of dromedary milk associated with recent intensive rearing systems has starting worldwide which impose constraints on animals affecting their behavioral repertoires and welfare status. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dam parity and calf sex on parturition, neonatal, and maternal behaviors in stabled Maghrebi dairy camels (Camelus dromedarius). Thirty-six (primiparas N = 10; multiparas N = 26) periparturient females were kept under video surveillance using a digital IR camera and 24-h sessions were chosen to assess calving, maternal, and neonatal behaviors in calving pens. Duration of restlessness, process of giving birth, and expulsion of fetal membranes were assessed. After first suckling, dams and their calves were moved into an individual enclosure to assess maternal behavior at 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 7d postpartum. Behavior was assessed using a camcorder for 30 min after 1 h of young separation in an adjacent enclosure. Results showed an effect of parity on the duration of the birth process which was longer for primiparous than multiparous camels (P = 0.034). During this stage, primiparous females tended to raise their tails more often (P = 0.054) and spent more time standing (P = 0.001) than multiparous camels. Neonatal behavior was affected by calf sex. Female newborns took less time to raise their heads (P = 0.041) and to stand up (P = 0.048) for the first time and were the earliest to suckle their dams (P = 0.032). Multiparous dams stood up sooner (P = 0.019) after calving and suckled their calves earlier (P = 0.043) than primiparous dams. They emitted more bleats and exhibited more sniffing during the first week postpartum than primiparas. During the first postpartum week, both primiparas and multiparas showed a decrease in the total number of bleats (P < 0.001), low-pitch bleats (P < 0.001), and high-pitch bleats (P < 0.001), in sniffing frequency (P < 0.001) and sniffing duration (P < 0.001). This is the first study to describe in detail the calving, maternal, and neonatal behaviors of dromedary camels and to show the influence of parity and calf sex. Maternal care toward the newborn calf exhibited by a high level of bleating and sniffing activities in the first 2 days suggest that they play an important role in the establishment of mother-young relationship.

Quality and fatty acid profile of the milk of indigenous goats subjected to different local diets in Tunisian arid lands.

The study tested the hypothesis that certain pastoral forages and olive by-products, available in arid areas, may positively influence fatty acid composition and physicochemical properties of goat's milk. Thirty indigenous goats (body weight = 25.2 kg; age = 4.1 years) were allocated to three groups. During 60 days, the goats received ad libitum either dried olive leaves + Stipa tenacissima (group OL), khortane grass hay (group Ko) or oat hay (control diet, group OH). Milk samples were collected and analysed for total solids, fat, protein, lactose and ash content and fatty acid profile. Average milk yield did not statistically differ among groups. Milk total solids from OL group were higher in comparison with Ko and C groups (15.3, 14.7 and 14.5%, respectively; p < 0.05). Fat content was also higher for the OL group as compared to the other groups (5.44 vs. 5.01 and 4.66%, respectively, for Ko and OH). No significant differences were observed for the milk content of lactose, protein and ash. The percentage of saturated fatty acids of total milk fat was higher in OL and Ko groups compared to the C group (p < 0.001); the milk whereof was characterized by the highest percentage of monounsaturated (p < 0.01) and total unsaturated fatty acids. Milk fat of Ko and C groups showed significantly higher proportions of rumenic (CLA cis-9 trans-11) and vaccenic acids (C18:1 trans-11) compared to OL milk. The feeding system based on Stipa tenacissima and dried olive leaves resulted in the milk lowest proportion of trans-fatty acids and the highest proportion of polyunsaturated ω3-fatty acids (p < 0.05).

Effects of milking interval and cisternal udder evaluation in Tunisian Maghrebi dairy dromedaries (Camelus dromedarius L.).

Effects of 4 different milking intervals (8, 12, 16, and 24 h) on milk yield and milk composition were studied in Tunisian Maghrebi dairy dromedaries (n = 6) at late lactation [240 +/- 14 days in milk (DIM), 5.84 +/- 1.62 L/d]. Camel-cows suckled their calves for 2 mo, were hand milked while suckling until mo 4 of lactation (calf weaning) and machine milked thereafter. Intravenous injection of oxytocin was administered before machine milking at each experimental milking to induce complete milk ejection and to avoid carryover effects of milking intervals. Cisternal and alveolar milk were measured at 380 +/- 16 DIM for a 24-h milking interval. Milk accumulated logarithmically (R(2) = 0.95) in the udder from 8- to 24-h milking interval without reaching a plateau. Consequently, milk secretion rate decreased exponentially (R(2) = 0.93) according to milking interval. Compared with 12-h milking interval (6.1 L/d), estimated daily milk yield was 113, 87, and 70% for 8-, 16-, and 24-h intervals, respectively. Total milk solids, milk fat content, and milk pH decreased with increasing milking interval, showing the greatest value at 8-h intervals (14.1 +/- 0.4%, 4.6 +/- 0.5%, and 6.66 +/- 0.05, respectively) and the lowest at 24-h intervals (12.3 +/- 0.9%, 2.9 +/- 0.6%, and 6.54 +/- 0.02, respectively). Milk protein (3.9 +/- 0.1%), lactose (4.5 +/- 0.2%), ash (0.84 +/- 0.01%) and density (1.028 +/- 0.01) remained constant for all milking intervals. Milk K, Ca, and Mg contents increased as milking interval increased, but Na content did not change (0.06 +/- 0.01%, on average). Milk Na:K ratio tended to decrease from 0.35 (1:2.9) to 0.22 (1:4.5) for the extreme milking intervals. Plasma lactose concentration steadied from 8- to 16-h (67 +/- 32 micromol) but increased dramatically at 24-h intervals (338 +/- 118 micromol), indicating that mammary tight junctions became permeable after 24 h of milk accumulation. Camel udders showed small cisterns (19.3% of total milk in the udder at 24 h) when compared with other dairy animals; we recommend the use of prestimulation for machine milking and selection for larger udder cisterns. Alveolar milk contained more fat (5.16 vs. 1.75%; SEM, 0.39%) and protein (3.23 vs. 2.73%; SEM, 0.15%) than cisternal milk. Despite the increase of plasma lactose during tight junction leakiness, the tendency for the Na:K ratio to decrease may be indicative of a camel's specific regulatory mechanism for controlling Na and K concentrations in milk and delaying the inhibitory effect of milk stasis on milk secretion rate. In conclusion, this short-term study proved the low storage capacity of the Tunisian Maghrebi camel udder but also showed their moderate ability to adapt to extended milking intervals at late lactation.