Status, Morphometric Characteristics, Milk Production and Quality of Jalori Breed Camel

The Jalori breed of camel is one among the 9 registered camel breeds of the country. The breeding tract encompasses the Jalore and Sirohi districts of Rajasthan. In order to know the status of the breed, 3187 camels belonging to 188 camel breeders of 75 villages in the Jalore and Sirohi districts of Rajasthan were covered in the study. The population of Jalori camels in the breeding tract was estimated to be 7323 heads. The extent of crossbreeding was estimated to be 14.42%. The ratio of breedable male to female was estimated to be 1:18. In order to define the phenotype of the breed, the morphometric measurements were recorded for 628 adult camels, and on average the adult Jalori male and female camels measured 199.12 ± 1.73 and 199.12 ± 0.60 cm height at withers, 205.72 ± 2.12 and 207.58 ± 0.66 cm heart girth, and 155.01 ± 1.38 and 154.90 ± 0.40 cm body length, respectively. The average body weight of adult Jalori camels of 4 years of age was recorded as 452.50±24.98 kg, and that of ≥5 years was recorded as 510.67±17.71 kg. In order to record the milk production potential, 37 female camels were recorded continuously at the farmer’s doorstep, and the average per day milk production from a female was recorded as 4858.52±26.671 ml and the percent fat in the milk was estimated to be 3.70±0.02. The Open Nucleus Breeding programme with its nucleus at the government research centre and associated herds with the camel owners may lead to significant improvement in the milk production potential of the animals. Continuous policy support and awareness programmes will not only help the camel owners in maintaining the Jalori camel with diverse livestock species under optimum production but will also boost their morale and bring happiness in them.