The art of breeding and milking camels

Dubai: One of the biggest challenges in setting up the Camelicious farm, according to farm manager Peter Nagy, was to find out how camels can cope with milking machinery in a daily process and stay healthy and give good milk at the same time.

"Camels are very different from cows," he says. While a cow gives reasonably more milk than a camel, the cow's productivity lifespan is shorter than that of camels.

"Camels are not running on high speed, but they are much tougher than cows. It was our aim not to turn them into milk machines or push them to their genetic limits," he adds.

Dr Jutka Juhasz, chief veterinarian at the Camelicious farm, says that camels are quite "emotional creatures: If they are happy, it reflects. For example, we take them out on a walking trail every day and wash them regularly to keep them in shape."

The farm also has a breeding section. Calves must be three to four years old when mating starts. Pregnancy lasts for 13 months. "It's a slow process, and we try to combine tradition and modernity."

The camels are fed with hay, wheat bran, carrots and minerals and not given "any chemical substances", Nagy emphasises. The farm recently received a high-standard ISO certification for food safety, he adds. "We are very much in the spotlight." Another focus lies on biosecurity to protect transmissions of diseases.

On December 23, Emirates Industry for Camel Milk and Products was awarded a certificate by the Dubai Municipality acknowledging the company's efforts in quality control development and management.