Voluntary feed intake and nutrient utilisation of adult female racing camels (Camelus dromedarius) during exercise and at rest

摘要

Three adult female camels (age 6-8 years and average body weight 476.67 +- 16.83 kg) kept on sole roughage diet of dry moth chara (Phaseolus aconitifolius) were initially adapted to exercise regimen of daily 1 km race at a speed of 30 km/h in the morning for 3 months in post monsoon season. Thereafter a 6 days digestibility trial during exercise was conducted. After a resting period of one week another 6 days digestibility trial on the same camels was conducted under stall-feeding conditions. The digestibility coefficients of OM, CP, EE, CF and NFE were observed to be higher in camels during exercise by 14.91,28.09,32.87,14.23 and 11.59 percent respectively than at rest. The apparent absorption (percent) of macro-minerals viz., Na, K, Ca, P and Mgwas observed to increase by 95.26, 9.61, 64.58, 43,82 and 52.06 during exercise than at rest. The serum values of K, P and Mg showed significant (P<0.05) rise during exercise. The results indicated that adult female camels during race exercise consumed94.62 percent more DCP and 55.30 percent more ME than at rest.