Abstract
The productivity of the Turkana camel breed in its arid environment was investigated over 4.4 years using an initial experimental herd of 22 camels managed under the traditional pastoral management system. Mature males were always heavier than females, while the weights of the dams were highly correlated with the birthweights of the calves. The seasonal live body weights of the dams were positively correlated with forage conditions. The study showed that herd dynamics were related to prenatal calf mortality (5.6%), pre-weaned calf mortality (4%) and adult mortality (6.7%). Under the traditional system herd productivity dynamics were influenced by climate variability.
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