CONFERENCE OF DEVELOPMENT OF CAMEL HUSBANDRY IN IRAN | Year:2014 | دوره:1 |Papers Count:6

CAMEL HUSBANDRY HAS BEEN A COMMON PRACTICE IN THE NORTH OF GOLESTAN PROVINCE AND CAMEL USED TO BE ONE OF THE MAIN FARM ANIMALS OF TORKMEN PEOPLE. HOWEVER, AT PRESENT, CAMEL HUSBANDRY IS LIMITED DUE TO CERTAIN INCREASING PROBLEMS. NOT ONLY ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL FACTORS BUT ALSO SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS HAVE MADE CAMEL HUSBANDRY AN IMPORTANT ISSUE. CAMEL IS THE SECOND IMPORTANT ANIMAL AFTER HORSE AMONG TORKMEN PEOPLE, TO THE EXTENT THAT ONE OF THE TURKMEN TRIBESIS NAMED DAVAJI OR DEYEJI MEANS A PERSON WHO RAISES CAMELS. ALSO IN OLD TIMES, IN TORKMEN SAHRA, CAMEL LITTERS WERE USED IN WEDDING CEREMONIES. NOWADAYS, STILL IN SOME WEDDING CEREMONIES THE LITTERS ARE USED AS CULTURAL AND SYMBOLIC FACTORS. IN THIS ARE A BASED ON THE AGE, GENDER AND CROSS OF ONE AND TWO HUMPED CAMELS, CERTAIN NAMES AND EXPRESSIONS ARE USED WHICH SIGNIFY THE CULTURAL IMPORTANCE OF THE CAMEL HUSBANDRY. ALSO, A CAMEL'S PICTURE IS ONE OF THE COMMON DESIGNS ON CARPETS, RUGS AND NEEDLE-WORKS. TORKMEN PEOPLE RESPECT CAMELS A LOT AND THE YWRITE ABOUT IT IN THEIR PROVERBS. FOR EXAMPLE; DUYE MALING, DONYA MALING MEANS IF YOU HAVE A CAMEL YOU WILL HAVE THE WORLD. ALSO, HATARDE NER BOLSA, YOUK YERDE GHALMAZ MEANS IF THERE IS A MALE CAMEL IN THE LINE OF THE CARAVAN, NO LOAD WILL BE LEFT BEHIND. ALSO, DUYE CHALI, DERDE DERMAN MEANS CAMEL'S FERMENTED MILK (CHAL) IS THE MEDICINE FOR PAINS.

TORKMEN-SAHRA (GOLESTAN PROVINCE IN NORTH OF IRAN) IS A VAST AREA SUITABLE FOR CAMEL HUSBANDRY. CAMEL IS ALSO COUNTED ONE OF THE MAIN FARM ANIMALS OF TORKMEN PEOPLE IN THIS AREA.MILK IS ONE OF THE MAIN PRODUCTIONS OF CAMEL. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRODUCTION AND CONTENT OF MILK FROM CAMELS IN IRAN. THEREFORE, THIS STUDY FOCUSES ON THE MILK PRODUCTION, ITS CONTENT, AND ITS FERMENTED PRODUCTION (CHAL) FROM ONE-HUMPED TORKMEN CAMELSIN GOLESTAN PROVINCE. IN THIS STUDY, THE REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR MILK PRODUCTION NAMELY; AGE AND PERIOD OF MILKING, PARTURITION DATE AND FIRST MILKING DATE, AND DAILY MILK PRODUCTION RECORDS AMONG60 SELECTED CAMELS WAS DONE. OUT OF THE MILKED CAMELS, 30 CAMELS WERE SELECTED RANDOMLY. THEN SAMPLES ARE TAKEN FROM MILK AND ITS FERMENTED PRODUCT. FINALLY, THE CHEMICAL CONTENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLES WERE DETERMINED IN THE LABORATORY. AMONG TORKMEN ONE HUMPED CAMELS, THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF MILKING PERIOD IS 8 MONTH, DAILY MILK PRODUCTION IS 8 KG, AND ANNUAL MILK PRODUCTION (A MILKING PERIOD) IS 1880 KG. THE LENGTH OF MILKING PERIOD DEPENDS ON THE DEMAND FOR MILK CONSUMPTION AND ITS FERMENTED PRODUCTION (CHAL) WHICH IS MAINLY DURING THE WARM SEASONS IN SPRING AND SUMMER. THERE IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY OF MORE MILK PRODUCTION IN CASE OF LONGER MILKING PERIOD (MORE THAN 8 MONTHS). CHAL IS THE ONLY FERMENTED MILK PRODUCTION FROM CAMEL IN NORTH OF GOLESTAN (TORKMEN-SAHRA).

FROM EARLY TIMES POETS AND WRITERS UTILIZED THE IMAGES OF ANIMALS IN THEIR WORKS TO COVEY ABSTRACT CONCEPTS CONCRETELY AND ONE OF THOSE WRITERS IS RUMI, THE ACCOMPLISHED PERSIAN POET IN 14 TH CENTURY. HE EMPLOYS THE IMAGES OF CAMEL IN HIS ALLEGORY IN THE SECOND BOOK OF SPIRITUAL COUPLETS ENTITLED, A MAN’S SEARCH FOR HIS LOST CAMEL IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN THE QUEST OF HUMAN FOR FINDING TRUTH (OR GOD) AND ITS OBSTACLES THROUGH THE STORY OF A MAN LOSING HIS CAMEL AND A YOUNG MAN IMITATING HIM AND THEN REALIZING THAT HE HAD LOST HIS CAMEL IN THE PAST AND STOPS COPYING AND LOOKS FOR HIS OWN CAMEL. THIS ARTICLE AIMS AT EXPLAINING THE SECOND LAYER OF THE ALLEGORY IN QUESTION.

TO IDENTIFY REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF TURKMAN DROMEDARY CAMEL, A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS DISTRIBUTED AMONG SMALL DROMEDARY CAMEL HOLDERS IN THE NORTHEAST PART OF IRAN (GOLESTAN PROVINCE). EACH QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FILLED OUT BY AN EXPERT PERSON. BASED ON SMALL DROMEDARY CAMEL HOLDER'S REPLIES, THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS ARE FOUND. MALE AND FEMALE TURKMAN DROMEDARY CAMELS GET INTO PUBERTY AND MATE WHEN THEY ARE FROM 3 TO 4 YEARS OLD. THIS CAMEL HAS SEASONAL REPRODUCTION IN WHICH ONLY IN THE COLD SEASON FROM JANUARY TO APRIL, MALE AND FEMALE CAMELS HAVE NATURAL MATING. THE ESTRUS SIGNS IN FEMALE ARE THE REDUCTION IN INTAKE AND MILK PRODUCTION, INCREASED NERVOUSNESS AND/OR RESTLESSNESS, NOT PERMITTING TO BE MILKED, LOOKING FOR MALE AND BAWLOR BELLOWING. THE PREGNANCY IN THIS CAMEL LAST FOR 375 ± 10 DAYS AND IN THE NEXT COLD SEASON PARTURITION OCCUR. THESE SMALL DROMEDARY CAMEL HOLDERS DID NOT REPORT ANY MILK FEVER OR RETAINED PLACENTA IN THEIR ANIMALS BUT REPORTED FEW CASES (LESS THAN 10%) OF DYSTOCIA ESPECIALLY IN NULLIPAROUS CAMELS. IN THE CASES WHICH FEMALE CAMEL HAS GOOD NUTRITIONAL CONDITION IT CAN GETP REGNANT AT LEAST 20 DAYS AFTER PARTURITION BUT USUALLY THEY GET PREGNANT IN THE NEXT MATING SEASON SO THE CHILDBIRTH INTERVAL IS 24 MONTHS. BABY CAMEL'S WEIGHT AT CHILDBIRTH IS IN AVERAGE 35 KG FOR MALE AND 30 KG FOR FEMALE. MEAN MILK PRODUCTION IS 9 ± 5 L/DAY WHICH LAST FOR 18 MONTHS IF THE CAMEL DOESN’T GET PREGNANT IN THE NEXT MATING SEASON.

CAMELS ATTRACTED HUMANS FROM EARLY TIMES BECAUSE OF THEIR REMARKABLE PHYSIOLOGY WHICH CAN RESIST THE HORRIBLE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THEIR ABILITY TO TOLERATE THIRSTINESS, AS WELL AS OF BEING SUITABLE FOR RIDE AND CARRYING LOADS. SO THE HUMANS TAMED THEM. FROM THAT TIME ONWARD, APPEARED IN THEIR HUMAN CULTURE; THEREFORE, THEIR PRESENCE IS TRACEABLE IN MEDICINE, ASTRONOMY, SCRIPTURES SUCH AS KORAN AND BIBLE, AS WELL AS LITERATURE. THIS ARTICLE TRIES TO TRACK DOWN THEIR FOOTPRINTS IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED AREAS.

CAMEL MILK IS RICH IN NUMEROUS BIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES THAT FUNCTION BEYOND THEIR NUTRITIVE VALUE. CAMEL MILK IS MORE SIMILAR TO GOAT MILK AND CONTAINS LESS SHORT-CHAIN FATTY ACIDS THAN COW, SHEEP AND BUFFALO MILKS, AND ABOUT 3 QMES GREATER VITAMIN-C THAN COW MILK. ONE KG OF CAMEL MILK MEETS 100% OF DAILY HUMAN REQUIREMENTS FOR CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS, 57.6% FOR POTASSIUM, 40% FOR IRON, COPPER, ZINC AND MAGNESIUM, AND 24% FOR SODIUM. CAMEL MILK HELPS TREAT LIVER PROBLEMS, LOWERS BILIRUBIN OUTPUT, LIGHTENS VITAMIN INADEQUACY AND NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY, AND BOOSTS IMMUNITY. CAMEL MILK REDUCES ALLERGIES CAUSED BY COW DAIRY PRODUCTS. CAMEL MILK HAS LOW MILK FAT MADE MAINLY FROM POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS. IT LACKS B-LACTOGLOBULIN AND IS RICH IN IMMUNOGLOBULINS, COMPATIBLE WITH HUMAN MILK. PERSISTENT SYSTEMATIC EDUCATION OF CAMEL MILK SCIENCE WILL BE AN OBLIGATION FOR HEALTH IMPLICATIONS TO BE OPTIMALLY PERCEIVED BY WORLDWIDE HUMAN POPULATIONS.