Camel Care and Training Our camel-care specialist, Karen Gaines, has been working with our camels since 2002 and spends two days a week grooming, socializing, observing behavior, and keeping their environment clean. “They are the most noble and regal of all animals, and my passion is to do as much as I can for them. In fact, there are few pleasures in life greater than spending a long day in the company of camels." Karen retired after 40+ years in medical electronics and aerospace publications management. She now devotes much of her free time to the study of camel behavior, physiology, and history, and periodically attends national and international camel symposia. She has also traveled by camel in the Sinai desert with the Bedouin people. Her interest in camels, photography, and PhotoShop prompted her to create and provide annual Christmas cards that portray our camels, as well as many of the photos for this website. Grooming Regular grooming is necessary to keep our camels clean, comfortable, and as bite-free as possible. Flies can spread disease, and horse flies can deliver painful bites that sometimes need on-the-spot treatment. Grooming provides the opportunity to check each camel for insect bites, cuts, bumps, abrasions, dry skin, and foxtails and also to treat, as necessary. This is also an opportune time to train the camel to step closer, to step back, or to pick up a foot. Rubbing ears, cleaning eyes, and brushing a camel’s head promotes trust and also helps to prevent head shying. Every spring, a camel loses approximately five to eight pounds of hair, depending on the species (Dromedary or Bactrian). For 15 camels, this means that from 75 to 120 pounds of camel hair are removed in one season. Karen removes most hair by hand but uses special tools to remove mats. A thorough brushing always follows hair removal. After a winter season of thick hair that has collected grain, dirt, mats, and mud balls, a camel is eager to stand in line for grooming. “Camels enjoy being brushed and fussed over and frequently vie for position, pushing one another out of the way, but I’m happy to work on whomever stands in front of me.” When content and happy, a camel usually gurgles, and Karen says that hearing these sounds is one of her rewards. Environment Clean pens and pastures are important in minimizing flies, which bite and also spread disease. Not only are the pens frequently cleaned, an automatic fly-spray system intermittently mists each pen as well. Water reservoirs often require cleaning and if a reservoir is out of order, Karen carries five-gallon pails of water to the camels until they are no longer thirsty. She also periodically walks the pastures to check for objects that could be harmful if stepped on or ingested. The type of fencing that contains our adults is 8-foot-high woven wire. We give our breeding herd good-quality grass hay that contains selenium, horse feed with very little molasses, and fresh water daily. They're very easy keepers. Vaccinations are comparable to those given to cattle. We use two types of wormers: Safe Guard and Ivomec, which we give quarterly. Your local feed store or vet will carry these products.
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Socialization and Training Young camels need socialization with humans because they’ll be joining a new family when they’re old enough to leave their mothers. The primary and most important training they receive is from their mothers, but they also need to know their limits when interacting with people. Camels automatically use their mouths and prehensile-like rubbery lips when interacting with other camels, whether to bite, nip, play, or show affection. This is normal behavior for them; however, they must learn that nipping and biting a person is unacceptable. Our camels learn to accept a halter and lead rope at an early age, and they also learn to "cush," (kneeling) which is a natural behavior for them. Whether playing with a young camel, sitting quietly with an older camel, providing exercise, or grooming, Karen plays an important role in their socialization, and she also makes sure that the youngsters have a Jolly Ball TM or two to play with. |
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