Abstract:
The aim followed in the present paper was to evalu
ate the slaughter body and carcass
weights as well as the characteristics of hide and
leather in Dromedaries (one-hump) and
in the crossbred
(C. bactrianus×C. droedarius)
camels. Fourteen camels from each sex
(female and male) representing two genotypes at 21
months of age were utilized.
Slaughter weight, hot and cold carcass weights, dre
ssing-out percentage, wet and dry
salting hide and leather properties were assessed.
There were significant differences in
slaughter weights between Dromedary and crossed typ
es (339
±
10.7 vs. 372
±
11.1 kg) and
as well between male
vs.
female camels (382
±
9.7
vs
. 326
±
10.6 kg). Moreover, while the
effect of sex was significant on wet hide weight (3
4
±
1.2
vs
. 29.3
±
1.2 kg for males
and
females
,
respectively), the difference observed between male
s and females regarding the
thickness of hide was non-significant (P> 0.05). Br
eaking force, tensile strength and
elongation of the leather samples decreased with in
crease in their thicknesses. It was
found out that the obtained leather from the camel
benefited from such valuable
mechanical characteristics as tensile strength and
extension with no variations being
observed as due to the animal’s sex or genotype.
Keywords:
Camel, Carcass weight, Hide characteristics, Leathe
r properties, Slaughter
weight.
