Kansas Ranch Raises Camels

Kansas Ranch Raises Camels AG WORLD Ag World 5-5-20 Buffalos and a lion apparently were not enough so Ray 0. Smith and sons Robert and Warren, Longford, Kansas; are establishing a camel herd on their 7,000-acre "exotic animal" ranch. Right in the middle of the wheat state! "We got started with camels a couple of years ago when we went to an exotic animal sale in Missouri and bought Clyde, now a 4-year-old male," Robert told FARM SHOW. Satisfied that Clyde liked ranch living and Kansas winters, the Smiths purchased Bonnie, a bred female, and a young camel heifer. Several weeks ago, Bonnie, an 8-year-old, gave birth to a calf, as yet unnamed. The camels join a sizeable buffalo herd which is slowly replacing beef cows on the Smith ranch. "There's a market for exotics but zoos aren't the place we'd sell to. We don't like the idea of animals being penned up like that," explains Robert. The Smiths hope to get good money for their camels, once they have enough to sell. They note that at a recent exotic animal sale held in Cape Girardeau, Mo., a 6-month-old camel calf sold for $4,000. The Smiths paid only $1,500 for Clyde two years ago, which reflects how the price of camels has increased. Clyde is now in a pasture with Sabrina. "She's 18 months old and mature enough to be bred," says Robert. "We hope she's bred already but don't have any way to tell for sure." The Smith's lion is named Chester, and pals around with a dog named Blue. The camels, at least Clyde, can be ridden, but isn't yet trained to lie down on the ground so you can climb on in the accepted camel-mounting fashion. What do camels eat? "Their ration is comparable to that fed beef cattle and buffalo ù hay, grain and protein. There's been no trouble so far with camel shipping fever or other sickness. In winter months, Clyde seems to like it outside, usually declining to come into the barn even on cold winter days," says Robert. "He bosses the cattle and once herded 50 beef heifers into a corner. They just stood there without even trying to get away." The camel calf recently born to Bonnie is doing fine. It nurses like a beef calf and weighed 70 lbs. when born.

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