Urea, a non-protein nitrogen, is a widely used, affordable, and readily available protein supplement.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of urea as a protein substitute in growing camel rations on performance, digestion, nitrogen balance, blood metabolites, antioxidant status, immunity, inflammatory markers, and rumen fermentation, and to identify its ideal inclusion level.

Twenty Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) with one hump, originally from Egypt, aged around 30 months, averaging 305.25 ± 2.15 kg in body weight, were randomly allocated to four treatments with 5 animals in each group. The crude protein of the camel diets was substituted with urea as follows: 0 (0% urea, T1), 33% (1.4% urea, T2), 50% (2.1% urea, T3), and 66% (2.8% urea, T4).

Weight gain and feed conversion were significantly improved (p < 0.05) in camels fed with 33% urea substitution …