LONGMONT — Joseph Henderson does the milking at 5 a.m. and at dusk on his Longmont farm. He collects it, refrigerates the raw milk in sterile containers for his customers who pick it up as part of a share program.
The difference between Henderson and other raw-milk providers is in the cow. His are not of they bovine variety. They are camels.
The milk has healthful qualities, says Henderson, who owns Colorado Camel Milk with his wife, Nicole. The milk is naturally lower in butter fat than cow’s milk, about 2 percent, but also has three times more vitamin C and 10 times more iron, as well as antiviral and antibacterial properties. It is generally tolerated by those who are lactose intolerant and can help heal the gut, Henderson says. Some parents with autistic children say they have seen improvements in the youngsters’ behavior, and others use it to help with various medical conditions and allergies.
“People consume it as a super food,” Henderson says.
Its super food status is reflected in the price — $12 a pint, but that could be considered a bargain: In California, camel milk goes for $18 a pint. The Hendersons’ camels are grassfed, with alfalfa given as a treat to reward milk production. They are not fed GMOs.
And when you hear what it takes to actually get camel milk, the cost is not a surprise.
The first obstacle is getting the camel cow (males are called bulls) to go into the milking stall. While some are not resistant to the idea, others need to be coaxed with a treat of alfalfa. The camel’s calf must be nearby to stimulate milk production. When that happens, Henderson must work quickly to attach the milking apparatus.
When the cow’s milk “letdown” occurs, the milking lasts for 90 seconds and produces about a half-gallon per milking, a gallon a day. The calf finishes off the rest. In contrast, cows of the bovine variety produce about 5-7 gallons a day.
Henderson has taken time to show the animals respect and build trust with them. If another person, or even a horse, enters the barn, the camel is startled and won’t give milk. One cow has an irregular udder that doesn’t fit the milking apparatus.
Henderson milks her by hand.
“It’s nice. It takes longer. It’s kind of humbling,” he says. “It kind of brings me back to being grounded, realizing everything is a process.”
The milking isn’t the only complicated aspect of camel husbandry. Breeding is hit or miss. Artificial insemination is not possible. Henderson says Arab countries have spent millions trying to make it work. And the old-fashioned way of producing camel babies isn’t all that easy, either.
“Not all male camels are proven breeders,” Henderson says. “(Only) 25 percent or less will actually breed.”
A vet explained to Nicole Henderson that the females ovulate on demand when the males breed with them, meaning that if the males don’t happen to be in the mood, nothing happens. The Hendersons’ herd, on their 30-acre farm in Longmont, consists of 12 camels, although two are currently pastured in Oklahoma. They are satisfied with the herd size now but hope to expand in the future.
Last week, Joseph was working to finish fencing a large pasture to give the animals more space. Both Nicole and Joseph say camels have a bad reputation; neither has had a camel spit at them or bite them.
Joseph says camels start to grunt when they’re not happy, which gives the human plenty of time to figure out what is distressing them.
Nicole says she has seen them get “smelly rumen in their mouths” when they are upset, but they have never spit.
So how does camel milk taste?
Not like you’d assume. If goat milk can be said to be “goaty” (although much less so when raw) you’d expect camel milk to be, well, camelly.
Not so. It’s smooth in flavor and mouthfeel and perhaps slightly thicker on the palate than cow’s milk. In other words, good to drink.
