Profitability of replacing milk with a concentrate for calves of cows requiring calf at foot for milking.

During a 90-d study in Mali, West Africa, 18 zebu and zebu by Montbeliard calves, age 50 +/- 23 d (youngest pair 3 weeks), weighing 30 +/- 7 kg, under farmer management, were used to test the profitability of replacing suckled milk by a maize-groundnut cake-rice bran concentrate fed dry. During the first 45 d period there were no differences in responses of calves receiving concentrate (E) and calves suckling according to the traditional strategy (C). During the second 45 d period, milk offtake was greater for E calves, 2.34 vs. 1.77 l/d; milk suckled was less for E calves, 0.39 vs. 0.95 l/d; and average daily gain was greater for E calves, 442 vs. 139 g/d. Average concentrate consumption was 0.74 kg/d. Concentrate was compounded of locally available byproducts and cost 85 francs/kg. Considering milk sold as the only benefit, net return to unit feed cost for E calves was 1.24 and for C calves 0.81. Adding the value of the weight gain, E calves gave a 1.61 return and C calves gave a 0.98 return.