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By Dr Jolly Kabirizi
-After harvest, green and healthy sweet potato vines are chopped to 5 cm length and air-dried. Chopping may be achieved by the use of a motorized forage chopper. The use of rudimentary chopping equipment is associated with drudgery and is not appropriate for chopping large quantities of sweet potato residues.
-Mill-chopped, air-dried vines
-Mix milled sweet potato vines with maize bran, fish meal and mineral powder.
Composition of partial milk substitute
| Ingredient | Inclusion level (%) |
| Air dried, chopped milled sweet potato vines | 40 |
| Maize bran | 50 |
| Fish meal | 9 |
| Dairy Mineral Lick | 1 |
| Total (%) | 100 |
Feeding sweet potato vine-based diet as partial milk substitute to calves
| Period (days after calving) | Feeding regime for a calf |
| Feed the calf in a pen with clean grass bedding & provide clean water all the time | |
| Day 1 to 5 | 6 litres per day of colostrum |
| Day 6-15 | 4 litres of milk per day |
| Day 16-70 | Reduce milk offered by 1 litre every 14 days until weaning Provide a calf 1 kg/day of Sweet Potato Vine-Based Diet as Partial Milk Substitute composite marsh to replace the milk reduction |
| Day 70 | Wean the calf Give the calf a single dose of Sulfamide bolus to prevent nutritional scours |
