Gloria Hafemeister
Correspondent
MALONE
Calves at 3-D Dairy near Malone get fresh milk replacer frequently each day but, thanks to an automated system, Linda Diederichs and the calf care management team do not need to be constantly mixing and feeding that milk.
The automated system is located in the new calf barn that includes 40 individual pens where calves stay the first 12 days and four group pens that hold 25 to 28 calves each.
Diederichs is pleased with the system and she did her homework before installation. They visited a farm in Minnesota that utilizes the same system and learned as much as she could. She encourages others considering this automation to do the same.
When folks ask her for advice she tells them, “These machines won’t fail but human error can cause it to fail.”
She stresses the importance of making sure the equipment is cleaned and maintained regularly. She learned the hard way the first year when some hoses in the system were not getting cleaned properly and as a result calves ran into some health issues.
While the system is programmed to clean and rinse itself, some parts are not included in that automated system and need manual maintenance. The machine washes itself four times a day, and she cleans the nipples and station and other parts once a day. Once a week she does more detailed cleaning and maintenance.
She shares, “I keep calves a couple extra days in the individual pens to make sure they are not having any problems. They start in a training pen for the first three feedings so they get used to the system. The machine monitors how much they drink and when they have enough it dispenses a little water as her cue to get out of the station.”
The Diederichs have four stations and two machines serving them. Calves in Pen 4 are ready for weaning and are then moved out to a heifer grower.
Diederichs says, “When calves move from one pen to another, we must program the information again.”
When she comes to the barn each morning she fills the hopper with milk replacer, according to their Land O’Lakes accelerated feeding recipe. Under this program they get 6.3 liters a day for 26 days. She also checks the computer to see if all the animals are getting what they need.
She recommends placing the feeders on raised concrete in the barn and having in-floor heating because the area where they eat tends to get wet and it will be hard to clean out and keep the bedding dry if the feed area isn’t raised.
Diederichs relates the machine saves two hours a day on her schedule, but just as important, it is consistent and accurate in mixing the feed.
“I expect things to go faster after we’ve used it a full year and develop a system. We installed this in June last year and it’s a learning process,” she admits. “The calves learn the system quickly.”
There is a concern of disease detection in group-raised calves. Automatic computer-controlled feeders monitor milk intake of individual calves and provide alarm lists for calves that fall outside set parameters. Additionally, the automatic feeder can monitor the number of visits, number of unrewarded and rewarded visits, as well as the rate of milk consumption.
The machine also monitors whether the calf’s suckle is weak, Diederichs says. If she sucks slower, the alarm sounds as an indication that something is not right.
Diederichs’ barn is cold, providing a healthy atmosphere for the animals, and she provides jackets for newborns in winter, plenty of fresh water and lots of straw bedding.
She comments, “We had some lines exposed in the beginning and they froze up. We put heating tape on them and that melted the lines. Now we have insulation around it and heat, but I’d recommend that you think about how you will keep the lines from freezing when it is cold and windy.”
The system she uses is a WestfaliaSurge. There are other automated milk replacer mixing systems but the basic principles are the same: water and powder added according to weight, with temperature adjustment and final quantity determined by inputs from the producer. These systems often produce more consistent performance results in calves because of the constant mixing sequence with the milk replacer and because the set time of mixing encourages producers to feed at the same times every day. Producers and hired labor have more time to review the appearance of calves and notice problems early rather than spending time weighing and mixing milk replacer and cleaning equipment.
The University of Wisconsin Extension suggests that producers considering investing in new technology for feeding equipment should carefully consider features and benefits of such equipment before buying. There are vast differences in the capabilities of different makes and models, but all of these systems are currently available and have been in use now for decades in the U.S. and Europe. There are several different manufacturers of this type of equipment, and within given manufacturers, there are often a variety of models to choose from. Producers should ask questions and explore options when considering buying this type of technology.
What are the most important features? Systems that mix and feed by weight require much less frequent calibration than systems that mix and feed volumetrically. Machines that have the ability to adjust mixing temperatures and feeding temperatures to accommodate different types of milk replacer create more opportunities for calf producers when buying milk replacers than machines that only have temperature adjustment for the water heater but no other adjustments. Many producers want machines that can mix milk replacer powder and/or pasteurized milk. Some machines don’t have this capability.
Facilities should be designed to enable producers to handle calves within group pens for vaccinations and treatments without moving calves to a central location. Producers also need to monitor calves to make sure there is no cross sucking and bully behavior in the pens.
