I was rotational grazing and TBH I think that caused the bloat issue as they would hit the feeder on the last day in the 3 day move , I was feeding whole oats mixed with a few 18 % dairycalf starter pellets . Moving/filling the feeder at least doubled the work/ time required .I've probably done the complete opposite to most today, and put the creep feeder out! Wouldn't normally start feeding until September.
My justification is that the younger the calf, the better their feed conversion efficiency. So hopefully I'll get bigger calves at weaning that will require less concentrate over winter.
This coupled with rotational grazing to hopefully keep the cows milking better, and cutting haylage earlier so hopefully better quality for feeding to weaned calves, will hopefully mean a reduced feed bill this coming winter!