Calf’s on Heatwave feeder

[Spudie]

Anyone fed calf’s on one with powdered milk and how do you get on with it. Got it for lambs this year and pleased how they turned out. Only problem I see is how much more they drink as would it be cost effective on beef calf’s, and how do you get them eating enough meal if they’re full all the time to get them eating enough when their ready to come of it.
cheers

 

[Hfd Cattle]

We have reared hundreds of calves on the system . We stopped a couple of yrs ago but did some more this yr.
We have found that the calves soon get used to it . When we have a batch in they have hard feed available straight away . We put 1 teat up per 8 calves and then they don't seem to guzzle as they keep knocking each other off trying to get a bit of milk.
We use a wyedale mixer for mixing .
After 8 wks they only have milk during the day and water through the system during the night for approx 2 wks .
They also have fresh ad lib water all the time in a water tank .
We start them off with Barley straw and gradually introduce silage .
It's a cheap and cheerful system and very successful . We find they average about a bag and half per calf of milk .