Thinking of installing an autofeeder to raise your calves? If so, a steep learning curve awaits you, which hopefully will result in a successful system that you – and your calves – will love.
Dr. Melissa Cantor, Assistant Professor in Precision Dairy Science at Penn State University, warns the transition must be a highly intentional process. On a recent episode of The Dairy Podcast Show, Cantor shared her advice, based on years of research with autofed calves.
“It’s a very complex social housing system for calves,” she declared. “In my opinion, it’s probably the hardest one to implement. But once you get it right, it’s awesome, and you can really reap the benefits.”
Cantor shared her personal “keys to the kingdom” of autofeeders and group housing, which included:
- Health excellence already in place – All the boxes must be checked in terms of calf health, in terms of “perfect colostrum management” and low disease prevalence. Cantor advised that passive transfer of immunity should average 90% or higher – above the industry standard -- to avoid respiratory disease. “You shouldn’t have any major problems in your hutch calves before you make the switch,” she advised.
- A willingness to feed more milk – “If you want to invest in this system, and then only feed 6 liters of milk a day, you’re probably going to want to rip it out in a couple of years,” she declared. Calves in group pens are more active and use more energy, so thus need more nutrients to both grow and build immunity to fight disease challenges. Daily allotments and meal size both are huge behavior components of the systems. “Meal size matters more than anything,” Cantor added. She said if calves are only allotted .5 liter per meal, they’re not satisfied and will be motivated to cross-suck other calves. Her advice on meal size: 1.5 liters or more.
- Strategic progression – One of the beauties of autofeeders is their customizable feeding capability for each individual calf. Cantor advised long, gradual step-down weaning over the course of several weeks. “You can tell the calves that have been weaned really slowly on an autofeeder,” she stated. “They’ve got that really nice, open rib shape and the rumen is primed and ready to go.” Staging stressors -- like castrating and dehorning -- rather than doing them all at the same time, also can keep calves eating and growing consistently.
- The right comforts and care – “Who is going to be your calf manager?” posed Cantor. “It’s got to be someone who knows how to see sick calves, because you can’t rely on the calf feeder anymore to spot them. That new person needs to be willing to look at both the calves, and the autofeeder data, to make decisions.” Facilities also are critical, including excellent ventilation and bedding management. Cantor advises strongly against slatted floors in calf barns, because they don’t accommodate calves’ natural instincts to nestle, especially in winter. “Unfortunately, those calves get sick the minute they’re stressed by anything,” she said. “I see a lot of farms pull out autofeeders that have slatted floors, because the combination just doesn’t work all that well.”
Group size also matters. Cantor said studies from Europe – where autofeeders have been in use the longest – have indicated that housing calves in groups larger than 15 calves per pen/nipple increases the risk of respiratory disease, even with adequate bedding and resting space.
To promote smaller groups, Cantor advises producers to sell off their bottom-end heifers before they ever go on the autofeeder. “Instead of putting all that money into that calf that increases the risk of everyone else getting sick, sell her,” she suggested. “Then, put all your resources into the top end, and keep them healthy.”
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