Feeding Calves (AM/PM)

During the morning feeding, empty grain that calves didn’t finish eating into larger buckets, the old grain is fed to the older calves in the calf barn. 

Feeding Fresh Milk

M4USE( bottles? Buckets? Milk taxi?)

1. Press the “bucket” icon on the robot screen

2. Read the M4USE information for:

     a. Cow number

     b. Quantity of separated milk

     c. Reason for milk separation

3. Open the M4USE cover

4. Take the bucket out of the frame and examine the milk quality

5. Bring buckets of milk to the calf shed.

Colostrum

Bottles

1. Refer to feeding chart for feeding instructions.

2. Gather the number of bottles that will be needed to feed all of the calves.

3. Add correct amount of milk to bottles.

4. Once all filled, place nipples on bottles.

5. Begin placing bottles into the bottle slots.

6. Refill water and grain while you wait for calves to drink.

7. Collect empty bottles, if some calves are still drinking give them more time before you take away their bottles (they should finish all their milk).

8. Begin the process of cleaning the bottles and nipples.

Buckets

1. Refer to feeding chart for feeding instructions.

2. Empty buckets that are filled with water.

3. Place buckets back in calf hutch tray.

4. Using milk taxi or milk wagon, go to each hutch and dispense the correct amount of milk into empty buckets.

5. While calves are drinking, fill grain buckets with grain.

6. Once calves have finished drinking milk, rinse the buckets out with water and refill them with clean fresh water.

Milk Powder

Hand Mixing

How to manually mix milk replacer:

• Buckets, calibrated scale, whisk or paint mixer, thermometer

1. Weigh

      a. Use a calibrated scale to weigh the powder needed to feed all the calves.

2. Mix

    a. Fill the mixing container with half of the total volume of 110 degrees to 120 degrees water needed.

   b. Pour the powder on top of the water.

   c. Mix while adding the remaining water to reach the total volume to feed all the calves.

  d. Inspect closely to ensure that all powder is thoroughly mixed.

3. Feed

   a. Pour proper amount of milk into bottles or buckets.

4. Temperature

  a. Target temperature of milk fed to calves should be 101 to 105

5. Thoroughly clean and sanitize equipment after each use.

Milk Taxi

Bottles

1. Refer to feeding chart for feeding instructions.

2. Gather the amount of bottles that will be needed to fell all of the calves.

3. After mixing powder, add the correct amount of milk to bottles.

4. Once all filled, place nipples on bottles.

5. Begin placing bottles into bottle slots.

6. While you wait for calves to finish drinking, refill water and grain.

7. Collect empty bottle, if some calves are still drinking, give them more time before you take away their bottles (they should finish all the milk).

8. Begin the process of cleaning the bottles and nipples.

Buckets

1. Refer to feeding chart for feeding instructions.

2. Mix milk powder.

3. Empty buckets that are filed with water.

4. Place the buckets back in calf hutch tray.

5. Using milk taxi or milk wagon, go to each hutch and dispense the correct amount of milk into empty buckets.

6. While calves are drinking, fill grain buckets with grain.

7. Once calves have finished drinking milk, rinse the buckets out with water and refill them with clean fresh water.

Feed calf colostrum (am/pm)

- As soon as possible after birth and in less than 4 hours, administer 2.5 to 4 litres of high quality colostrum or a bag of colostrum powder mixed with 3 litres of warm water

- 12 hours later feed colostrum once again