When you know that depending on the type of powdered milk you administer, it will take anything between one and a half and five hours for the calf to process their feed, you will probably start to wonder whether it is not in fact better to feed a calf three times a day. “It certainly increases the rate of growth,” suggested Sjaak de Kleijne, young stock specialist at Agrifirm in The Netherlands. “But it also means maintaining the same pattern in the weekends, too.”
An automated calf milk dispenser can offer a solution. “But is has to suit your needs,” commented Ger van Wersch, young stock specialist at FrieslandCampina. He is often asked by dairy farmers whether an automated milk dispenser is suitable for them. “It is a piece of extra technology you need to learn to handle correctly,” is one precondition he always explains. “You also need to be able to guarantee an ideal layout for the system in your cattle shed, in terms of climate.”