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For more information, please contact the FeedLine on
01278 444829 or email info@molevalleyfarmers.com.

Rearing Regime

Bucket Feeding (once or twice a day)

Ideal for rearers with a small number of calves to rear at any one time. Allows good control of volumes fed and excellent supervision of individual calves but very labour intensive and early calf growth is limited.

Cold Ad-Lib Feeding

Ideal for rearing small groups of calves. Low cost to set up, with lower labour requirement and greater flexibility than bucket feeding. Calves grow well but increased milk intake results in higher rearing costs and wetter bedding. Stockmanship skills need to be better as opportunity for individual calf supervision may be reduced.

Warm Ad-Lib Feeding

Suitable for larger farms. Lower labour requirement and greater flexibility than with bucket or cold ad-lib feeding, but increased set up costs (feeder hire or purchase). Calves grow well but increased milk intake results in higher rearing costs and wetter bedding. This system requires the highest level of observation and stockmanship as the opportunity to see individual calves feeding is reduced.

Computer Controlled Feeding

Ideal for the larger farm (over 100 cows) where labour is limited. Allows controlled quantities of milk replacer to be fed and automatically alerts the farmer to any calf which is not drinking and which may require individual attention. With an automatic weaning programme, this system enables calves to achieve higher growth rates at reasonable cost and enables a smooth transition onto solid feed with no weaning setbacks.


Contact us at MVF if you need more help >>

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