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1. Milk preparation
Most calve rearers use milk powders to rear calves as opposed to whole milk. To reduce labour, it is essential that the milk preparation area be well set out and suitable for use. Milk replacer needs to be fed to calves at 38-42°C, so most calf rearers have put water heaters into their milk preparation areas. There is a wide range of water heating products, including electric, gas-powered and solar-powered heaters.
Hygiene is crucial. Milk prep areas should have suitable washing facilities to clean both feeders and milk mixing equipment after use. Failure to do so could lead to the build up of pathogens in equipment, which could be detrimental to the health of calves.
2. Feeding equipment
In recent years, automatic milk feeders have become quite popular on many farms around the country where large numbers of calves are being reared. The use of automatic feeders has been very successful in reducing labour. They can feed groups of approximately 25 calves, but in some cases even up to 120 calves – depending on the machine and the number of feed stalls. On farms where low numbers of calves are reared per year, the cost of such machines may be prohibitive.
3. Once-a-day feeding
Once-a-day feeding could be very beneficial in reducing labour without depressing calf growth rates. However, it needs to be stressed that calves should not be switched to once-a-day feeding until they are approximately two weeks of age. The change from twice-a-day to once-a-day feeding should be done gradually over the course of a week to avoid dietary upsets. Calves should then be drinking 4-4.5l of milk per day. Water and concentrates should be offered ad-lib along with a source of roughage.
4. Facilities
Having adequate housing and facilities is also of critical importance in reducing the overall labour requirement during the rearing phase. Many specialised units have designed pens and handling facilities so that groups of calves can be handled quickly for vaccinations, dosing or drafting.
5. Group size
The group size is probably the first step in reducing labour. On small dairy farms it is often the case that farmers have several groups of calves housed in small numbers. In some cases calves remain housed individually for several weeks. On larger rearing units, farmers will house calves in groups of 10 to 20 indoors, and in groups of up to 50 in outdoor rearing systems.
6. Outdoor rearing
Outdoor calve rearing has been operated successfully by many dairy farmers and calve rearers around the country. Rearing calves outdoors can cut down on costs and labour input, by reducing the amount of bedding required and the labour involved with bedding. In addition, there are significant health benefits as the stocking rate in paddocks during the rearing phase is low, which reduces contact. In addition, the increased airflow can reduce the incidence of respiratory disease significantly, providing that sheltered areas are used.
7. Weaning
Providing that weaning targets are met, reducing the age at weaning can reduce the overall labour input significantly. Early weaning can only be achieved if good levels of management are maintained throughout the rearing stage. There are many targets that farmers use when weaning calves, age weight or meal intake are the most common. Calves should only be weaned off milk when they are 100kg of weight or more and are eating 1-1.5kg of concentrates per day. Only calves hitting the targets should be weaned. Lighter calves with lower intakes should be fed until the targets are achieved.
8. Health
Many farmers may not realise it, but one factor that can affect labour requirement during the rearing phase most is animal health. A breakdown in animal health, such as pneumonia or scour outbreaks, can not only result in losses and increase costs considerably, but treating the illnesses can tie up significant amount of labour. Farmers that are buying in calves need to draw up a health plan with their vet before buying in calves. A vaccination programme should be detailed, along with protocols for dealing with a disease outbreak.
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