Results from a new survey of over 50 automatic calf milk feeding machine users confirm dual benefits of time saving and better calf performance, says Milkivit Denkamilk milk replacer producer Trouw Nutrition.
Automatic calf feeding machines save farmers between one and two hours a day, the survey reveals, and over 90% of users say calves grow better and are healthier than those reared on manual bucket systems.
The feedback was provided by users of H&L automatic milk feeding machine users, with a wide spectrum of different scales of operation included in the survey.
"These survey findings highlight just how pleased calf rearers seem to be with their investment in automatic calf feeding," says Jessica Miller, product manager from H&L UK distributor Trouw Nutrition.
"The survey results reveal that calf rearers buy an H&L machine primarily to improve calf performance and save time. A desire to exert more control over calf feeding and shortage of labour are also important reasons and it's encouraging that these important customer aspirations are being met once a machine investment has been made," she points out.
"The research also tells us that farmers prize the reliability, security and automatic cleaning ability of their H&L machine, choosing the brand over competitor products as a result of performance and feedback from other users," she says.
Other interesting findings are that the average number of calves reared per year is 150, with most machine feeders fully introducing calves to the system at around seven days of age. What's more, all the survey respondents say calves adapt quickly to the machine and remain on it to an average weaning age of 55-60 days. Users also liked the fact that calves were prevented from stealing milk from others.
