Hazell Mullins: A new gadget to help ease the spring-calving workload

The "seven weeks" of January feels very real this year, but I know my future exhausted self will look back on these few weeks as a wonderful idea, writes farm vet Hazell Mullins.

Hazell's new automatic calf feeder

Is this week the calm after storm Eowyn, or the calm before the storm that is springtime peak? It was a scary couple of days on Irish farms last week. 

Luckily, all the animals and sheds on the farm were unharmed; however, the same cannot be said for the beautiful 100-plus-year-old ash tree that stood tall at the entrance to the farm. 

It is perhaps a chance for a new beginning, we hope to plant another mature tree in its place to keep honour its felling. An eerie ghostly figure in the fog on many mornings and a landmark from all aspects of the farm.

It’s amazing how trees can become such an integrated part of the farm, nature can give so much to us and take it away in a blink of an eye. 

The first calves are due to arrive on the farm this week, and I am finally feeling ready for the madness, or so I tell myself. We started breeding a little later this year due to the bad spring and I am not used to this long January of waiting. 

The "seven weeks" of January feels very real this year. I know my future exhausted self will look back on these few weeks as a wonderful idea. 

The exciting development on the farm this week was the installation of the automatic calf feeder, and the word on the street is that I am not alone with new installations this year - they are very popular. 

I have been the vet on numerous farms that had feeders for many years now; however, I think having my one now will bring a whole new perspective and opportunity to learn more about feeding automation. We chose to install the 'JFC S2 feeder' that will feed our 60 calves comfortably using two feeding stations.

It will make a huge change not to be pushing a milk cart uphill with up to 80L of milk twice a day, I now have to up my gym sessions instead. The labour savings should be fantastic and give me more time to concentrate on my baby calves and other jobs on the farm. 

Automatic feeders are no replacement for eyes on the calves throughout the day; even with the alerts on the phone, it is vital to still have a presence in the shed with the calves. The major benefit for us will be the gradual weanling, I felt last year I could have improved on the step-down process of milk.

You soon realise that hygiene of teats on automatic feeders is vital, when you think about one teat with up to 30 calves drinking from it throughout the day, compared with a teat feeder that may have only two mouths a day using one teat. 

It could be a recipe for disaster if the teats are not changed daily. I plan to keep a covered container with fresh Milton and two spare teats that I rotate every morning and evening, once it’s part of my routine it won’t be a chore.

I have learned from past mistakes that milk in pipes needs thorough cleaning with a detergent and a de-scaler. I had to change my JFC milk cart pipe this year as milk residues had built up inside the pipe and caused discolouration. 

Hazell's new automatic calf feeder

It is so important with all automatic feeders to have the correct alkaline detergent for the daily wash cycles. The de-scale cycle at least once a week is key for removing those stubborn milk residues. 

This is where bacteria can multiply, causing diseases such as bloat and diphtheria (infection in the mouth and throat). I am going to try these implement good habits from the start and keep each station as clean as possible throughout the spring. It’s in print now so there is no going back, you can all hold me accountable.

Poor hygiene with automatic feeders is one ingredient in a recipe for bloat, which we all want to avoid.

The other ingredients include poor calibration of the mixing mechanism for the milk replacer and low water pressure, leading to milk that is too concentrated and causes bacterial overgrowth in the calf’s stomach, leading to gas production and then bloat.

Water quality is very important to test especially if using an on-farm well without or without an automatic feeder, it is the forgotten nutrient on many farms, it prevents unwanted disease and also drives concentrate intake. 

When it comes to milk replacer we are looking for a product that is of good quality, aiming for as close to whole milk as possible. Make sure that the protein source is of dairy origin whether that is skim or whey protein, it should always appear at the top of your ingredient list if it's the main ingredient. 

The ideal protein levels should be in the 23-25% range, fat levels between 18-20%, Ash <8% and fibre <0.1%. 

Setting the machine up correctly in the beginning is key, and making sure that it is calibrated correctly to give your desired concentration of milk replacer mix; we use a 12.5% solution (125g per 875ml water).

Before installation, we focused on the drainage in the shed as last year it wasn’t functioning the way I would have liked. We thought about where the drink stations were going to be and how the drainage was going to cope with the extra footfall in these areas.

We made a shallow drain down to the door which can be easily cleaned daily, the proof will be in the pudding now when it’s all set up, it may need adjusting again. 

I am glad we had a few months to plan the shed out and try to see the challenges of using a retrofit calf shed when trying to push forward with improvements. 

Water troughs had to be moved, gates had to be rearranged and we closed up two of the outside walls as last year the shed was too cold. My calf jacket collection was worth its weight in gold last year.

It has been a journey to get the shed to where it is now. I am very proud of the improvements we have made, and I hope this year’s calves reap the benefits. I will keep you all updated on our automatic feeder journey, and I know I will learn a lot over the next few months. Now, 2025 calves, we are finally ready for your arrival.