A new way to give food to calves removes the traditional labour intensive use of bucket feeding.
The time consuming, labour intensive bucket feeding method of feeding calves is being replaced by an on-demand system.
Around one million calves will be sold in Ireland this year in a market that is worth approximately £150 million. A top quality calf could cost up to £290.
Like babies, calves need a great deal of care and attention during the first few weeks of life.
Nutritionist with Golden Vale, Pat Mulvihill says that the level of calf mortality in Ireland is between 12 and 13 per cent representing an annual loss of 220,000 calves. This corresponds to a substantial cost to farmers. Traditionally, calves were bucket fed over a five to six week period. The new automatic system of feeding offers the advantage of providing milk replacer with a higher intake resulting in better performance in the early period of a calf's life. This in turn will mean more profits for the farmer.
Trials have proven the advantages of ad-lib feeding which has resulted in the development of automatic feeding machines. Golden Vale's calf expert, Joe McAuliffe, has developed a simple machine to mechanise the feeding system with a capacity to feed up to 50 calves at a time. The machine is wholly Irish made and is an economically viable alternative to the bucket system.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 February 1984. The reporter is Michael Walsh.
