The Rural Voice, 2006-05, Page 26LESLIE HAWKEN & SON
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22 THE RURAL VOICE
Frank says. He looked into installing
a pasteurizer but the possibility of the
automatic feeder and powdered milk
came along and made more sense.
They used to keep calves on the
milk for three months, but now it's
down to 62 days on the powdered
replacer. The machine even weans
the calves off the milk.
The machine is simple to operate.
It opens at the top where the bin
holds a bag of milk replacer powder
at a time. The replacer is automat-
ically measured out to make a litre of
milk a batch. combining powder and
water in a container that looks like a .
blender. The water is at a precise 105
degree fahrenheit temperature for
mixing and is served to the calves at
precisely 102 degrees at the nipple.
the temperature calves like.
"If you make it (milk) by hand.
the temperature fluctuates." Frank
says. Periodically he checks to see
the milkcoming out the nipple is at
the right temperature.
The calves are able to eat as
often as they want. not when
someone wants to feed them.
"You still have to check the
calves." he says. "You still have to
train the calves. If a calf isn't quite
100 per cent and doesn't want to
drink you should separate her and
baby her a little bit." But because
you're not hurrying to feed a whole
lot of calves by hand you have more
time for the odd one that needs more
attention.
There are calf feeders that have a
temperature sensor in the nipple that
can read the temperature of each calf
as it feeds, but the Kieftenburg's
machine doesn't have that. It does
record how much each calf drinks,
reading a transponder implanted in
the right ear. A brand new machine
on the market hooks up to the same
program as the robotic milker.
The biggest benefit of the calf
feeder? "Not going out at minus -20
and getting your fingers frozen off,"
pipes in Ella.
The calf feeder is built so well
there have never been any problems
with it, Frank says.
Today the Kieftenburgs have 100
cows milking at any one time with 30
cows dry.
They do their own plowing and
cultivating, spread their own manure
and cut hay themselves. They pay
custom operators to plant, spray and