Labour
The developers of VDK Agri paid a great deal of attention to ensuring ease of use, reduced labour time, and low labour costs. This has made this calf housing very user-friendly, without compromising on climate and hygiene.
VDK Agri calf boxes are easy to ‘muck out’, can be folded up quickly, and are therefore easy to move and clean. VDK Agri calf hutches are convenient, fast, easy – and above all efficient!
Correct location for calf housing
- Select a location close to the milking parlour or milking robot you use on a regular basis, so that you can see the calves several times a day – not only when feeding them.
- Preferably, this should be a location at the front of the farm, as these areas have less traffic in terms of cows, manure, and roughage. Additionally, this is the location most frequently visited by livestock attendants and will therefore receive even more attention.
- Ensure that there is a well-equipped, spacious area to prepare the milk and clean buckets, etc. This space should only be used for this purpose.
- Ensure that there is plenty of lighting.
Calf housing ensures savings in labour time
- Easy to move
- Easy to clean
- Easy access to calf
- Easy to provide feed
- Enables the use of a feed dispenser
- Easy to add more straw
- Plenty of lighting and convenient water supply
Conclusion for labour
The most labour-intensive rearing period is when calves are aged zero to four months. However, 20% savings can be made on this labour by using good-quality calf housing combined with the right equipment and accessories (buckets, teats, feeding troughs, and similar). Good-quality facilities on the farmyard and proper feed management are also crucial factors. For a farm with around 100 cows, 20% labour savings is equivalent to 78 hours per annum (12.8 minutes a day). Although this is substantial, it is nothing compared with the significance of healthy growth and good health.
