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Bob James

Calf Feeding Calf health Calf Management & Health

Do you have a good feeding plan?

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Making the switch from bottle or bucket feeding to an autofeeder system is a big transition — for both calves and calf feeders. We’re used to calves bellowing for their morning bottle, hungry after 12 hours without milk. But that’s not normal for mammals.

What’s normal? Frequent, smaller meals — just like they’d get from their mothers.
That’s where the 40FIT ad libitum feeding plan comes in.

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Considering Managing

Is it time for a change?

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Is your calf program due for a rethink? After decades of individual housing and restricted milk feeding, dairy consultant Robert James challenges the status quo. He explores the benefits of group housing, automated feeders, and data-driven management — all aimed at improving calf health, labor efficiency, and long-term performance. Discover why now might be the time for change.

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Calf Management & Health

Can we feed calves better?

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Can we feed calves better? Research and the experiences of progressive calf managers have shown the benefits of feeding more milk. However, this practice has not always been successful, particularly in calves managed in individual pens or hutches. These systems rely on feeding twice and rarely three times a day, frequently with long intervals between […]

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Calf Management & Health Managing

Are calf hutches still the “gold” standard?

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Are calf hutches still the “gold” standard ? When making decisions every dairy business must consider all costs, potential benefits and the likelihood of a positive return on the investment.   All resources and immediate and long-term impacts  for a particular dairy business must be considered.     For many years, the calf hutch has been considered as […]

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Calf Management & Health Managing

Are you a calf manager or a calf feeder?

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Are you a calf manager or a calf feeder? First, let’s start with some definitions.  The calf feeder is the person who does their job.   They aren’t recognized for either great or poor calf care.  It’s a “low ranking” job on the farm.  A calf manager sets goals, analyzes data, evaluates their resources and allocates […]

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