99 April 24 and 25, 2012 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference Management Tips for Calves Fed With Automated Milk Feeders Miriam Weber Nielsen 1 Department of Animal Science Michigan State University Abstract Automated feeding of calves continues to increase in popularity. These systems allow calves access to liquid feed around the clock in a less labor- intensive manner than traditional feeding methods. Advantages of these programs include smaller, more frequent meals for calves; consistency in feeding; detection of sick animals in group housing; reduced labor needs; flexibility in labor needs; increased activity; social stimulation; enhanced growth; and public image. Disadvantages include potential communication of disease among group-housed calves and cross-sucking. On-farm results with automatic feeders are providing evidence that group feeding can work on farms of various sizes and can enhance calf growth. Introduction Individual housing and feeding of calves has been considered the gold standard for housing for many years. Limiting contact of calves with their dams and with other calves was particularly effective in control of calfhood diseases. Within 24 h of birth, calves were usually separated from their dam, housed individually, and fed twice a day at approximately 10% of body weight. A main goal of the pre-weaning period was to provide nutrients for maintenance and growth, while limiting milk feeding to facilitate transition of calves from milk to dry feed. This was done in part to limit costs of the milk-feeding program and also to reduce the substantial labor in feeding milk to calves. In contrast, calves left with their dam will consume up to 10 meals per day and substantially more milk (Albright and Arave, 1997). Not surprisingly, calves consuming more frequent meals and a higher volume of milk gain weight faster (Flower and Weary, 2001). Research from multiple institutions in Europe and the United States demonstrated that calves consuming higher than standard amounts of milk or milk replacer had no detrimental effects on mammary development (Sejrsen et al., 2000; Brown et al., 2005; Meyer et al., 2006) and future milk production (Foldager and Krohn, 1994; Bar-Peled et al., 1997; Rincker et al., 2011). Together with use of automated milk feeders, this knowledge has helped to promote adoption of strategies to feed calves more liquid feed during the pre-weaning stage. Further, the resulting feasibility of group housing of calves has been gaining in popularity in other countries, in part for the more natural social interactions it provides and the potential for labor savings. Types of Feeders Automated feeders involve multiple types of commercially available computer-controlled feeders or farm-fabricated feeders. The liquid feed provided is either whole milk or milk replacer. When farm-fabricated feeders are used to provide free access to milk, acidification of milk or milk replacer allows for preservation of milk for 1 to 3 days. Formic acid can be used to preserve milk, depending on the room temperature, and requires regular 1 Contact at: