|One of our heifer calves in a hutch|
Our heifer calves spend the first three months in an individual hutch where they receive personal attention. The first months of life are critical for the calves health and well-being. Their hutches are filled with clean, dry straw to keep each calf comfortable and healthy.
|Lad and Jack feed the calves|
Individual hutches allow each calf to have their own milk, grain and water.
|A calf having a meal - one bucket contains milk the other water|
Hutches provide a healthy setting protecting calves from each other’s germs.
|This is one of our larger "super" hutches that houses older calves|
When a calf is about three months old, she is moved to group housing and her diet changes to grain and water. At four months, she will be transitioned to a diet of grain, dry hay and a small amount of milk cow ration (corn silage, haylage, soybean meal, ground corn and vitamin/mineral mix).
|Young heifers in group housing|
When a heifer is 13 months old, she goes into the breeding pen where she is bred using artificial insemination. At this stage, she eats grass silage, corn silage and distillers grain.
|The older heifers are in a freestall barn similar to our cows|
|Lad and Taylor pregnancy check these older heifers|
When a heifer is about two years old, she is ready to have her first calf. Animals at this stage are called “springers” and they are housed in the close-up pen. When she is a few days away from calving, she will be moved to the maternity pen where she is checked frequently in case she needs assistance with calving.
|The maternity barn|
Once she has a calf, she will enter the milking herd.