By nature, farmers are risk-takers – year after year betting on Mother Nature’s generosity. But, when your livelihood depends on raising healthy calves to adulthood, Calf-tel hutch systems make good business sense. They offer reliable protection for your investment – and mean one less “chance you have to take” when it comes to the well-being of your herd.
Of course, a calf’s environment plays one of the biggest roles in assuring it remains healthy and disease free as it grows. While most competitive hutches are translucent, Calf-tel hutches are constructed of a unique opaque material to keep out harmful ultraviolet rays and allow the hutch to remain at a consistent temperature – even in extreme heat or cold. Just ask Joel Schnelle of Cleveland, Wisconsin, who’s had 30 Calf-tels in use over a 12-year period. “Calves can handle cold better than they can a change in temperature. In winter, with a transparent hutch, the calf gets warm during the day with the sun shining through, then cold at night when the sun goes down. Calf-tel provides a steadier temperature environment for your calves. It’s also well ventilated and keeps the fresh air moving through. In a barn, you don’t have that ventilation. Calves get pneumonia easily. Fresh air and steady temperatures are important to keeping their lungs healthy. If a calf has healthy lungs, it’ll live a longer life and perform better as a cow.”
While you may be aware of the benefits the individual hutch environment provides over barn settings, what you may not know is that, with Calf-tel, the return on your investment will be realized immediately. “Calf-tel hutches are competitively priced, and they definitely pay for themselves,” said Schnelle. “We have fewer medical costs and fewer labor costs now that we’re not treating sick calves all the time. And the death loss is very minimal. To give you an idea, we had over 110 calves this year and we haven’t lost any. A small farmer down the road, raising calves in a barn, started with 17 and lost three already this year.”
Calf-tels are constructed of an impervious polyethylene plastic that makes them easier to sanitize and helps prevent the spread of disease from one group to the next. The hutch’s unique one-piece design makes maintenance easier, too. “Calf-tels are very well made and they have a good life on them. We’ve had a number of them in use here for 12 years and haven’t had a problem with any of them. We’ve looked into competitive products, but Calf-tels were the best value. They’re made of a quality material and the hutch itself is one molded piece. Other hutches are put together with multiple pieces where they can come apart. They just aren’t as durable as Calf-tel,” added Schnelle.
MultiMax Makes Weaning Easier When calves raised in isolation are placed in larger groups, there is almost always a set-back in health and weight due to competition for food and social pressure. Larger MultiMax hutches offer the ability to house four to six calves at a time, helping to ease the weaning process from individual hutches to group environments. Schnelle owns eight such units. “We’ve been very happy with the MultiMax hutches. In a smaller group, the calves don’t have to compete with each other and that makes the transition from single hutch to group environment much easier,” said Schnelle. “MultiMax hutches are made from the same durable material as the Calf-tels. They’re opaque, so the calves stay at an even temperature – cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter. There’s also a large area for the calves to run around in and get fresh air. And, they’re really maintenance-free.”
