The HygieneStation is a new feeding station for calves, used in conjunction with the Holm & Laue HL 100 automatic calf feeder. Its new technical functions implement the latest developments and requirements, thus ensuring optimum hygiene and nutrition for calves.

Always a clean teat

The teat on a feeding station has the potential to spread pathogens. With the HygieneStation, the teat is cleaned of saliva following each visit, and the saliva drains away via a large bowl. This maintains cleanliness in the general vicinity of the station and reduces the calves’ exposure to germs by an average of 80 percent!

Perfectly clean tube

Other milk tubes used to leave desposits of contaminated milk, either because the cleaning process was not sufficiently thorough or, more frequently, because they had not been cleaned at all. This new station automatically flushes out and cleans the entire milk line, all the way to the teat, after each feeding. This lowers calves’ exposure to bacteria, improves their health and reduces the need for manual cleaning.

Using Mother Nature as an example

The teat in the feeding station is postioned so that it slants downward, just like the teats on a suckler cow. This supports the calf’s natural drinking position. Stretching the head encourages the natural reflex of the esophageal groove and reduces the risk of milk passing into the rumen. Moreover, the calf’s innate bumping motion can proceed without any risk of injury.

Now calves can learn for themselves

As soon as a calf sucks on the teat, a small amount of milk flows into its mouth. This stimulates the calf’s initial drink impulse; manual learning is necessary in only exceptional cases. This functon is supported by the new power mixer, which mixes the milk freshly for each visit. Thanks to the pump in the station, milk is conveyed to the cow within four seconds.

Now the feeding day is a full 24 hours

The teat is constatly lit by an LED light. Practice has shown that this enables calves to position themselves better at night; the milk intake increases during the night hours. This also means that the barn is calmer during the day, because the feeding process is evenly distributed over a 24-hour period.

Cleaning is easy

The teat can be easily changed with the quick release fastener, and all other components are positioned at a comfortable working height. Many stations are installed directly in the pens, where they are an obstruction to tractors during manure removal. The HygieneStation, on the other hand, can be tipped upwards by 90 degrees to facilitate cleaning of the area.

This product will be available in January 2016.  PD

—From Calf-Star news release