Your calf rearing specialist
Advice and products for rearing calves on your dairy farm, from colostrum to group.
Calf nutritionPro Elite milk replacer and concentratesView 
Calf suppliesBuckets, teats, drenchers and moreView 
Calf housingIndividual pens, group pens and barnsView 
Colostrum managementColostrum bags, pasteurisers and accessoriesView 
MilkbarTeats, buckets and feedersView 
Milk preparationMilk mixers and toolsView 
Barn hygieneDisinfectants and pest controlView 
Everything for your calfSee the full range in the shop.Go to the shop 
Optima Klima Calf BarnPermanent outdoor barn with pens for 6 to 8 calves, in three sizes.
Quattro Calf Box XLLiftable unit with four lying spaces, also with a hinged floor.
Answer five short questions and see which systems suit you best.
Open the guideAsk about rearing, housing or colostrum. You get an answer straight away from what our advisers have already written, with a link to the full answer.
Hello! How can I help? Type your question below, or pick one of the examples.
Rather talk to someone? +31 (0)593 24 17 12 Request a quote All frequently asked questions
From around the second week of life, calves can be kept in small groups of similar age. This is good for their welfare and for their social behaviour as herd animals. In the first weeks of life their immune system is not yet strong, so they are kept on their own.
When can calves go into a group?The Optima Klima Calf Barn is a permanent barn on a concrete base, made up of pens for 6 to 8 calves, and you can extend it as far as you like. The Quattro Calf Box XL is a liftable unit with four lying spaces that you use as individual pens, pair pens or one group pen for four calves.
What is the difference between the Optima Klima Calf Barn and the Quattro Calf Box XL?Yes. DairyTop specialises in made-to-measure projects, indoors and outdoors. We can fit out almost any space with plastic panels to create the calf barn you have in mind. Our project specialists are happy to visit you to talk it through.
Can DairyTop build a calf barn to measure?That depends on the number of calves, the age at which you group them and the space you have in your yard or barn. Our advisers are happy to help you decide: call +31 (0)593 24 17 12 or get in touch.
Which housing suits my farm?A pen holds 6 to 8 calves. Small groups make it easy to keep an eye on every animal, and the walk-through gate gets you to them quickly.
How many calves fit in a pen?Yes. Thanks to its simple construction, the system can be extended as far as you like: add pens as your farm grows.
Can I extend the barn later?With the Milkbar and a feed trough, feeding is quick and simple. Water comes from a water bowl connected to the mains supply.
How do the calves get feed and water?All three are 3,000 mm wide. The difference is the depth of the pen: 4,950 mm for the OKS, 5,100 mm for the Optima Klima Stal Next Gen and 6,100 mm for the Optima Klima Stal XL. That takes the floor area from 14.0 to 18.3 m² per pen.
What is the difference between the three sizes?Yes. As an option, an OKS pen can take individual pens or pair pens, or a double door to turn it into storage or a feed kitchen.
Can I put individual pens inside an OKS pen?The unit has four lying spaces. You can use it as four individual pens, as two pair pens or as one group pen for up to four calves.
How many calves fit in a Quattro Calf Box XL?The partitions are removable. Take out one partition and you have a pair pen of about 4.5 m². Without partitions, it is one group pen for four calves.
How do I turn individual pens into a group?The Quattro Calf Box XL with hinged floor has a hand-operated floor that tips open two lying spaces at a time, so you muck out by lifting the unit and opening the floor. Otherwise the sizes are the same: four lying spaces measuring 2,000 × 1,100 mm inside.
What is the difference between the two versions?The Quattro is a liftable calf unit. You pick it up with the loader and set it down wherever you need it.
How do I move the unit?A bag for colostrum, from milking through to feeding. In the same bag you can pasteurise, cool, freeze and warm the colostrum, then feed it with a teat or a drench tube. The heat-conducting material of the bag makes this possible.
What is a Perfect Udder bag?Bags of 2, 3 and 4 litres, as a sample kit of 10, a kit of 50 and in bulk (500 bags of 2 litres, 400 of 3 or 4 litres). The filling stations fit all three sizes.
Which bag sizes are there?Besides the bags, a sample kit contains three teats and three drench tubes. With a kit, teats and drench tubes are optional. The bulk pack contains bags only, at the lowest price per bag.
What is in a kit?A refractometer measures the Brix value of the colostrum; the manual refractometer reads from 0 to 85%. For a quick check without reading a scale, use the colostrometer: green is good quality, yellow average and red poor.
How do I check colostrum quality?Which pasteuriser suits you depends on the number of calves and the way you work. That is why a DairyTop adviser puts together a tailored quote. Bags and accessories you can order straight from the shop.
Why can’t I just buy a pasteuriser in the shop?The number is the capacity in US gallons: 10, 30 or 60 gallons. The Adda 10G has a 37 litre tank and the Adda 60G a 220 litre tank.
What do 10G, 30G and 60G mean?Yes, with all four. The Matilda handles up to 8 litres of colostrum in bags at once, the Adda 30G up to eight 4 litre bags. The Adda 10G and 60G pasteurise or warm bags, and also loose colostrum or milk in the tank.
Can I pasteurise colostrum in the Perfect Udder bag?The Matilda connects to power and water. The Adda 10G comes fully assembled and connects to a drain and cold water. For the other models, the adviser will go through the connections with you.
What do I need to connect a pasteuriser?Which pasteuriser suits you depends on the number of calves and the way you work, so a DairyTop adviser puts together a tailored quote.
Why is there no price?Which milk replacer or concentrate suits you depends on your calves, your forage and how you feed: by bucket, automatic feeder or in batches. A DairyTop adviser works this out with you and sends a quote. The complementary products you can order straight from the shop.
Why can’t I just order milk replacer and concentrates in the shop?For Pro Elite 30, 40 and 60, the number is the share of skimmed milk powder: 30, 40 or 60%. Pro Elite 24 is different: there the number is the 24% protein content, with 12.5% skimmed milk powder.
What does the number in Pro Elite mean?According to the product information, Premium and Pro Elite 30 are particularly suited to automatic feeders. Premium dissolves from 20 °C and stays stable for twenty hours, so it also suits batch feeding.
Which milk replacer suits an automatic feeder?The standard dose is 1 gram of citric acid per litre of milk. The milk should be no warmer than 30 °C, or it will curdle. The optimum pH is between 5.5 and 5.8.
How do I acidify whole milk with citric acid?Dairy Pansen Pro is a calf pellet you feed ad lib alongside hay, or alongside a ration of maize and grass silage. Dairy Calf TMR combines forage and concentrate in one mix, so the calf takes in both in the right ratio.
What is the difference between Dairy Pansen Pro and Dairy Calf TMR?You order Perfect Udder bags from the shop: 2, 3 or 4 litres, as a sample kit of 10, a kit of 50 or in bulk.
Where do I order colostrum bags?Answer five short questions in the selection guide and see which systems suit you best. An adviser is then happy to look at your situation with you.
Which calf housing suits my farm?The show calendar on this page lists the coming shows with dates and places.
Which shows does DairyTop attend?A calf needs something different at every stage. This is how we help, from the first hours to four months.
The first hours
Check the quality, store the colostrum in the bag and feed it at the right temperature.
The first weeks of life
Good milk from a clean bucket, in an individual pen where the calf grows up protected.
From around the second week
Small groups of similar age are good for welfare and social behaviour.
Up to 4 months
Concentrates and roughage alongside milk, in a barn with fresh air and room for the group.
The foundation for healthy, high-producing cows with a long productive life is laid early, through the feeding and care of calves in the very first rearing phase.
DairyTop advises you on feeding, husbandry and calf diseases, and supplies quality feed and branded products for calf rearing. With practical advice you work towards higher weight gain, fewer calf losses and more motivated staff.
Our rearing specialists come to your farm and help you think through feeding, husbandry and management. We aim for the best results for your farm, with regular, practical advice.
Visit our stand and see the systems for real.
A question about feeding, housing or colostrum? Our advisers are happy to help you think it through.
