Finish onboarding in 30 minutes

There's a temptation, when a new app asks you to fill in setup screens, to skip through as fast as you can. Don't. Calfmate's onboarding wizard isn't asking idle questions — it's collecting the numbers that drive feeding volumes, weaning step-downs, shift times, and pen layouts for everything that follows. Get it right at the start, and the daily round looks after itself. Skip through, and you'll spend the next fortnight fighting wrong defaults.

This is the 30-minute path. Do it once, properly, and you're done.

Where to start

The wizard launches automatically the first time you sign in after registering. If you skipped it, go to /onboarding to resume.

The six steps

Step 1 — Welcome (1 minute)

• Farm name.
• Country (Australia default).
• Timezone (auto-detected; double-check it's right).

The timezone matters more than people think. Every timestamp Calfmate writes — feeds, treatments, withdrawal end dates — uses this. Get it wrong and your "yesterday at 6am" doses end up on the wrong day.

Step 2 — Set up your pens (5–10 minutes)

Two options:

• Numbered pens 1..N — Calfmate creates Pen 1, 2, 3… through to the number you enter. Fast if your pens don't have real names.
• Named pens — type names, one per line ("Hutches", "Group 1", "Group 2", "Sick bay"). Use this if your pens already have shed names.

Set a default capacity if your pens are roughly the same size. Override per-pen later if you need to.

Step 3 — How do you feed milk? (3 minutes)

Pick the system you actually run:

• Powder (milk replacer only).
• Whole milk (raw cow's milk only).
• Fortified (whole milk + powder top-up).
• Combo (different mixes for different ages).

Then powder rate (g/L) if you're using powder, fortifier rate (g/L) if fortifying, mix and feed temperatures (defaults of 50°C mix / 38°C feed are fine for most powders — check the bag), and whether you pasteurise whole milk.

Step 4 — Feeding schedule (1 minute)

1, 2 or 3 feeds per day. This sets up your default shift chips on the Feeding screen. You can refine the actual times in Settings → Feeding times later.

Step 5 — Weaning (2 minutes)

• Weaning age — when you take calves off milk. Typical: 56–70 days for dairy heifers.
• Step-down start — when she drops from full litres.
• Daily reduction (%) — typical 5% per day.
• Floor litres — minimum before going to nothing.

These four numbers let Calfmate calculate exactly how much milk each weaning calf should get every day, automatically. You don't have to think about it again.

Step 6 — Add your first calf (optional, 1 minute)

Calf ID, birth date, sex, pen. Or skip — you can use Import or Record calving instead.

Tap Finish setup. Onboarding done.

The 10 minutes after onboarding that pay you back

The wizard handles the broad strokes. Three more screens are worth your time before you start using the app daily:

1. Settings → Milk volumes by age — set your litres-per-feed bands. Defaults are starter values; tune to your shed.
2. Treatments → Drug library — add your top 8–12 drugs with the correct withdrawal periods. (See the drug library guide.)
3. Tasks → Protocols — add your top 3–5 vaccine / disbud protocols. (See the task protocols guide.)

Now you're configured. The shed routines work properly from this point.

Revisit every 6 months

Onboarding values aren't carved in stone. Come back to Settings when:

• Calf prices or milk economics change (re-tune weaning).
• You switch milk replacer brands (powder rate, temperatures).
• You renovate the shed (pen layout changes).
• You take on workers and need shared device + worker PINs (see the shared device guide).

One thing to take away

Half an hour upfront beats six months of fighting bad defaults. Do the wizard properly the first time, even if it feels like busywork. The next thousand days of feeding depend on it.