bottle vs bucket feeding
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semen demon
Well-known member
Teach them how to drink!!! ASAP
Depending on the calf, I've had enough trouble teaching new calves to drink from a bottle - I wouldn't even try teaching a 12 hour old calf to drink from a bucket.
Usually, if I'm planning on moving a calf to a bucket, I'll do it when they're a week or so old, depending on how well they're doing and drinking. For multiple calves bucket feeding is easiest. One or two calves and I prefer the bottle for milk, bucket for grain.
I have a 3 month old calf here that's still on a bottle...LOL. Eats grain, hay, and drinks water from a bucket, but I just never tried giving her milk in a bucket.
Now...I do recall reading something about milk being absorbed better or something like that if the calves are bottle-fed vs. bucket-fed. Can't remember where I saw it, though. Anyone else seen that article?
Usually, if I'm planning on moving a calf to a bucket, I'll do it when they're a week or so old, depending on how well they're doing and drinking. For multiple calves bucket feeding is easiest. One or two calves and I prefer the bottle for milk, bucket for grain.
I have a 3 month old calf here that's still on a bottle...LOL. Eats grain, hay, and drinks water from a bucket, but I just never tried giving her milk in a bucket.
Now...I do recall reading something about milk being absorbed better or something like that if the calves are bottle-fed vs. bucket-fed. Can't remember where I saw it, though. Anyone else seen that article?
We start the very young on bottles. When they are easily drinking from bottles, we switch them to buckets. It is easier to get them to drink water that way. Give them the milk and then refill the bucket with water.
certherfbeef
Well-known member
To add to milkmaid's post...
If you can bottle feed, do it. They will be less likely to suck on each other or things in the stall if bottle fed. Because it supresses their sucking instinct.
On the dairy we would teach them to drink from a bucket but would tie them up till the milk taste was out of their mouths. Otherwise they would suck on each other and the bars in the boxstall.
If you can bottle feed, do it. They will be less likely to suck on each other or things in the stall if bottle fed. Because it supresses their sucking instinct.
On the dairy we would teach them to drink from a bucket but would tie them up till the milk taste was out of their mouths. Otherwise they would suck on each other and the bars in the boxstall.
milkmaid":yn7bjpmb said:
Yes, I've seen an article similar to that as well. Something about the action of nursing causes a fold of skin to cover the rumen, thereby allowing the milk to bypass and go straight into the stomach. I also can't remember exactly where I saw it, online somewhere while doing some research about cattle.
I bottle feed for a couple of days and then they make an easy switch to bucket feeding. The milk will go correctly into the stomach if the temperature of the milk is warm enough. If the milk in the bucket or bottle is cool then it passes on through.
I had a terrible time teaching jersey calves to bucket feed though. I don't think I'll ever try anything but a bottle on jerseys (if I ever get another jersey). They can't remember from one feeding to the next how it works and they have too long of teeth.
I had a terrible time teaching jersey calves to bucket feed though. I don't think I'll ever try anything but a bottle on jerseys (if I ever get another jersey). They can't remember from one feeding to the next how it works and they have too long of teeth.
pdoramus":34cjatc2 said:
I beg to differ. Milk temperature has nothing to do with it. It has to do with the fact that cattle are ruminent animals and the rumen is not designed to handle milk. Please see link.
http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/ ... ation.html
I thought I read somewhere about the temperature requirements of the milk replacers, but I can't find it anywhere so I probably just imagined it. Sorry for the mix-up.
I did find where it talks about the esophageal groove at:
http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2000 ... ay85.shtml
"Research has shown that as a calf suckles the rumen system creates what is referred to as an esophageal groove which acts like an extension of the esophagus, helping the milk by-pass the first compartments and the digestive activities which are found there. This helps the milk to be digested in a more complete form farther down the digestive tract."
I did find where it talks about the esophageal groove at:
http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2000 ... ay85.shtml
"Research has shown that as a calf suckles the rumen system creates what is referred to as an esophageal groove which acts like an extension of the esophagus, helping the milk by-pass the first compartments and the digestive activities which are found there. This helps the milk to be digested in a more complete form farther down the digestive tract."
Milk replacer is supposed to be a certain temperature to correspond with the temperature of milk from the cow, but that has no effect at all on the digestive system of a calf when it comes to utilizing the milk.
I read a simular article put out by the university of Tennessee. We teach ours to drink from a bucket asap. We use a bottle nipple. Put it in their mouth and lower it into the bucket. They will drink without the nipple within a week normally. It seems like someone else on the board does the same thing. Anyway it works well. It is so much easier than using bottles.
I got 2 babie cows from a replacement farm. they teach them how to drink out of a bucket from 1st day of life. Makes it alot eaiser to do also. You can get buckets cleaner faster also. I wouldnt do it any other way.
Kimmie
Kimmie
sidney411
Well-known member
I have a bottle holder that I got at the COOP that makes it just as easy as using a bucket. Just drop the bottle in and go on about your business.
