evaught":3ufllljz said:
That sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen for several reasons. First, calves have an inherent need to suck - they are preprogrammed to do it - if you doubt that just watch a newborn struggle to get up and seek out it's mothers tit. By making them drink out of a bucket, that need is not met and they will likely be sucking each other's ears, sheaths, tails, and whatever else they can get ahold of. Depending on the age of these calves, there is also the problem of drinking does not engage the esophageal groove, the milk ends up in the rumen - as opposed to the abomasum where it is supposed to be - thus delaying the nutrients being absorbed by the calf. 2nd - with that many calves together you cannot possibly control how much milk each calf gets - so you will be looking at some calves not getting enough, and others getting too much. The calves that are not getting enough will do poorly, and have the potential of getting sick due to inadequate nutrition. The calves that are getting too much will probably develop scours, which could then possibly be passed on the other calves. Plus there is the added problem of a sick calf contaminating the milk, thus passing other illnesses along to the other calves. I believe I would be rethinking my approach to this endeavor.
