Kerbl Calf Drinking Bucket

Details

A moulded plastic bucket fitted with a teat, so the calf drinks by sucking rather than lapping. It hangs on a pen rail or a gate and frees you up to do something else while the calf feeds. Sucking rather than drinking from an open pail matters for the calf. The suckling action helps the oesophageal groove close so milk goes where it is supposed to, and the calf takes it slower instead of inhaling the whole thing. Practically, it means you can feed several calves at once instead of standing there holding bottles, which is the difference between a manageable morning and a long one when you have a pen full of pulls and grafts. A bucket left outside in February will freeze whatever is still in it, and a frozen teat is a ruined teat. Dump it and turn it over the moment the calf is finished. The teat is replaceable, and it will need replacing. Calves chew them, and cold makes rubber brittle. Keep a spare or two in the drawer so a chewed teat does not cost you a feeding.