How to teach a calf to drink from a bucket without a finger: quick tips and tricks

When weaning a calf from a cow, it becomes necessary to water it yourself. There are several ways to feed your baby. The first - 2 weeks to feed from the nipple and expose the water. Then teach to lap and immediately feed with semolina and hay. The second is teaching them to lap on their own from the first day of weaning from their mother. The first way is more natural. The recommendations for how to teach a calf to drink from a bucket without using a finger are the same for both options.

What is it for?

Instructions on how to teach to drink with your finger, a lot. It is difficult in many cases to wean a cub who is accustomed to drinking only with a finger later.It is more convenient to immediately accustom a suckling cub to independent lapping. On the first day, the calf is fed every 4 hours. For the next 4 days, the interval is increased to 6 hours and then transferred to the milking mode so that the cub always receives fresh milk.

Besides licking milk, the calf will be able to quench its thirst by itself from the first days of life. Without enough water, the baby will grow more slowly and get sick. Water is introduced from the 3rd day of the foal's life. Either through the teat between milkings, or if the cub already laps, fresh water should always be available.

How to teach a calf to drink from a bucket?

Regardless of the time of weaning from the mother, the recommendations for training are the same.

The method to quickly learn how to lap milk or wean it from a finger is as follows:

1. A mount for a bucket is being made. It can be a ring on a post into which a bucket of milk is inserted. Or a larger container is attached, inside which a bucket is inserted. The milk container must always be clean and sterile.
2. A teat is attached to the bottom of the bucket. It should either be large enough so that the calf won't swallow it, or it should be well secured to the bottom.
3. Milk is poured a few centimeters above the level of the pacifier.
4. If the cub shows interest in the bucket, then no other action is required from the farmer. If he bypasses the container, then they act as in the method with a finger: the cub is fixed with its feet, the hand is moistened with milk and given to the baby. In several approaches, dip your finger into the liquid until the baby begins to suck on the pacifier.
5. When the baby stops responding to the pacifier, it is removed. Typically, the training process takes 2 to 7 days.

At any age, you can learn to drink yourself, in particular water, if you put a pinch of s alt on your tongue. S alt makes you thirsty, so the baby himself will go to drink water. And a calf that knows how to lap is simply left with milk, it will quickly learn to eat on its own.

For an older cub who is already drinking water from a bucket, it is recommended to simply leave a bucket of milk for the duration of feeding. The bucket must be fixed. In case he ignored it, it is allowed to skip one meal. This is suitable for pets over 3 weeks old.

Tips from breeders

Here are tips from experienced farmers and veterinarians:

1. Some calves have a greater sucking reflex and are difficult to wean off the finger. To avoid the process of painful weaning from the finger, it is better to avoid this method right away. Then it is recommended either to teach with a pacifier, soon removing it, or not to take it away from the mother until learning to lap.
2. Don't be afraid to skip one feeding. The calves quickly become hungry, and at the next feeding they will react to the smell of milk and try to get it. If there is water available, one missed feeding will not harm the development of the baby.

You can teach a calf to lap yourself easily and quickly if you know all the ways and use them. You need to try different options and not be afraid to harm if proven methods are used.

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