Feeding equipment
Calf-Feeding Bottle & Teat
Milk feeder for separated calves
What it is
A bottle or feeder fitted with a teat. The calf sucks milk or milk replacer from it instead of nursing from a cow.
Where it sits in the system
The equipment exists because the calf is reared apart from its mother. Milk or milk replacer is delivered on the farm's schedule rather than the calf's.
Welfare concern
The bottle itself does not hurt the calf. What weighs on the calf is the separation from its mother, how often and how well it is fed, milk quality and hygiene, and whether it has any chance to suck and to socialise.
Worth being precise about
A calf teat is normal feeding equipment and this entry makes no claim that it is painful. The ethical weight sits in maternal separation, nutrition, and rearing conditions, which differ between systems.
