In order to prevent cross suckling, you need to understand the root cause. By addressing the root cause, cross suckling is easy to prevent.

Calves are born with a suckling instinct. To prevent starvation, the brain tells the calf when to drink and for how long (calves raised with their mother will typically suckle in 8–11 min bouts at a speed of around 3.6 minutes per litre).
The gut and brain chemistry work in synergy. After an extended period of suckling, there is neurological feedback to the brain to tell the calf to stop suckling.

When a calf drinks her milk to quickly this communication fails. The milk is finished but the brain is telling her to keep suckling.
Calves fed in groups will suckle on other calves. Calves in single pens will suck or their surroundings. They will do this for a set period of time until the suckling urge switch’s off. This is known as Cross Suckling.
It should be noted that feeding calves milk from a bucket prevents any suckling at all so the suckling instinct remains completely unsatisfied.

Controlling the milk flow during feeding satisfies the suckling instinct and allows the gut - brain synergy to work. Milk Bar™ Teats are specifically designed to control flow to the speed that prevents cross suckling. If you are using Milk Bar™ Teats and you start to see some cross suckling, then it is likely that the teats are worn and need to be replaced. Please contact us on hello@milkBar.co.nz for any advice.

Calves fed with Milk Bar™ Teats were settled and content after feeding. All calves had healthy, undamaged teats and the keratin plug remains intact to protect the teat canal. *

Calves fed from a faster flow teat cross-suckled vigorously after feeding. Cross-suckling damage and loss of the keratin plug was common. * *Images taken from research published in the Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition.

Nutritional diarrhoea can be linked to two major causes, poor digestion and stress. Poor digestion is primarily created by fast feeding and can reduce the calf’s ability to manage changes in the environment such as extreme weather, irregular feeding or sudden changes in milk concentration.

As we know, digestion starts with saliva. Salva contains many of the essential enzymes required to start the digestive process, one of which is pre-gastric lipase, necessary for the digestion of fats. When a calf suckles slowly, saliva and milk mix to create an alkali mixture with a pH of approximately 7.5 When this alkaline mixture enters the acidic abomasum (pH 5.6), it forms a creamy curd.

If the pH in the abomasum is not balanced by the alkali milk / saliva mixture, then the acid secretion is reduced and the ability of the milk to clot is compromised as is the digestion of milk protein.

Inadequate curding allows undigested milk to enter the intestines, becoming a nutrient source for pathogens such as E.Coli. If calves are fed from a fast flow teat, they are unable to produce adequate saliva to start digestion. If calves are fed from a bucket, no saliva is produced, and curding is significantly impacted.

Thick, foamy saliva protects calves from diarrhoea

With the correct formation of the curd, in a pH balanced abomasum, nutrients such as lactose can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
In a properly functioning digestive system of 14 day old calves, over 90% of lactose is absorbed through the abomasum before it enters intestines.
Without adequate saliva production, the resulting inadequate clotting allows excess sugar (lactose) to enter the intestines and produce a nutrient source for pathogens such as E.Coli who’s numbers multiply rapidly when in contact with raw milk or lactose. This is a leading cause of nutritional diarrhoea in young calves and has long reaching consequences.

Calves fed with Milk Bar™ Teats had excellent curding. Only 3mg/gm of lactose remained two hours after feeding indicating more effective absorption into the bloodstream.*

Calves fed on a fast flow teat had inadequate curding. High lactose levels of 12mg/gm remained in the abomasum and high concentrates in the intestine and faeces.*
*Images taken from research published in the Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition. Read the full document here

Improving nutrient absorption is key for calves to fully benefit from good nutrition programmes. For the body to make full use of nutrients, the digestive system must function smoothly with calves suckling and producing an abundance of saliva. and not Disrupting the digestive system by fast feeding reduces the calf’s ability to fully digest milk.

Saliva is also essential for good curd or clot formation. Lactose is quickly released from good curding in the abomasum and is broken down to glucose and galactose which are absorbed into the bloodstream to form the major energy sources for young calves. The thick curding slowly releases nutrients throughout the gut and eventually into the bloodstream. It can take as long as 12–18 hr for the milk curd to be fully digested!

Feeding with a controlled suckling action ensures high saliva production for the digestive system to function, and maximum utilisation of feed for optimum growth.

Studies are proving that feeding the traditionally accepted 10% of body weight is detrimental to developing a high-quality heifer and that feeding 20% BW has numerous benefits such as improved first lactation performance, earlier conception and better immunity.
Further studies show that there is no negative impact of rumen development by feeding higher volumes of milk.

Restricted milk and increased grain is a cheap way to grow a beef calves, but does not support the growth required for future production heifers.

When feeding higher volumes, use the Milk Bar™ Teat as a tool to control the milk flow. This helps prevent an overflow of raw milk into the intestines and so reduces the risk of nutritional scours.

Stimulating mammary gland development of heifer calves, is key to future herd performance.

A study on the effects of increased nutrition pre-weaning on mammary gland development was carried out by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Study

Two groups of 18 Holstein heifer calves were housed individually with ad libitum access to water.

Control (CON) group:

• 454 g CMR @ 20% CP, 20% fat

Accelerated group (ACC):

• 1135 g of CMR @ 28% CP, 25% fat

Starter feed was introduced at week 5 and the amount of calf milk replacer fed in both groups was reduced to 50% to prepare calves for weaning at 8 weeks of age.

The calves’ teats were measured weekly, and udders were examined through palpation and visual examination. At weaning, six calves per treatment were euthanised and the mammary glands were removed, weighed and dissected.

Results

Conclusion
The results of this study are in line with those of other researchers who found that elevating the pre-weaning plane of nutrition in dairy calves has a strong, positive impact on mammary gland development.

Research: Controlled flow and high saliva production, positively impacts ADG
‘Using slow flow rate teats (Milk Bar™ Teats) to feed calves from day old to weaning appears to have an important impact on digestive processes in the immature gut.

Such improvements in digestion and rumen development in young calves may assist in the digestion of milk and other feeds, leading to improved growth performance. Source: Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition

It is human nature to get a job done as quickly as possible. However, when it comes to feeding the calves, fast milk flow ends up causing problems that take time to deal with.

It takes around 12 - 15 minutes for a calf to suckle 3L at ‘cow speed’. When fed at this natural speed, the digestive system works in harmony.

Or it can take around 6 minutes for a calf to gulp 3L from a fast flow teat. This speed disrupts the digestive system and is the main cause of nutritional diarrhoea, cross suckling and reduced weight performance.

Letting calves take their time, saves time!

As we know, saliva plays a vital part in the health and growth of a calf and a failure to produce saliva results in:

Reduced Immunity

By feeding calves quickly and with minimal saliva, calves miss out on vital immune support.

Saliva is rich in lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase, an enzyme system with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that boost the immunity and improves the protection of the calf.

Reduced nutrient digestion

Digestion starts with saliva, it is full of enzymes to start the digestive process, one of which is pre-gastric lipase, necessary for the digestion of fats.

Calves fed with a fast flow teat have poorer weight performance.

Increased risk of nutritional diarrhoea

Nutritional diarrhoea is primarily caused by undigested milk and nutrients flowing from the abomasum to the hind gut and becoming a food source for the pathogens that live there.

Studies show that calves fed from a fast flow teat have reduced lactose absorption in the abomasum, with high levels of lactose being present in the intestinal tract.

Not only does this hinder growth but is also a leading cause of nutritional diarrhoea.

The oesophageal groove is a small, curved muscle that lies at the base of the oesophagus. Its job is to direct milk to the abomasum and water/ forage to the rumen.

When calves are fed milk at an unnaturally fast speed, the small tube can overflow, and milk enters the rumen. There are no enzymes in the rumen to digest milk and so it ferments, creating excess gas (bloat) and volatile fatty acids (acidosis).

If the suckling instinct is not satisfied, calves will cross suckle after feeding. The brain and gut work in synergy, and after a period of time suckling, the brain tells the calf that she can stop suckling. When calves are fed to quickly, this process is disrupted. She has finished her milk, but the brain is telling her to keep suckling, so she will suckle on her surroundings or companions until the suckling urge switches off.

Cross suckling is directly linked to feeding speed and has long term impacts on the calf and future production cow.

When the milk flow is too fast, calves will stand back and cough or gasp for air. When this happens, there is a real danger of milk aspiration and causing infections in the upper airways.

If you see calves coughing while drinking, the milk flow is too fast.

Calves were fed milk from buckets in the days before rubber could be manufactured. There is much evidence that this old-fashioned system is detrimental to calf health.

Farms with intense management systems can still produce a good calf, but often, when the calf manager is on holiday, the calves get sick.

Calves need to suckle milk, that’s why cows have teats!

When calves drink from a bucket or trough, the body prepares to receive water or forage, NOT milk.

So, the oesophageal groove stays open to direct the water/ forage to the rumen for digestion.

The body is not prepared to receive milk from a bucket and so the digestive processes are completely disrupted.

Common side effects of this system are:

• Acidosis
• Bloat
• Hyperactivity/ Cross suckling
• Nutritional diarrhoea
• Poor weight performance

Buckets might be cheap to buy, but the calf can never grow to her full genetic potential.

We’ve been engineering teats since 1992. We’re not interested in teats that feed calves quickly, our focus is developing teats that work for your calves to improve their health and allow them to grow to their full potential.

Milk Bar™ Teats control the milk flow using a combination of design and our specific rubber formulation.

The internal web regulates the amount of milk the calf can sip, and the rubber is formulated to activate the suckling action.

As a result, Milk Bar™ Teats allow the calf to feed as close as possible to ‘cow speed’ so the digestive processes function as nature intended.

Boosted Immunity
Saliva is rich in lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase, an enzyme system with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that boost the immunity and improves the protection of the calf. Read more here (goes to drop down 1)

Improved nutrient digestion
Saliva has complex enzyme structures to begin the digestion process, one of which is pre-gastric lipase. This enzyme is necessary for the digestion of fats and insufficient quantities can reduce fat absorption.

Fats are a major energy source for young calves and key to good weight performance.

Reduce the risk of nutritional diarrhoea
Nutritional diarrhoea is primarily caused by undigested milk and nutrients flowing from the abomasum to the hind gut and becoming a food source for the pathogens that live there.

Studies show that calves fed from Milk Bar™ Teats have increased lactose absorption in the abomasum. This reduces the amount sugars and nutrients entering the hind gut and causing nutritional diarrhoea.

When the digestive system works in harmony and the lactose, fats and nutrients are absorbed, then the daily weight gains improve.

Many trials support the higher growth rates from calves fed by Milk Bar™ Teats.

Milk Bar™ Teats regulate the flow of milk so the small muscles that close the oesophageal groove can keep the groove closed and protect the rumen from milk.

This in turn protects the rumen and prevents bloat and acidosis.

Milk Bar™ Teats allow the calf to suckle for an extended period of time. The calf needs this time to satisfy the suckling instinct and prevent cross suckling.

The suckling instinct is the natural behaviour of the calf and is triggered by the communication between the brain and gut. When calves suckle for the right amount of time, the brain then tells the calf to stop suckling. Milk Bar™ Teats allow the calf to suckle for that amount of time.

Cross suckling is directly linked to feeding speed and has long term impacts on the calf and future production cow.

With the controlled flow of milk and the correct suckling action, the airways are kept clear of milk.

This helps to prevent infections caused by milk aspiration in the upper airways.

If you see calves coughing while drinking, the milk flow is too fast.