Tips for safe bottle-feeding

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FEED 15% of their bodyweight over the course of 24 hours;

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MAKE sure milk is mixed at the correct ratio of powder to water – read the instructions on the bag carefully as inconsistencies can easily cause stomach upsets;

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DIVIDE the total day's feed into as many small feeds as possible – to put it in perspective, a lamb or goat kid would feed 14+ times a day on their mother;

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THE milk should be warm – about 30°C – which tells the body to direct the milk to the correct chamber of the stomach; •

THE hole in the teat should be big enough that milk drips when held upside down at a 45° angle, but it shouldn't dribble or flow freely;

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MILK should be made up fresh each time and provided in sterilised bottles and teats. Cooling and reheating can alter milk nutrition, and lukewarm milk left to sit can develop infectious bugs.

Waste milk (also known as antibiotic or ‘red' milk) is produced by lactating cows receiving treatment for diseases such as mastitis. The term also applies to the milk produced in the withholding period (the 3-4 days after treatment finishes).

It used to be common to feed this milk – which can't be used for human consumption – to calves, but Dairy NZ now strongly advises against it.

Exposing a calf's developing digestive tract to low concentrations of antibiotics may:

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encourage bacterial growth with existing resistance genes;

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lead to other bacteria mutating and developing new ways to resist antibiotics;

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cause them to shed antibioticresistant faecal bacteria into the environment;

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interfere with calves establishing good gut bacteria;

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expose them to pathogens and viruses from older, sick cows.