Volume 9, No. 10
TUBE CALVES EASILY WITH DANISH FEEDER
By Russ Schnepper, DVM
I was introduced to an esophageal tube feeder while I was in Denmark. It was developed by Rikke Pedersen who is with the Danish Agricultural Advisory Center. They
invested a lot of time in development of the feeder. Postmortems were done on the calves following the use of tube feeders. The usual tube feeders caused hemorrhages
in the lining of the esophagus. Those calves were quite likely to have sore throats and refrain from eating. Calves that were tube fed several times had much more
damage. So if we are tubing sick calves with a tube feeder that causes severe trauma we may be making the calf worse. The Danes experimented with various sized
probes until they came up with one that did not cause damage and was easy to get into the esophagus and not the trachea.
Aspiration pneumonia was noticed in a few experimental calves, from the fluid leaking into the mouth prior to the tube being inserted into the esophagus. An on-off slip
type valve was placed on the probe enabling the probe to be inserted properly before the fluids start to flow.
The holder for the bag is made so it can be handled as a back pack, or hung on a panel, leaving your hands free to work with the calf.
Disposable bags are used to make the feeding procedure easy to keep sanitary. The bags hold approximately five quarts of liquid. A gallon of colostrum can be frozen in
the bag and then after thawing, the bag can be put directly into the holder and the colostrum administered to the calf without further handling.
Preparing the feeder for use is simple. Place the plastic disposable bag into the holder which you have placed on a flat surface. Add the liquid to the bag (or in the case
of using frozen colostrum, the liquid is already in the bag). Tie a knot in the top of the plastic bag, or use an electrical or garbage bag tie.
Place your tie down close to the liquid to eliminate as much air as possible from the bag. Then while applying a little pressure to the top of the bag of liquid, insert the spike into the lower side of the bag and lock it in place with a simple quarter turn twist. Your feeder is now ready to use. Once a little liquid is released thru the probe a negative pressure is produced inside the bag (just like in a baby bottle) and it will not leak. I would suggest the first time you use it - try first with water. You will find the feeder extremely easy to use.
Clean up is easy. Just throw the bag away. The bag costs no more than a comparable size zip lock freezer bag. The spike on the opposite end of the probe will fit into
the end of an ordinary garden hose quick coupler, making it easy to flush.
Extra bags and probes are reasonably priced. Probes should probably be replaced once or twice per year. The feeder is being sold in Europe for $61. We have a
special introductory price for $40.38. The basic set includes 25 bags. Extra roll is $6.20.
Contact information for ordering information and questions about our products:
Schnepper International, Inc.
3162 County B, Platteville, WI 53818
608-348-6141, Fax: 608-348-6146
www.calfdoctor.com email: rschnep@mhtc.net