Feeding colostrum to new-born calves using a conventional bag feeder can be a frustrating process. Getting milk into the bag can be difficult, the zip at the top of the bag can be hard to operate, the bag is usually limited to two litres and you usually need someone else on hand to hold the bag while getting the tube into the calf.

Strabane dairy farmer David Thompson has come up with an idea to amend the tube feeding system. His idea is to:

1. Buy bag stomach tube.

2. Cut the hose off.

3. Take a five-litre fluke drench drum and cut the bottom off.

4. Make two holes at the cut end to make a wire handle.

5. Put the nozzle fitting on the five-litre drum and push the calf stomach tube on.

6. Tighten the tube on the nozzle with a jubilee clip or a piece of wire.

“You can now feed the calf up to five litres, fill the drum easily, carry the drum easily and the milk goes into the calf rather than on to your clothes and the ground,” said David.