Bucket Teat Units (original design)
Feed orphan lambs, goat kids and calves by attaching teat unit to a square bucket. Teats sold separately. (See Accessories tab below.)
Use a bucket teat wrench to easily tighten or loosen the plastic gray “nut”.
Instructions/Diagrams:
Common Uses
Specs
When using buckets with pre-drilled holes, we’ll drill 1.5" diameter holes, for up to 6 teat units on 3 sides of the bucket. If you decide to drill your own holes, the hole should be 1.5" diameter, and 0.5" up from inside bottom of the bucket.
Teats sold separately.
As an alternative, consider using Easy Clean Bucket Teat Units. The unit itself remains on the bucket, while the nipple and flow control pin can be quickly removed for washing.
Tips
Why so low? When a young ruminant stretches out its neck to nurse, their esophagus elongates and forms a groove that carries the milk into the 4th stomach (the abomasum).
If the neck is not stretched, the milk falls into the first stomach instead of the 4th. But the first stomach is intended for grass and hay. It doesn’t digest milk well. A first stomach with too much milk enlarges to form a “potbelly”—and the lamb/kid can’t thrive.
Mountable Teat Feeders (for welded wire panels or wall mounting) are an alternative DIY option.
Teats
Listed below are recommended optional components or related items. Your particular situation may require alternative recommendations. Please call and talk to our consultants if there are any questions at 800-282-6631.
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Teats and Nipples
Extra Washer
Item #565100 -For feeding orphaned lambs and goat kids via milking buckets. Attach a rubber or latex teat for the animals to nurse.
$0.50 -
Teats and Nipples
Bucket Teat Unit Wrench
Item #565010 -Simple wrench for bucket teat units. Provides the needed leverage to loosen tight nuts.
$5.00 -
Buckets and Troughs
Square Bucket with drilled hole(s), 2 gallon
Item #564805 -Pre-drilled square buckets are ideal when building DIY feeders for orphan lambs and goat kids. Holes can be customized to support up to 6 teat units.
$13.00 -
Buckets and Troughs
Square Bucket with drilled hole(s), 4 gallon
Item #564804 -Pre-drilled square buckets are ideal when building DIY feeders for orphan lambs and goat kids. Holes can be customized to support up to 6 teat units.
$19.00 -
Buckets and Troughs
EzeLid
Item #564802 -Fits Premier’s 2 and 4 gallon square buckets. Easy to put on and off.
$5.00 -
Buckets and Troughs
Premier Bucket Holder
Item #564700 -Hanging bracket for securing round buckets and square buckets to wire panels or a 1" wood plank.
$4.00 -
Teats and Nipples
Flat Back Latex Teat (with washer)
Item #565818 -Soft latex teats are a good choice for newborn lambs and goat kids. Flat-back design fits Premier’s bucket teat units and mountable teat feeders.
$2.20 -
Teats and Nipples
Red Rubber Teats
Item #565200 -Attach nipples to Bucket Teat Units to fed orphan lambs and goat kids. Rubber is more durable for sharp-toothed orphans than latex.
$2.10 -
Teats and Nipples
Natural Latex Teats
Item #565300 -Latex teats for nursing lambs and goat kids using bucket teat units. Best for weak animals, or newborns under 10 days of age. Easy to clean.
$2.10 -
Teats and Nipples
Red Latex Teats
Item #565400 -Latex teats for nursing lambs and goat kids using bucket teat units. Best for weak animals, or newborns under 10 days of age. Easy to clean.
$2.10 -
Teats and Nipples
Dairy Kid Latex Teats, long
Item #565815 -Elongated latex nipple for dairy goat kids or other livestock accustomed to nursing from a longer teat. Easy to clean.
$2.20 -
Teats and Nipples
Dairy Kid Long Teats, rubber
Item #565817 -Orphan dairy goat feeding teat with elongated rubber nipple. Mimics size and shape of dam’s teats. “Flat-back” design for use with bucket teat units.
$2.20 -
Teats and Nipples
Calf Teat
Item #565700 -Fits onto Premier's bucket feeding units for a milk source to bottle and bucket calves.
$2.10 -
Feeding Orphan Lambs and Kids
Shepherd's Choice® Lamb & Kid Milk, 25 lbs
Item #780002 -Veterinary-formulated milk replacer that provides total nutritional requirements for baby lambs and goat kids.
$70.00 -
Feeding Orphan Lambs and Kids
Shepherd's Choice® Kid Milk, 45 lb bag
Item #780004 -Veterinary-formulated milk replacer with citristim that provides total nutritional requirements for goat kids. 50 lb bag.
$119.00
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Teats and Nipples
Extra Washer
Item #565100 -For feeding orphaned lambs and goat kids via milking buckets. Attach a rubber or latex teat for the animals to nurse.
$0.50
Write a Review
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Charles S from Florida
If you have more than one orphan lamb/goat, this is the way to go, period. Actually, I'll use it with even one orphan. It was easy to start them on the bucket and it saves so much time. I mix up the milk and carry a thermos of hot water to wash out the bucket. Takes all of five minutes, twice a day. About the only improvement would be in the bucket lids or the container, something that was easier to open & close.
Crystal E from CA
I love these things! We've used this unit to raise lambs and goat kids with the lamb nipples and also to raise calved with a standard calf nipple. They turn an hours long job into about 10 minutes twice a day, regardless how many your raising at a time. When used with cold, free choice milk replacer, I've found that the lambs grow nearly as fast as their ewe-raised counterparts. I do recommend using the right milk replacer. Some don't mix as easily or stay in suspension as well in cold water as others.
Mona E from Southern Idaho
Wonderful product! Great price! Because of the price, I buy a dozen washers and keep them on hand every spring. To prevent leakage, we add another washer to the teat unit after the lambs get older and become more aggressive feeders.
Paul D
Outstanding product deserving of a "lamb-saver award." Our original ones came with a farm-store lamb bucket and are still going strong after four years. The rubber washers get squished after many uses, so keep extras on hand. I got extras of the teat units too and have never needed them. My hands aren't very strong but I have no trouble getting these apart for cleaning. We start our bottle lambs on Pritchard nipples, switch to the brown ones, and then the red stiffer ones.
Caryl E. B
These are great. The installation instructions are clear and easy to follow. Took me maybe five minutes total to set up a bucket with the 4 teat units. Pay attention to the form of the lip of the nipples that will work with the teat units if you don't plan to buy nipples when you buy the teat units. They can be used with Pritchard nipples, but you need extra washers. I was skeptical about extra replacer being wasted in the bottom of the buckets, but my lambs get all of it. My lambs also took to the nipples instantly and I didn't have to help them. I sort of milked the empty nipple so it was full which I gave them the first bucket, so when they explored, they'd immediately get a taste of food. Worked great. They went from Pritchard to the latex nipple with a different color, with only a few seconds of being fussy about the different feel.