Dairy calf housing strategies to maximize welfare and meet producer goals

Abstract

Social housing of dairy calves during the pre-weaning period is slowly becoming more popular in the North American dairy industry. The current body of literature suggests that calves housed in a group (> 2 calves housed together) during the pre-weaning period can have improved growth, social and cogni­tive skills as compared to individually housed calves. However, there are distinct challenges to group housing, particularly as group size increases beyond 8 calves/group. Veterinarians can and should get involved in producer decision-making when changes to calf management are considered, and can play a key role in protocol development and monitoring programs to help drive success of these systems. The following discussion will describe the current best practices for calf rearing during the pre-weaning period, focusing on large group and pair housing.