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Good Eating Habits Lead to Good Growth and Welfare of Dairy Calves
The dairy calf needs access to milk in sufficient quantities to maintain health and high-levels of growth. In addition, solid feed consumption must also occur early in life to establish fermentation in the rumen, and initiate the process of physical and metabolic development of the rumen. There is good empirical evidence that the feeding behavior patterns of adult dairy cattle, in meal patterning and dietary selection, can impact health, productivity, and welfare. It has also been demonstrated in more recent research that the feeding behavior patterns of dairy calves may also be just as important. In particular, feeding behavior can have immediate impact by influencing nutrient consumption and growth. Further, as behavior patterns are learned early in the life of a ruminant, these may have long-term implications if and when they persist over time. Thus, there is potential for various nutritional, housing, and management factors early in the life of a dairy calf to impact both short- and long-term feeding behavior patterns. This review will provide several examples of early-life factors influencing the eating habits of dairy calves and, in turn, influencing calf growth and welfare. For example, providing continuous, ad libitum access to milk may result not only in greater growth, but also in more natural feeding patterns, both of milk and solid feed. As another example, there is new data to reinforce the idea that providing forage to calves is important for rumen development, and consequent growth and efficiency. However, the physical form and presentation of that forage may also have a significant impact on the feeding patterns of calves, in particular feed sorting, impacting both their immediate nutrient intakes as well as the development and persistence of that behavior. Housing management also has the potential to impact calf feeding behavior and growth. Housing calves in pairs (vs. individually) can promote intake and growth, particularly at weaning. However, competition for feed access for grouped calves can impact the expression and learning of less desirable feeding patterns. Continued research in this area is needed to assess how long some of these learned behaviors persist, and what factors may influence their persistence or diminishment.
Keywords: calves, behavior, sorting