Influences of feeding and housing practices on the behavior and performance of dairy calves

Abstract Text: Approaches to rearing replacement dairy heifers vary widely between farms across the Southeast, and the behavior and performance of the calf early in life is highly subject to management practices. There is also increasing evidence that early life environment and experiences can have longer-term effects on the performance and health of the growing heifer and mature cow. This presentation will review the current understanding of the short and longer-term behavioral and performance implications of early life management factors that may vary on-farm, including milk feeding method, solid feed provision, and social housing. First, on-farm milk-feeding levels typically range between conventional restricted feeding programs to free-access feeding.  From a behavioral standpoint, milk feeding level influences milk meal frequency and diurnal patterns of feeding time prior to weaning. Early rate of weight gain is dependent on milk feeding level, and there is evidence that differences in performance may be maintained post-weaning and have later benefits in life. A main goal of rearing replacement heifers is to wean them successfully from milk to solid feed, and early solid feed intake is critical for this transition. Solid feed types and presentation directly affect intake and feeding patterns and there is evidence that feed experiences during the milk-feeding stage may have a longer-term influence on feeding behavior of weaned dairy calves. For example, post-weaning feed sorting behavior appears to depend on feed preferences, which are informed by prior feed experiences, as well as early opportunity to perform this behavior, as provided by access to a mixed diet. Finally, housing environment can be highly influential in the social development of the calf and may also interact with feeding methods, having both immediate and longer-term effects on performance and behavior. Social contact has been demonstrated to be beneficial in encouraging early solid feed intake and supporting weight gain through weaning. Further, early social environment influences social development and may have longer-term effects on the behavior of the calf. Group-housing facilities introduce the possibility of competition for feed access, and this may also influence the development of social and feeding behavior. The extent to which all of these early rearing factors may influence long-term behavioral development and performance into lactation remains largely unknown and requires further investigation.

Keywords: behavior, dairy calf, feeding