MMN March 2025 – Husbandry of Dairy Calves

When rearing calves there is a lot to think about from to the day of birth right through to getting that calf to enter the milking herd. Husbandry is important throughout the calf’s life.

Pre-weaning is a crucial time to socialise the calves. Calves who are grouped together learn their daily routine quickly and this allows them to be comfortable in a herd setting from early on. Visual contact can also be beneficial in growth and development of the calves, if they can see their peers they can settle more quickly when put into a group.

There is a short period of stress when grouping the calves together, whether pre-weaning or post-weaning. Some calves may be more aggressive and some more timid, which will result in a lower feed intake initially in those lower down the pecking order. However, this is short-term, and normal behaviour should return within 5-15 days. It is recommended that calves are kept in groups no bigger than 12 members from three weeks of age and once weaned, this can increase to a group size maximum of 20 calves. The space required by the calves increases as they get bigger, therefore the group size should be dictated by the shed space available. Keeping them in smaller groups of under 20 calves means that it is easier to identify sick or injured calves.

Minimum space per calf in group housing

Source: AHDB Dairy

In group housing care should be taken to monitoring each calf’s milk intake. Machine feeding with electronic ID tags can be a useful tool to monitor feeding behaviour and highlight any sick calves that have not drunk their milk allocation before they show clinical signs of ill health.

Cleanliness is key when making the transition from individual to group housing regarding the pen, as well as equipment such as feed troughs, feeders and water supply. These are contact points where diseases can be passed from calf to calf easily.  Keeping these clean can help to reduce this risk. Water supply should also be readily available from day one and checked daily to ensure there is no contamination from muck or bedding.

Bedding is also important to keep clean. When checking bedding the knee test can be done to see if the calves waste is being absorbed by the straw or draining away. This can be done by kneeling on the bedding to check if your clothing is wet, and if this is the case the bedding needs to be removed or topped up. Calves spend around 70% of their time lying down, therefore a dry bed is important and wet bedding can chill the calf, making it more difficult to maintain thermal comfort. Therefore, a dry bed can help the calves maintain their body temperature more easily, allowing them to put more energy into growing.

Mucking out and cleaning the sheds, should be done at least every three to five weeks and then lime or disinfection powder used afterward. This is recommended to reduce the amount of waste water going through the sheds. If using a high-pressure hose frequently it can disperse pathogens more easily between batches of calves. A deep clean should be carried out at least yearly to get a fresh start.

In summary, socialising calves from around three weeks of age is the best way to help them settle down into the herd later in their milking life. Cleanliness of the shed and equipment is also important to make sure the calves have the best start in life.

helen.cowie@sac.co.uk; 01631 707076