Effects of mixing on drinking and competitive behavior of dairy calves

Group housing provides increased access to space and social interactions for calves while reducing labor costs for producers. However, group housing necessarily requires that calves be mixed and no research to date has addressed the effects of mixing on behavior of milk-fed dairy calves. The objective of this study was to monitor the feeding and competitive behavior of individual dairy calves (n = 8) after introduction into an established group of older calves fed ad libitum by a computer-controlled milk feeder. Milk feeding was monitored for 2 d before introduction into the new group and both milk feeding and competitive behaviors were monitored for 4 d after mixing. Mean (+/- SE) milk consumption before mixing was 9.7 +/- 0.7 kg/d, dropped slightly on the day of mixing to 8.6 +/- 0.6 kg/d, but increased on d 1 to 3 after mixing to 11.1 +/- 0.3 kg/d. Calves visited the feeder less frequently on the day of mixing (6.0 +/- 1.8 visits/d) than on either the days before mixing (20.3 +/- 2.5 visits/d) or the days after mixing (25.3 +/- 6.9 visits/ d). The mean duration of feeder visits and mean milk consumption per visit increased from 4 min 15 s +/- 21 s and 0.53 +/- 0.06 kg per visit before mixing to 8 min 17 s +/- 1 min 28 s and 1.87 +/- 0.51 kg per visit on the day of mixing. Competitive displacements from the milk-feeding stall were rare. In summary, feeding behavior of young calves is altered on the day of mixing, but calves are able to maintain milk intake when using a milk feeder fitted with a stall that prevents calves from displacing one another.