Comparing weaning methods in dairy calves with different dam contact levels

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Dairy Husbandry
• Animal Welfare

Background:

• Dairy systems allowing dam-rearing offer welfare benefits but can increase calf separation and weaning stress.
• Reducing daily dam-calf contact time may mitigate these negative responses.
• Separation from the dam and weaning are independent stressors that can be managed separately.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of 8 weeks of half-day dam-calf contact on calf weaning and separation responses.
• To compare these responses with whole-day dam-calf contact and artificial rearing.
• To evaluate the impact of a 1-week fence-line weaning strategy before permanent separation.

Main Methods:

• A 3x2 factorial design was used with dam contact (whole-day, half-day, control) and weaning (simultaneous, stepwise).
• Data were collected on 69 dairy calves over two weeks, encompassing weaning and separation interventions.
• Behavioral responses and average daily body weight gain were measured.

Main Results:

• Stepwise weaning significantly reduced vocalizations and activity in dam-reared calves compared to simultaneous weaning.
• No significant difference in separation response was observed between half-day and whole-day dam contact groups.
• Artificially reared control calves showed better weight gain post-weaning than dam-reared groups.

Conclusions:

• One week of fence-line weaning effectively reduced the combined weaning and separation stress in dam-reared calves.
• Reducing dam-calf contact time to half-day did not show additional behavioral benefits over whole-day contact.
• Further research may be needed to fully understand and optimize calf welfare during weaning and separation processes.