Group Calf Housing
Calf housing is an important aspect of dairy farming. It has a direct impact on the health and development of young calves. Group calf housing has gained popularity as an alternative to individual calf housing. In this blog, we will discuss group calf housing in detail, its benefits, and the factors that should be considered when implementing this system.
What is Group Calf Housing?
Group calf housing is a system in which young calves are housed together in groups rather than being individually housed in hutches or pens. Calves should be grouped based on age, size, and sex. The group size can vary from three to 10 calves, with the proper area space.
Benefits of Group Calf Housing:
Group housing can come with a whole list of benefits, if properly done. Calves can improve their socialization and feeding efficiency. Calves provide other calves with social cues that can teach them what, where and when to eat, increasing starter intake and growth, while reducing stress with the ability to be social. Learning how to be social as a calf will have a lasting impact on weaned and adult life.
Socialization
Calves are social animals, and group housing allows them to interact with other calves, which promotes socialization and reduces stress. It is important to be doing everything you can to improve your herds social health and flexibility to ease the transitions they go through in life. This can have long-term benefits, as socially adapted calves may be better able to adapt to their adult herd.
Improved Feed Efficiency
Group housing can promote better feed intake and growth rates in calves. This is because calves can learn from each other and develop healthy feeding patterns. Improvements that are often seen are increased starter grain intake and greater average daily gains during the period they are fed milk. When calves have earlier and greater grain consumption, it helps to initiate rumen development. You can even provide older calves with forages like dry hay for rumen health.
Improved Health
Group housing has been shown to improve the overall health of young calves. It allows for better monitoring and management of calf health, as sick calves can be identified and treated more quickly in a group setting.
Reduced Labor and Cost
Group calf housing can be more labor-efficient and cost-effective than individual housing systems. It requires less labor to manage and maintain, and it can reduce equipment and infrastructure costs.
Disadvantages of Group Calf Housing:
While the benefits of group calf housing are quite substantial, we like to be honest with our readers. This means admitting that there are potential disadvantages that can come with grouping young calves. Our top two concerns would be disease transfer and cross-suckling.
Disease Transfer
With individual calf housing, disease transfer is limited. Contagious diseases are more transmittable via direct contact, as seen in group calf housing. Some reports have shown that individual housing vs. group housing show no difference in morbidity rates while a few show a slight increase. We believe as long as the group housing program is well-managed and calves have received the necessary neonatal care, then your calves will be less prone to disease.
Cross-suckling
Cross-suckling is a general concern when considering group calf housing. We recommend feeding milk via teat as opposed to a bucket. We like to tell our customers to provide a “dry teat” for calves in between feedings. Since farmers often see cross-suckling post-weaning, we also recommend doing a gradual weaning. Since starter grain intake is more sufficient in group housing, calves see less of a need to suckle during the weaning process.
Factors to Consider when Implementing Group Calf Housing:
Group Size
The size of the group should be determined based on the space available, the age of the calves, and the management practices of the farm. Larger groups may require more space and management but can also provide more socialization benefits.
Housing Environment
When considering the implementation of group calf housing, consider the current housing and what changes would need to be made. The housing environment should be comfortable, well-ventilated, and spacious. Calves should have access to clean water and a balanced diet, and their bedding should be kept clean and dry. Check out our blog on Top 6 Things to Consider When Updating Calf Housing.
Health Management
Group calf housing requires more attention to health management, as diseases can spread more easily in a group setting. A good vaccination program and monitoring for signs of illness are important. In individual housing, you can give individualized attention, but most say it is easier to spot a sick calf in a group of healthy calves. Your staff must be cautious and have the ability to detect early signs of sickness. The easiest time to do this is during feedings and throughout the day when performing other tasks in the calf area. We wrote a blog on newborn calf vaccines for you - https://www.gomilkbarn.com/articles-and-faqs/newborn-calf-immunity-boosters .
Staff Training
Staff should be trained in proper management and handling of group-housed calves, including feeding and health management. They need to know how to manage milk feeding and consumption for each calf and to be observant of sickness.
In conclusion, group calf housing is a viable alternative to individual calf housing. It can promote socialization, which improves feed efficiency. When the program is correctly managed you can improve overall calf health while reducing labor and cost. Proper management is crucial when implementing this system, so we recommend consulting with a dairy specialist to determine if group calf housing is appropriate for your operation.