INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF COW-CALF CONTACT ON DAIRY COW AND CALF WELFARE

Nearly all dairy calves are separated from their dams within hours of birth and are artificially reared on dairy farms. However, a subset of farms keep calves with their dams for extended periods of time after birth (e.g., days to months) and/or remove calves from their dams to be reared by nurse cows. There is limited information regarding the impact of alternative cow-calf management practices on the health and welfare of dairy cows and calves. Our goal is to provide foundational information that describes the impact of various practices of extended cow-calf contact on the welfare, including health, of dairy cows and preweaned calves, and characterize dairy producer perspectives on extended cow-calf contact. We will address our project goals with three specific objectives. Objective 1: Characterize animal and resource-based measures of cow and calf welfare on dairy farms that utilize extended cow-calf contact and immediate separation. Objective 2: Investigate herd-level risk factors of disease on extended cow-calf contact and immediate separation farms. Objective 3: Describe dairy producer attitudes toward cow-calf contact using semi-structured interviews and a mixed-methods questionnaire.