Two Heads are Better Than One: UW-Madison’s Starter Guide to Pairing Dairy Calves
For a number of years now animal science research institutions have explored the benefits of raising calves in pairs or small groups over individual housing. The Animal Welfare Science department at University of Wisconsin-Madison recently published a thoroughly researched seven-article starter guide to walk raisers through the process and everything that’s been published about it. The set of articles is extremely comprehensive and covers a lot of ground: social welfare, hygiene, transfer of passive immunity benchmarks, disbudding, options for housing, best feeding practices, and more. The articles are meant to work together as a series and some are available in Spanish as well.
The research looks promising, but don’t take our word for it. Click the image below and have a look.
RECENT POSTS
The use of beef semen on dairy cows has changed the playing field and redefined the meaning of “dairy beef.” Historically, purebred dairy calves that were sold into the beef production system had relatively low value and weren’t always given top-tier treatment at their dairies of origin.