Open Collections

Milk feeding and calf housing practices on British Columbia dairy farms

Russell, Elizabeth

The primary aim of this study was to describe rearing practices of dairy calves on farms in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Measures of calf growth are sometimes used to assess success in calf rearing, so a secondary aim was to describe methods used to assess calf growth on these farms. All 437 dairy farms in the province were invited to participate in a survey distributed from June-December 2023. A total of 63 complete responses were received (representing 14.4% of the farms in BC). Milking herd size averaged (± SD) 167 + 172 cows, and the primary breed was Holstein for 84 % of respondents. Participants reported having an average of 2.8 + 1.5 employees responsible for pre-weaned calf care. Most (63.5%) farms housed calves individually before weaning, but some (25.4%) socially housed calves in groups of two or more and others (11.1%) used a combination of individual and social housing. The mean maximum milk allowance was 9.4 + 2.8 L/d, with 87% of respondents offering >8 L/d. Teat feeding was used on 71.7% of farms, with 13.1% using automated milk feeders. Two participants reported feeding calves via the dam or nurse cows. Weaning age averaged 76 ±16.3 d, with calf age being the primary criterion for weaning. About half (52.4%) of farms reported measuring calf growth, and 31.7% reported to having a target growth rate. Our results suggest that milk feeding practices in BC are changing, such that calves are now often fed higher milk rations via a teat. Individual housing remains common, suggesting further research is needed to understand the barriers to adopting social housing on commercial farms. In addition, our findings suggest room for improvement in monitoring calf growth; improved tracking of calf growth may facilitate evidence-based evaluations of calf rearing and weaning protocols on dairy farms.

Dataset

University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0445012

https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/0JE5W8

Dataverse