Early weaning: new insights on an ever-persistent problem in the dairy industry

Abstract

It is common practice in the dairy industry to separate the calf from the cow immediately after parturition, and in most parts of the world calves are housed individually during the milk-feeding period. Early and abrupt separation has major implications for the calf's physical and psychological development. In this Research Reflection short review we present and discuss the main housing systems and management practices regarding early weaning in today's dairy industry. Main benefits and disadvantages are critically addressed, and possible future research suggested. Furthermore, major policy issues related to consumers, scientific recommendations and economic performance of farms have been identified, as well as future drivers for more viable housing solutions for neonatal calves. This review serves as an introduction and preamble to the second section of this Special Issue, which is dedicated to cow-calf contact management systems.

Presence of Adult Companion Goats Favors the Rumen Microbial and Functional Development in Artificially Reared Kids

“…Previous studies with calves have demonstrated that decreasing the milk allowance during the artificial milk feeding period or optimizing the type of solid feed (e.g., presentation form and taste) and feeder location prior to weaning can encourage young ruminants to increase the solid feed intake ( 1 , 4 ). However, artificial milk feeding in conjunction with early weaning strategies can limit the rumen microbiological colonization by a microbial consortium able to perform the major fermentative and metabolic functions required at weaning and beyond, which may have negative effects on the weaning process ( 3 ).…”

“…Weaning of ruminants in natural conditions is a progressive process that occurs between 6 and 9 months of age, and it is characterized by a decrease in the frequency of suckling, with an increase in the frequency and amount of solid feed intake and development of more complex social interactions ( 1 ). However, in the current dairy production systems ruminants are weaned much earlier and newborns are typically separated from their dams immediately or during the first hours after birth, and they have no contact with adult ruminants until they are weaned or later.…”

“…Artificial milk represents a substantial feeding cost in the current production systems, but weaning is not recommended until the rumen has a sufficient anatomical, physiological, and microbiological development ( 3 ), particularly when early weaning (conventional) is performed at 2 months of age. Several nutritional strategies have been proposed to maximize the solid feed intake prior to weaning such as decreasing milk allowance (step-down weaning) or optimizing feeder location and type of solid feed ( 1 , 4 ). Nevertheless, these strategies are unlikely to favor the rumen microbial development.…”

The effect of pair housing on dairy calf health, performance, and behavior

“…Despite these advantages, dairy farmers are reluctant to adopt group housing due to concerns over more difficult handling and health monitoring (Rushen et al, 2008), cross-sucking, aggression (reviewed by Costa et al, 2016), and disease transmission (Webster et al, 1985;Gulliksen et al, 2009;Curtis et al, 2016). Pair housing of calves could be an attractive option for farmers because it combines the benefits of social contact with the practical advantages of easy handling and illness monitoring (Mikuš et al, 2020), as well as limits the number of nose-nose and fecal-oral contacts responsible for the transmission of enteric and respiratory diseases (McGuirk, 2008). Moreover, many of the positive effects of group housing on the behavior and welfare of calves could be also achieved by pair housing.…”

Introduction: special issue themed section on milk production with cow and calf together

“…Some of the challenges with raising calves separated from their dams are commented on by Mikuš et al . (2020) and Relić et al . (2020) in the last two papers in the previous section of this issue.…”