The effects of manual and automated milk feeding methods on group-housed calf health, behaviour, growth and labour

Abstract

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The Effect of Contract-Rearing on the Health Status of Replacement Dairy Heifers

“…Calf-level outcomes for heifer calves on study farms were broadly consistent with the findings of other Irish studies, with most calves having a score of 0 for all parameters, i.e., they were healthy [ 20 , 21 ]. The median age of heifers during the first sampling period was 39 days, just outside the consensual definition of the neonatal period of 30 days [ 22 ].…”

A comparison of indoor and outdoor calf housing systems using automated and manual feeding methods and their effect on calf health, behavior, growth, and labor

“…This may be due to feeding method rather than housing system. This is confirmed by Sinnott et al (2021) who showed large differences exist in the labor associated with manual feeding twice a day and automatic feeding systems for indoor group-reared calves, indicating labor efficiencies may be closely related to feeding systems rather than housing system.…”

Developing ‘Smart’ Dairy Farming Responsive to Farmers and Consumer-Citizens: A Review

“…The high labor requirement for calf rearing, particularly on seasonal calving farms, has resulted in increased interest in using technology and automation to reduce the labor requirement associated with calf rearing. Automatic calf feeding systems are increasing in popularity primarily due to claimed economic gains arising from labor savings [91]. Increased feeding frequency, gradual weaning and socialization benefits for the calf [92] means that automated feeding can come closer to mimicking the way calves feed and behave in nature, potentially increasing animal welfare.…”