Single vs. Group Housing

Group housing of calves has increased in popularity over the past few years. Originally, single calves were raised alone in a hutch or pen to reduce the spread of disease, avoid cross-suckling, minimize competition, and facilitate management of calves at different ages. Over the past two decades, farm management has evolved to include group calf raising systems that minimize labor and simplify work load.

Many studies have observed calf behavior of individually housed calves compared to those raised in a group or a herd. When given the chance a newborn calf with form social bonds within the first week of life.  First, with the dam, and then even with other herd members. Over the next few weeks calves will form small social groups, as well as interact with the older animals. It appears that these social interactions allow the calf to learn certain behaviors such as feed selection and grazing skills. Cattle are social animals and several studies have shown that socially isolated animals may exhibit abnormal development and behaviors.

Calves raised in a group tend to be less fearful and more dominant when mixed into new groups later in life. Studies have shown that calves raised individually will show more adverse reaction to stress and environmental changes than calves raised in a group setting.  The overall adaptability of group raised calves is greater than those raised individually. 

Producer Experience

I had the pleasure of speaking with Randie Kopkey, on the topic of single vs. group housing. Randie raised veal calves for 30 years and was a National Sales Rep at Strauss Feeds for 42 years.  He has seen a lot of calf raising systems, and experienced the difference himself as the veal industry moved from single housing to group housing in 2017. Here are some thoughts from Randie on group housing calves.

What advantages are there to group housing?

Well, what actually drove the veal industry to group housing was consumer perception. It really wasn’t about what was easier or more efficient, and it didn’t really matter that we gave up some production efficiencies, it was more about how our consumers wanted the calves raised.

How did the change to group housing affect performance?

It was difficult to measure, as we changed more than just housing, because we also added grain feeding as we went to group housing.  Then also the next question was how much grain do you feed?  It kind of clouded the issue because there was more than one variable, but feed efficiencies were worse when housed as a group. In single housing they can still socialize through the fence and you can feed milk more aggressively with no competition. When feeding milk individually you have more control, and I really feel when feeding for performance that’s the best way to house.

Where will the future of group housing take us?

The veal market won’t accept single housed calves anymore. There has been a lot of research into what group size is best for housing calves. Two calves in a pen didn’t work very well. There always seems to be one of the two that dominates. Groups of four or more seemed to create a social system that worked better, and feed was consumed more equally. At Strauss we always recommended five calves to a pen. There are other companies in Canada and in the U.S. that recommend eight calves to a pen, but really any combo between 5-8 per pen seems to work well. 

How has group housing influenced calf raisers other than veal?

Typically, dairy beef are started individually and then weaned into a group. They are transitioned to concentrate feed early. These calves drink about 50 lbs. of replacer and are then weaned. Once they are on a concentrate grain for a while, then they are moved to a group setting. Once off milk there is no advantage to housing them individually. 

There are some veal farms that have switched to raising dairy beef. Instead of feeding calves in groups of five, they are feeding calves in groups of ten to make things easier and decrease labor. The calves are fed milk in a trough and water and grain are also offered in a trough. 

Application

There is no one right way to raise calves. Both single housed and group housed calves can perform well. It is important to use record keeping to help measure the success of your calf rearing program. Make decisions based off of these records, and monitor the effect any changes to your program might make. Keep in mind that although group housing might minimize the number of workers you employ, it takes a very proactive management style to successfully raise calves in a group. 

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.