Effects of different feeding methods and space allowance on the growth performance, individual and social behaviors of Holstein calves

Abstract The importance of nutrient provisions and weaning methods for calves has been well established over the past few years, while as increasing interest has focused on contribution of animal behavior and their overall performance in production regimes. The present study investigated the effects of feeding methods and space allowance on growth performance, individual and social behaviors in Holstein calves. Twenty-four Chinese Holstein male and female calves were allocated to either an individual or group of 6 and fed either with a bucket or a teat. Milk replacer, calf starter, and Chinese wildrye were offered during the experiment. A fecal index used in the present study was defined as the total fecal scores/total number of calves in each treatment. The results showed that there was no significant difference among the 4 treatments in terms of feed intake, body weight, average daily gain, and fecal index. For the feeding behaviors, the ingesting milk time and ingesting milk rate were significantly affected by space allowance, while the feeding methods showed a significant influence on the bunting behavior of the calves. There was no significant difference among the 4 treatments in terms of licking fixtures, self-grooming, and lying down behaviors, irrespective of the feeding method or space allowance. However, sucking an empty bucket or the teat was significantly affected by the feeding method. Several selected group behaviors were examined in the present study, and similar values for sniffing the other calves, social grooming, and cross-sucking behaviors were observed. Overall, the present study demonstrated that different feeding methods and space allowances had a significant effect on the feeding behavior of calves, while the feed intake, growth performance, health condition, individual and group social behaviors were not significantly influenced. Furthermore, under intensified production systems, Holstein calves raised in a group may obtain a similar production performance, thus reducing management input and profitability compared with those kept individually. However, there may be competition during the feeding period.