Dairy calf welfare concerns are growing and new evidence suggests that the early life environment influences appropriate physical, behavioral, and cognitive development lasting into adulthood. This review highlights key evidence for the impacts of housing, diets, and painful procedures on calf welfare. We argue that these topics are currently critical welfare concerns, but are not the only points of concern. In addition to environmental requirements to maintain optimal health, dairy calves experience other challenges including social and nutritional restrictions. Individual housing is associated with impaired behavioral development and cognitive ability. Pair and group housing can mitigate some of these negative effects and should be encouraged. Restrictive milk allowances (<15% of body weight) lead to poor growth and hunger; these welfare concerns can be addressed with proper enhanced milk allowances and gradual weaning programs. Finally, dehorning is a critical animal welfare issue when pain control is withheld; calves show negative behavioral, physiological, and emotional responses during and after dehorning. The combined use of local anaesthetics and analgesics can mitigate these effects. An industry shift toward providing social companionship, enhanced milk allowances, and pain control during painful procedures would help to improve the welfare of dairy calves in intensive commercial rearing facilities.

Dairy cows sort mixed rations; in some cases sorting can lead to digestive disorders. How sorting behavior develops in calves is poorly understood. The objective of this observational study was to determine if sorting behavior of total mixed ration (TMR)-fed dairy calves was affected by the removal of supplementary concentrate. Dairy bull calves (n=18) were provided access to both a TMR (49.1% dry matter) and calf starter fed separately during the preweaning period starting at 3 d of age. Sorting of the TMR was assessed after weaning when calves were provided both feeds at 65 d of age, and again at 70 d immediately following the removal of calf starter from the calf pen. Sorting was measured by comparing the particle size composition of the TMR offered with that of the orts following 24h of feed access. Feed particle fractions were measured using the Penn State Particle Separator with 3 screens (19, 8, and 1.18mm) and a bottom pan to separate the TMR into long, medium, short, and fine fractions, respectively. At d 65, calves sorted for long particles (133±9%) and against small particles (92±3%), with no differences for the remaining fractions (99±5% for medium; 107±5% for fine); these preferences were reversed at d 70 when calf starter was no longer available with calves preferentially selecting fine particles (113±4%), but showing no preference for other fractions (101±11% for long; 99±6% for medium; 97±4% for short). These results indicate that young dairy calves are capable of sorting a TMR and they adjust this behavior in response to the availability of grain.