1. Managing Transition Dairy Cows
Veal Calf Housing
and
Cattle Tail Docking
Managing Transition Dairy Cows
Jim Reynolds DVM, MPVM
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
VMTRC

2. Dairy Calf Overview Heifer calves Bull calves
Become replacements for the dairy
Raised on the dairy or at a calf ranch
3 uses for dairy bull calves:
Fed beef
Sold to calf ranches
Raised to 4 months
Sold to feedlots
Dairy bulls
Veal calves

3. The Five Freedoms: welfare ideals for farm animals
1 FREEDOM FROM HUNGER
AND THIRST
by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2 FREEDOM FROM DISCOMFORT
by providing an appropriate
environment including shelter and
a comfortable resting area.
3 FREEDOM FROM PAIN, INJURY
OR DISEASE
by prevention or rapid diagnosis
and treatment.
4 FREEDOM TO EXPRESS
NORMAL BEHAVIOUR
by providing sufficient space, proper
facilities and company of the animal’s
own kind.
5 FREEDOM FROM FEAR
AND DISTRESS
by ensuring conditions and treatment
which avoid mental suffering.

4. Animal Husbandry = Animal Welfare
1) Nutrition – feed and water
2) Housing – cow comfort; clean, dry, comfortable housing
3) Health – disease prevention, recognition and treatment
4) Animal behavior and social interaction
5) Minimal stress – calm handling and secure housing

5. Basic behaviors of calves include:
Resting / lying
Standing
Eating
Drinking
Ruminating
Walking
Playing
Grooming
From: Calf Welfare. Stull and Reynolds

6. Animals have certain innate behaviors
The question to ask yourself is:
Does the environment or management system we provide restrict their ability to express those behaviors?
In as much as is possible – the objective should be to provide an environment that permits normal behavior, provides basic animal needs and limits or reduces fear and distress.
J. K. Shearer DVM, MS.
Professor and Extension Veterinarian
Iowa State University
College of Veterinary Medicine

7. Calf Needs and Natural Behaviors
Suckling behavior
Nipple bottle versus bucket feeding?
Resting or sleeping
Tethered housing? Pens that restrict ability to turn around
Need to explore and socialize
Individual pens or stalls
The need for exercise
How much space?
Grooming behavior
Individual housing restricts grooming behavior

8. Normal Resting Positions
The Narrow Resting Position
The Wide Resting Position
The Long Resting Position
The Short Resting Position

9. Basic Dairy Calf Housing
Neonates / Individual housing:
Must be clean and dry
Calves must be able to turn around in individual housing
“Turn around without touching sides”?
“Extend feet without touching sides”?
Nesting (bedding) in cold weather
Calf-calf interaction
Tether OK if can turn around 9

10. Individual Dairy Calf Housing Typical for first 60 days
positives
negatives
Provides shelter from sun and rain
Allows contact with adjacent calves
Allows grooming and most lying postures
Facilitates observation, vaccination and treatment
Facilitates contagious disease control
Limits movement to turning around and lying
Does not allow play

11. Neonates / Group housing:
positives
negatives
Provides stimulation and enrichment
Allows calf play
Increased calf to calf interaction
Allows all postures
Well suited for small groups
Sanitation can be difficult with large groups
Contagious disease control procedures more difficult 11

12. Veal Calf Production and Welfare - Industry Facts
Six primary veal producing states - Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Veal farmers purchase surplus dairy calves, primarily male Holstein calves, at about 100 pounds live weight and raise them for approximately weeks, until they weigh upward of pounds.
From American Veal Association

13. Veal Calf Production and Welfare - Industry Facts
Typical farm has 250 calves, cared for by a farm family.
Special-fed veal represents a $650 - $700 million industry.
The special-fed veal industry contributes $250 million to the dairy industry through purchases of dairy by-products and calves.
From American Veal Association

14. What is “Veal”? Soft, tender pale meat of young calves
Calves are 1 day to 5 months of age
Color of meat is determined by iron and copper
Exercise is reduced in the belief it softens the meat
Kept monogastric in belief that rumen fermentation changes flavor and texture of the meat
“flavor and texture is imparted by the chef”

15. Veal Calf Production and Welfare
Several categories of veal calves:
“Bob veal”
1 day to a few weeks of age
Veal
Typically 5 months and 500 pounds
Special-fed veal
Rose or pink veal
More iron and copper in calf
“Red veal”

16. “Classic” Veal Production Welfare Issues
Calves are not castrated or dehorned (a welfare positive)
Tethered in place
Cannot turn around or contact other calves
Short tether does not allow normal movement
Fed liquid only (milk replacer) diet
Rumen not developed; no cud-chewing
Rumen development can be considered normal physiology

17. Welfare Issues with “Traditional Veal”
Behavior
Limited or no contact with other calves
Stereotypy of licking side (excessive grooming) from lack of rumination or suckling
“hair balls” in abomasum (bezoar)
Deficient in iron
Iron for calf comes from soil
Intended to reduce hemoglobin
Housed on raised floors to prevent eating dirt (iron)
Wooden slated floors can damage knees as calf gets heavy
Indoors, often in dark rooms

18. EU Regulations for Humane Veal Production
Housed in groups after 8 weeks of age
Allows calf interaction (play)
Fed dry feed to cause rumen development
Considered normal physiology
Iron fed or injected

19. Current Veal Production in the US
“Veal farmers are ahead of schedule as they work to meet the American Veal Association (AVA) commitment to transition all veal farms to group housing by An April survey found that 34.8 percent of the veal calves currently going to market are raised in group-housing facilities.”
“In May 2007, the AVA’s board of directors voted unanimously to adopt a resolution calling for all U.S. veal farms to transition to group-housing systems by Dec. 31, The board also encouraged more research to aid farmers in the transition.”
Veal calves move to group housing By Dairy Herd news source  |  Monday, June 08,  

20. Current Veal Production in the US
“Animal Care: We have an ethical obligation to provide appropriate care for our animals at every stage of life Veal Producers are expected to:
Safeguard and promote the health and well-being of animals in their care
Provide appropriate water, food, shelter, handling and transportation at all times
Respect the special considerations and needs of young calves
Provide appropriate veterinary care at all stages of life, and when necessary timely euthanasia.”

21. AVMA policy: Veal Calf Management
Individual housing during the neonatal period facilitates sanitation, disease control and individual attention for observation and treatment. Individual housing must allow the calf to turn around comfortably and to assume normal postures.

22. AVMA policy: Veal Calf Management
Calves should be housed in groups by 10 weeks of age to facilitate normal behaviors, including social interaction. Like individual housing, group housing must allow all calves to turn around comfortably and to assume normal postures.

23. AVMA policy: Veal Calf Management
Calves must be fed diets that provide adequate energy, protein and minerals to maintain good health and positive growth. Diets must be balanced to prevent nutritional deficiencies and their consequences, including but not limited to iron deficiency with subsequent anemia. Water must be provided from birth. Dry feed must be provided for rumen development and to allow the normal process of rumination. All calves must be fed colostrum after birth.

24. AVMA policy: Veal Calf Management
Housing must be ventilated to provide fresh air and to prevent buildup of ammonia or pathogens. Floors and bedding must be clean, dry and maintained to prevent injuries, and allow calves to maintain normal body temperature in cold weather.

25. Tail Docking of Cattle

26. Cattle Tail Docking Summary history of cattle tail docking:
Began in New Zealand with erroneous association with Leptospirosis in people
Cows get different Leptospires than people
Considered to control mastitis
Increased manure on tail thought to be associated with increased mastitis
Was brought to USA to control Somatic Cell Count when rBST introduced

27. Cattle Tail Docking
Reasoning behind tail docking in cattle: Cows get excessive manure on tails Manure on tails transferred to udder Cows get mastitis Cut off tails

28. “The cow has a tail for a purpose”
Communication / behavioral
Signaling other cows and calves (and people)
Estrus activity
Fly control
Eicher, S. D., and J. W. Dailey Indicators of acute pain and fly avoidance behavior in Holstein calves following tail-docking. J. Dairy Sci. 85:2850–2858.
Temperature control
“The cow has a tail for a purpose”
Tail Docking Dairy Cattle
Animal Welfare Institute
(6-2010)

29. Methods of docking cattle tails
Elastrator band
Placed below level of vulva
Weeks old to adult
Pruning shears
Burdizzo (?)

30. Welfare issues associated with tail docking
Acute pain
Pain at time of docking and until healed
Residual pain – chronic pain
Increased response to cold
Neuromas similar to people with severed limbs
“Phantom pain”
Fly avoidance
Signaling behavior

31. Painful procedures If a procedure will cause pain:
1) is the procedure necessary for the cow or society (i.e. a benefit)?
2) if the procedure will cause pain and is necessary, then pain management must be considered. 31

32. Benefits from tail docking
Not associated with mastitis control or lower Somatic Cell Count
“No significant differences were observed in SCC, udder cleanliness, or intramammary infection between docked and intact cattle.10 Although docked cattle had a higher incidence of mastitis in one study,9 the difference was not statistically significant.”
AVMA Tail Docking Backgrounder for references

33. Benefits from tail docking
Potential ease when milking / human comfort

34. AVMA policy: Tail Docking of Cattle
The AVMA opposes routine tail docking of cattle. Current scientific literature indicates that routine tail docking provides no benefit to the animal, and that tail docking can lead to distress during fly seasons. When medically necessary, amputation of tails must be performed by a licensed veterinarian.
(Oversight: AWC; EB 04/2004; reaffirmed 04/2009)  

35. State Legislation re: Bovine Tail docking
SB 135: prohibited tail docking cattle in California as of January 1, 2010
Presented by HSUS 35

36. Alternatives to tail docking
Provide clean, dry housing and bedding
Sanitation the most important factor in cow and calf health
Mastitis control is keeping the housing clean
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