Housing systems for dairy calves have major welfare implications. Traditional individual hutch housing prevents disease transmission but causes social deprivation - calves are highly social and motivated to interact with conspecifics. Research demonstrates paired or group-housed calves show superior cognitive flexibility, reduced fear responses, and better post-weaning adaptation compared to individually housed calves. Paired housing from birth has been adopted by many progressive dairy farms with no increase in disease when managed correctly. Automated calf feeding systems allow group housing with individual milk allocation monitoring. EU and USDA welfare standards are evolving toward mandatory social housing requirements.