Early social experience shapes dairy calf behaviour, stress responses and long-term welfare outcomes. Socialisation-focused rearing practices benefit calves throughout their productive lives.
Calves are social animals that develop their behavioural repertoire through early interactions with conspecifics. Individual housing that denies social contact during the first weeks of life impairs social competence and increases long-term stress reactivity. The short-term disease risk justification for individual housing is increasingly questioned as research shows that pair housing is compatible with good health management when done correctly. Calves reared with a companion show reduced frustration behaviour, lower cortisol during novel situations and better integration into group housing at weaning. The welfare benefit of socialisation is not merely immediate but shapes the animal's stress response system in ways that affect its wellbeing throughout its productive life.