ARS | Publication request: PROFIT TIPS: GIVE CALVES ENOUGH SPACE DURING TRANSPORT

Submitted to: Dairy Herd Management
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 14, 2001
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Research from the USDA's Livestock Behavior Research Unit in West Lafayette, Indiana indicates that young calves prefer to lie down during transport. And, that means you need to give them plenty of room to do so during the journey. According to the results, calves that were transported in a covered pickup bed preferred to lie down 70.5 percent of the trip's duration, notes Susan Eicher, a scientist with the Livestock Behavior Research Unit. Meanwhile, calves preferred to face the direction of travel 40 percent of the time during transport. The orientation that calves prefer may be influenced by the outside temperature, ventilation, the calf's ability to maintain its balance, or whether it is lying or standing, Eicher adds.