Etude comparative de la fréquence de distribution du lait sur le comportement du veau laitier en élevage collectif en élevage conventionnel et biologique

Abstract

The growing interest in farm animal welfare, along with evolving regulations governing dairy calf rearing, are prompting changes in rearing practices. It is in this context that the COLOCAVO research project is being carried out, with the aim of establishing pathways toward group housing for dairy calves. The project includes trials on several experimental farms, exploring different technical approaches. This work, part of the first iteration of the project, focuses on evaluating the effect of milk feeding frequency on the welfare of dairy calves through behavioural study, a topic sparsely represented in the literature. This experiment was conducted on the autumn 2024 batches from both conventional and organic dairy systems of the Trévarez experimental farm, managed by the Brittany Chamber of Agriculture (Finistère, France).