Prevalence of respiratory bacterial pathogens and associated management factors in dairy calves in Taiwan

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence at both farm-level and calf-level and to identify the risk factors of respiratory bacterial pathogens in dairy calves in Taiwan. The status of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) was evaluated by using the Wisconsin scoring system from a total of 400 pre-weaned calves from 32 different farms in Taiwan, then the nasopharyngeal swabs were collected. The prevalence of respiratory pathogens was 84.37% at farm-level and 45.50% at calf-level, and Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) was the most prevalent pathogen. The presence of Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis), P. multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica (M. haemolytica) and Histophilus somni (H. somni) were all higher in BRD positive calves than BRD negative calves, but only in H. somni was significant (P<0.001). Then nine farm management risk factors were analyzed by using multivariate logistic regression models to determine the risk factors of respiratory bacterial pathogens (farm and calf-level). In the result at farm-level, only unheated colostrum was significantly associated with pathogen positive farms (Odds Ratio (OR)=11.43). At calf-level, the predominant risk factor for each pathogen, M. bovis, P. multocida, M. haemolytica and H. somni, was late first colostrum feeding (OR=272.82), unheated colostrum (OR=3.41), waste milk feeding (OR=6.59) and high pneumonia treatment cost (OR=2.52), respectively. For effective preventive measures, farmer education on milk and colostrum feeding are urgently warranted.     

A survey of northern Victorian dairy farmers to investigate dairy calf management: colostrum feeding and management

Objectives

To describe colostrum management practices carried out in northern Victorian dairy herds and to identify weaknesses in these areas that may affect calf health and welfare by comparing the results with the current industry recommendations

Methods

A questionnaire to obtain information about colostrum management and calf‐rearing practices was sent to commercial dairy farming clients of Rochester Veterinary Practice between June and September 2013. The questionnaire consisted of a general herd overview and colostrum harvesting practices.

Results

The response rate was 39% (58/150). Many dairy producers were not meeting the current industry recommendations in the following areas: (1) time of removal calf from the dam, (2) relying on calf suckling colostrum from the dam to achieve adequate passive transfer, (3) failing to supplement calves with colostrum, (4) feeding inadequate volumes of colostrum, (5) delayed colostrum harvesting, (6) pooling of colostrum, (7) failing to objectively assess colostrum quality or relying on visual assessment and (8) storing colostrum for a prolonged periods of time at ambient temperatures.

Conclusion

The results from this survey highlight the need for greater awareness of industry standards for colostrum management and feeding hygiene.

     

Feed intake and oral behaviour of dairy calves housed individually or in groups in warm or cold buildings

The influence of environmental temperature, housing, social company and age on the feed intake and oral behaviours was studied by housing male dairy calves for seven weeks individually (INDIV) or 12 weeks in groups of four; indoors (INGROUP) or outdoors either with (OUTWARM) or without a heated shelter (OUTCOLD). During the milk-feeding period (1–7 experimental weeks), the mean daily milk, hay and total dry matter intakes of INDIV calves were lower than of INGROUP calves (P < 0.05). No differences in the feed intake between OUTWARM, OUTCOLD or INGROUP were found. Nor was found any differences in the feed efficiency (growth kg^− 1 DM) between the treatments. After weaning off milk, during experimental weeks 8 to 11, the total dry matter intake of INGROUP tended to be greater than that of OUTWARM (P = 0.05). There were no other differences in the mean daily feed intakes, nor in the feed efficiency. During the milk-feeding period, INGROUP calves ate more often concentrates (P = 0.05) and ruminated more (P = 0.01) than INDIV calves. During the 12-week experiment, INGROUP calves licked themselves more often than OUTCOLD calves (P = 0.04) and tended to lick more often than OUTWARM calves (P = 0.08). INGROUP calves licked more often penmates or structures and bit more often structures than OUTWARM or OUTCOLD calves (P < 0.05 for all). Overall, with a decreasing temperature, the calves in outside groups spent less time performing oral behaviours. We conclude that group rearing may facilitate calves to start eating and ruminating earlier than individual housing. The effect of low temperatures on the time spent eating solid foods is discussed in relation to housing design.     

Effects of individual or combined housing systems on behavioural and growth responses of dairy calves

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of individual versus combined housing systems on behavioural and growth responses of dairy calves in order to test the hypothesis that when calves were kept in early age individually and later in groups, they would increase growth performance and social behaviours. Twenty-four Holstein Friesian calves were allocated to two different housing systems. After three days of colostrum feeding, individually housed (IH) calves were kept in pens (1 m×1.5 m) for 60 days while combined housed (CH) calves were kept in group pens (3 m×3 m) for 30 days after individual housing during the period of 4–33 days. Each calf was monitored twice a week for a period of 1 h starting at 08.00, 10.00, 12.00, 18.00, 20.00 and 22.00 h at 10-min intervals. Behavioural activities were playing, walking, licking objects, idle standing, lying, restlessness, grooming and tongue playing. Calves’ live weights, body measurements and feed intakes were determined on a weekly basis. The results were: 1) combined housing calves increased their calf starter intake (37.35±1.24 kg vs. 23.39±0.86 kg; p<0.001), alfalfa hay intake (8.76±0.35 kg vs. 7.14±0.43 kg; p<0.05) and total feed intake (46.11±1.04 kg vs. 30.53±0.86 kg; p<0.001) compared to individual housed calves; 2) combined housing increased the proportional events of playing (12.80 vs. 2.86%), walking (19.14 vs. 3.81%) and grooming (8.06 vs. 4.60%), but decreased licking objects (1.03 vs. 2.94%), idle standing (20.73 vs. 36.29%), lying (30.19 vs. 39.53%) and restlessness (1.69 vs. 3.47%) compared to individual housing systems (p<0.001) without affecting tongue rolling (6.36 vs. 6.50%); 3) combined housing system increased body weight gain by about 2.36 kg and body length by about 1.48 cm per calf compared to those kept in individual pens (p<0.05). In conclusion, combined housing system provided calves more opportunity to show their walking, playing and grooming activities, reflecting increases in feed intake, body weight gain and length compared to individual housing system.     

Imbedding HACCP principles in dairy herd health and production management: case report on calf rearing

Driven by consumer demands, European legislation has suggested the use of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) as the quality risk management programme for the whole dairy chain. Until now, an exception has been made for primary producers, but as regulations evolve, on-farm HACCP-like programmes should be ready to assure food safety as well as animal health and animal welfare. In our field experiment, the HACCP-concept was used to combine both optimal farm management and formalisation of quality assurance in an on-farm situation in the Netherlands. The process of young stock rearing was chosen, since its importance for the future of the farm is often underestimated. Hazards and their associated risk factors can be controlled within the farm-specific standards and tolerances, as targets can be controlled by corrective measures and by implementation of farm-specific worksheets. The veterinarian is pivotal for the facility-based HACCP team, since he/she has knowledge about on-farm risk assessment and relations between clinical pathology, feed and farm management. The HACCP concept in combination with veterinary herd health and production management programmes offers a promising approach to optimise on-farm production processes (i.e., young stock rearing) in addition to a structural approach for quality risk management on dairy farms.     

Calf health from birth to weaning. III. housing and management of calf pneumonia

Calfhood diseases have a major impact on the economic viability of cattle operations. A three part review series has been developed focusing on calf health from birth to weaning. In this paper, the last of the three part series, we review disease prevention and management with particular reference to pneumonia, focusing primarily on the pre-weaned calf. Pneumonia in recently weaned suckler calves is also considered, where the key risk factors are related to the time of weaning. Weaning of the suckler calf is often combined with additional stressors including a change in nutrition, environmental change, transport and painful husbandry procedures (castration, dehorning). The reduction of the cumulative effects of these multiple stressors around the time of weaning together with vaccination programmes (preconditioning) can reduce subsequent morbidity and mortality in the feedlot. In most studies, calves housed individually and calves housed outdoors with shelter, are associated with decreased risk of disease. Even though it poses greater management challenges, successful group housing of calves is possible. Special emphasis should be given to equal age groups and to keeping groups stable once they are formed. The management of pneumonia in calves is reliant on a sound understanding of aetiology, relevant risk factors, and of effective approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Early signs of pneumonia include increased respiratory rate and fever, followed by depression. The single most important factor determining the success of therapy in calves with pneumonia is early onset of treatment, and subsequent adequate duration of treatment. The efficacy and economical viability of vaccination against respiratory disease in calves remains unclear.     

The effects of selenium, housing and management on the incidence of pneumonia in housed calves

The occurrence and incidence of pneumonia in housed calves were not related to the selenium status of the herd as measured by blood glutathione peroxidase activity nor were they affected by selenium treatment of calves during the neonatal period. Pneumonia was related more closely to herd size and building design.     

A controlled trial on the effect of feeding dietary chestnut extract and glycerol monolaurate on liver function in newborn calves

Beginning in the fall of 2010, an increasing and alarming number of cases of calves suffering from liver dystrophy were reported in the south of Germany. An epidemiological investigation was carried out by the authors between November 2010 and July 2011, leading to the implication of a commercial dietary supplement as the potential cause for this outbreak. The components of this product were first tested in a cell culture model and two of them (dietary chestnut extract and glycerol monolaurate) showed a cytotoxic effect. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the effect of supplemental feeding of both components alone or in combination on liver function in newborn calves on a commercial dairy farm. Ten calves were enrolled in each of the three treatment groups and the control group (group O) following a blocked design. Treatment consisted of supplementation with chestnut extract at 0.02% of birth body mass (BM) (group C), supplementation with glycerol monolaurate at 0.006% of BM (group G) or a combined treatment (group CG) for five consecutive days. The effect of treatments on liver function was evaluated clinically and by measurement of glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities as well as the determination of the concentrations of glucose, L‐lactate and total bilirubin in serum. There was a significant increase in GLDH and AST activities and a significant decrease in glucose concentration in treatment groups C and CG compared with the control group (p ≤ 0.035), whereas no difference was shown for group G. Survival was significantly decreased in groups C (p = 0.029) and CG (p = 0.001) compared with both group G and the control group. These results suggest that dietary chestnut extract in an amount of 0.02% of BM alone or in combination has a toxic effect on liver function in newborn calves.     

Results of an online questionnaire to survey calf management practices on dairy cattle breeding farms in Austria and to estimate differences in disease incidences depending on farm structure and management practices

Background

Calf disease may result in great economic losses. To implement prevention strategies it is important to gain information on management and to point out risk factors. The objective of this internet based survey was to describe calf management practices on registered dairy breeding farms in Austria and to estimate differences in calf disease incidences depending on farm structure and management practices.

Results

A total of 1287 questionnaires were finally analysed (response rate 12.2 %). Herd characteristics and regional distribution of farms indicated that this survey gives a good overview on calf management practices on registered dairy farms in Austria. The median number of cows per farm was 20 (interquartile range 13–30). Significant differences regarding farm characteristics and calf management between small and large farms (≤20 vs >20 cows) were present. Only 2.8 % of farmers tested first colostrum quality by use of a hydrometer. Storing frozen colostrum was more prevalent on large farms (80.8 vs 64.2 %). On 85.1 % of the farms, whole milk, including waste milk, was fed to the calves. Milk replacer and waste milk were more often used on large farms. In accordance with similar studies from other countries, calf diarrhoea was indicated as the most prevalent disease. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that herd size was associated with calf diarrhoea and calf respiratory tract disease, with higher risk of disease on large farms. Furthermore, feeding waste milk to the calves was associated with increasing calf diarrhoea incidence on farm. In the final model with calf respiratory tract disease as outcome, respondents from organic farms reported less often a respiratory tract disease incidence of over 10 % compared with conventional farms [odds ratio (OR) 0.40, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.21–0.75] and farmers that housed calves individually or in groups after birth significantly reported more often to have an incidence of respiratory tract disease >10 % compared with farms where all calves were housed individually (OR 2.28, 95 % CI 1.16–4.48).

Conclusion

The results obtained in this study provide an overview on calf management on dairy breeding farms in Austria and may help to further point out areas to be improved on farm.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13028-015-0134-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Cryptosporidium parvum infection and management-based risk factors of dairy calves in Taiwan

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the major causes of diarrhea in calves. Cryptosporidium parvum is considered the most important calf diarrhea pathogen in the Cryptosporidium species. Not only could infected calves spread C. parvum, but infected adult cattle could also shed oocysts. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate the prevalence of C. parvum in dairy herds in Taiwan, including calves, the dams in delivery enclosure, the floor, and the drinking water; (2) to clarify the relationship of diarrhea, management, and C. parvum infection. Twenty dairy herds in Taiwan were selected by random sampling, including 226 calves and 198 dams, and other environmental samples were collected. A questionnaire was filled out by the farm owners to collect information regarding the management of calves and the delivery enclosure. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for C. parvum infection. The prevalence of C. parvum infection in calves was 26.5% (60/226), while in dams, it was 19.7% (39/198). The C. parvum infection in calves increased with environmental contamination of C. parvum and clinical signs of diarrhea, while it decreased with a yard provided in the delivery enclosure. In conclusion, the management of the delivery enclosure appears to be more important for preventing cryptosporidiosis in calves in Taiwan.     

犊牛生产体系和断奶后的管理对其生长性能的影响

文章旨在评估犊牛生产系统和断奶后管理对其生长性能和胴体特征的影响。试验采用2×2因子设计,两个生产系统(在玉米秸秆上饲养和在干燥环境饲养),两个断奶后的管理(直接育肥和采用生长-育肥两阶段饲养)。结果显示:与冬季在干燥环境饲养的牛相比,冬季在玉米秸秆上过冬的犊牛初始体重较轻(P <0.05)。同时,冬季在干燥环境下饲养的犊牛较在玉米秸秆上过冬的犊牛日增重显著提高(P <0.05)。前期在玉米秸秆上过冬的犊牛在生长-育肥期的初始体重显著低于在干燥环境饲养犊牛(P <0.05)。但在玉米秸秆上过冬的犊牛较干燥环境饲养的犊牛存在代偿性反应特征,表现为日增重和饲料报酬显著提高(P <0.05)。在评价断奶后管理对生长性能的影响时,生长-育肥期犊牛较育肥期犊牛初始体重、末重和干物质摄入量显著提高(P <0.05)。但与生长-育肥期犊牛相比,育肥期犊牛日增重和饲料报酬显著提高(P <0.05)。断奶后的管理和生产体系对大理石纹的影响具有显著交互效应(P <0.05)。在玉米秸秆上过冬的生长-育肥组较其他组显著提高了大理石纹评分(P <0.05)。结论:与断奶后直接饲喂育肥期饲料的犊牛相比,采用生长-育肥两阶段饲喂方式的犊牛胴体重量显著提高。然而,直接饲喂育肥料的犊牛饲料报酬和日增重均提高,两阶段饲喂方式的犊牛在经济收益上无显著差异。     

Effects of limited concentrate feeding on growth and blood and serum variables, and on nutrient digestibility and gene expression of hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes in dairy calves

This study elucidated the effects of limited concentrate feeding on growth, nutrient digestibility, blood profile and gene expression of gluconeogenic enzymes in the liver of dairy calves. The study utilized 36 German Holstein dairy calves (5-7 days of age) divided into two groups of 18 calves each for 150 days. Control group calves received 2 kg/(calf × day) of concentrate, whereas calves in the restricted group received only 1 kg/(calf × day). Good quality forage (mixture of maize and grass silages) was available for ad libitum consumption to both groups. The intake of milk replacer before weaning, and of concentrate were recorded daily per calf; however, the consumption of forages was quantified as daily average of the group. Body weights (BW) were recorded at start and on days 35, 70, 112 and 150. Blood and serum samples and spot urinary and faecal samples were also collected at similar time points. On days 70 and 150, liver biopsies were collected from seven animals in each group. The BW was not different between the groups at all times. Total BW gain in the control group was 124 kg as opposed to 111 kg in restricted group that led to average BW gain of 827 g/day and 739 g/day in respective groups, and the differences were significant (p = 0.018). As planned, the control group had higher concentrate and lower forage intake than the restricted group. The blood haemoglobin, haematocrit and serum variables (glucose, total protein, albumin and urea) were within the normal range in both groups, but serum glucose was higher (p < 0.05) in control than in restricted group at 70 days. There was no difference between groups in organic matter (OM) digestibility which declined (p < 0.001) with increasing age in both groups. Microbial crude protein (MCP) synthesis estimated from urinary allantoin excretion increased (p < 0.001) in both groups with increasing age but was not different between groups. The mRNA expressions for the gluconeogenic enzymes, cytosolic and mitochondrial phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (EC 4.1.1.32) and pyruvate carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.1) measured by quantitative real-time PCR in liver biopsies showed no differences between groups. Overall, restricting concentrate moderately reduced the growth intensity without affecting the normal serum and blood indices, and MCP synthesis and OM digestibility showed no differences between groups, indicating that both concentrate feeding schemes can be successfully applied.     

Advances in prevention and therapy of neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea: a systematical review with emphasis on colostrum management and fluid therapy

Neonatal calf diarrhoea remains the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in preweaned dairy calves worldwide. This complex disease can be triggered by both infectious and non-infectious causes. The four most important enteropathogens leading to neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea are Escherichia coli, rota- and coronavirus, and Cryptosporidium parvum. Besides treating diarrhoeic neonatal dairy calves, the veterinarian is the most obvious person to advise the dairy farmer on prevention and treatment of this disease. This review deals with prevention and treatment of neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea focusing on the importance of a good colostrum management and a correct fluid therapy.     

Farming practices in Sweden related to feeding milk and colostrum from cows treated with antimicrobials to dairy calves

Background

Milk produced by cows in receipt of antimicrobial therapy may contain antimicrobial residues. Such antimicrobial-containing waste milk must be withdrawn from human consumption and is therefore sometimes used as calf feed. Unfortunately, this approach might promote selection of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the calves’ intestinal microbiota. The objectives of this study were therefore to obtain an overview of waste milk feeding practices on Swedish dairy farms and to investigate if these practices were associated with certain farm characteristics. A representative group of 457 Swedish dairy farmers participated in a web-based survey with questions about the use of colostrum and milk from cows treated with antimicrobials at dry off or during lactation, respectively, as calf feed.

Results

Colostrum (milk from the first milking after calving) and transition milk (milk from the second milking to the fourth day after calving) from cows treated with antimicrobials at dry off was fed to calves on 89% and 85% of the farms in the study, respectively. When antimicrobial therapy was given to cows during lactation, 56% of the farms fed milk that was produced during the course of treatment to calves, whereas milk that was produced during the subsequent withdrawal period was fed to calves on 79% of the farms. Surveyed farmers were less prone to feed such milk if the antimicrobial therapy was due to mastitis than other infections. In Sweden, a majority of antimicrobial treatments during lactation are systemic administration of benzylpenicillin and thus, the bulk of waste milk in Sweden is likely to contain residues of this drug. Feeding waste milk to calves was more common on non-organic farms, and on farms located in Southern Sweden, and was less common on farms with cows housed in cold free stalls barns.

Conclusions

Waste milk that may contain antimicrobial residues is, at least occasionally, used as feed for calves on a majority of surveyed Swedish dairy farms. Future work should focus on the effect of waste milk feeding on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the calves’ intestinal microbiota.     

Effects of supplementation level and particle size of alfalfa hay on growth characteristics and rumen development in dairy calves

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of particle size (PS) of alfalfa hay on growth characteristics and rumen development in dairy calves at two levels of alfalfa supplementation. Fifty newborn dairy calves (42.7 ± 2.2 kg BW) were used in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with the factors supplementation level (low, 8%; or high, 16% on DM basis) and PS (medium, 2.92 mm; or long, 5.04 mm as geometrical means) of alfalfa hay. In addition, a control group without alfalfa hay was used. Hence, treatments were: control (C); low level with medium PS (LM); low level with long PS (LL); high level with medium PS (HM) or high level with long PS (HL). Growth performance of alfalfa‐fed calves did not differ from control calves, but alfalfa supplementation decreased corneum thickness of the rumen wall. In alfalfa‐fed calves, post‐weaning starter intake was greater for LL calves than for LM calves. During the entire rearing period, starter intake was 26–32% higher for LL and HM calves than for LM calves. Pre‐weaning average daily gain was higher for LL and HM calves than for HL calves, but this effect was not persistent over the entire rearing period. Final body weight decreased from 86 to 79 kg when the level of long PS alfalfa hay increased from 8 to 16%, but increased from 78 to 87 kg when the level of medium PS alfalfa increased from 8 to 16%. Regardless of PS and level, morphometric characteristics of rumen wall were generally similar among alfalfa feeding groups, but corneum thickness decreased from 8.7 to 6.1 μm with greater PS at the low level. These results indicate that adequate, but not excessive, physical stimulation is required for appropriate rumen development and growth performance of dairy calves.     

A review of management practices for the control of anthrax in animals: the 2005 anthrax epizootic in North Dakota--case study

Outbreaks of anthrax have diverse consequences on society. Establishing the appropriate control strategies is very important and crucial in reducing the socio-economic impact of the disease. Control measures are aimed at breaking the cycle of infection, and their implementation must be adhered to rigorously. The objectives of this paper were: (i) to review the control strategies currently used in management of anthrax in animals and (ii) to describe management strategies used by producers in North Dakota during the 2005 anthrax outbreak in livestock. Anthrax control strategies were divided in to strategies that apply before, during, and after an anthrax outbreak. This paper also highlights the problems or constraints faced by North Dakota producers in controlling anthrax during the outbreak of 2005.     

Associations between farm management practices, productivity, and bovine leukemia virus infection in Ontario dairy herds

The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between herd-level bovine leukemia virus (BLV) status and herd-level management and production variables. The study population consisted of 1330 cows sampled from 102 Ontario dairy herds. The individual-cow prevalence of BLV infection in the population (based on AGID testing) was 23%, with 69.6% of herds having one or more positive animals. The herd-level explanatory variables were divided into two datasets containing winter housing variables and all non-seasonal variables, and summer housing variables and all non-seasonal variables. In both datasets, multivariable analyses found a negative association between herd-level milk production and BLV status, and positive associations between weaning age and purchasing animals from outside sources, and BLV status. Housing pre-weaned calves in hutches or separate calf buildings in either season was associated with an increased risk of BLV. The model containing winter housing variables also included positive associations between contact with older animals and BLV status, and between BLV status and the facilities used to house dry cows in the winter.     

不同饲养模式对哺乳犊牛体尺指标和瘤胃发育的影响

为研究优质牧草对犊牛体尺指标和瘤胃发育的影响,选取20头体重、日龄相近的健康荷斯坦奶犊牛,采用完全随机设计的方法,分为试验组和对照组,每组10头,其中公、母各半。对照组饲喂颗粒精料+鲜牛奶,试验组饲喂颗粒精料+优质苜蓿干草+鲜牛奶,于3月龄断奶时进行体尺指标和瘤胃发育指标的测量。结果表明:试验组和对照组各项体尺指标差异不显著(P>0.05);试验组显著提高了犊牛3月龄的瘤胃平均重量、瓣胃平均容积、瓣胃平均重量、皱胃平均容积(P<0.05),且瘤胃乳头绒毛长,颜色深,以瘤胃底部发育最好且分布较多乳头,顶部分布较少且稀疏,还可有效地防止了瘤胃内毛球的形成,明显降低犊牛异食癖和瘤胃臌气的发生,而对照组瘤胃乳头发育较差,颜色较浅,瘤胃壁薄,但瘤胃乳头分布均匀。     

Effects of forage offering method on performance,rumen fermentation,nutrient digestibility and nutritional behaviour in Holstein dairy calves

The potential effect of dietary forage supplementation on the performance and rumen development in dairy calves is well established. However, limited research has been directed to the comparative effects of forage offering methods on calf performance. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of forage provision methods (total mixed ration or free choice) on the performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation and nutritional behaviour in newborn calves. Forty‐five Holstein dairy calves (3 days of age and 41 ± 2 kg of body weight) were assigned to the following three groups (n = 15): (i) starter without forage provision (CON), (ii) starter supplemented with 10% alfalfa hay (AH) as a total mixed ration (AH‐TMR) and (iii) starter and AH as a free‐choice provision (AH‐FC) for a period of 70 days. All the calves were offered 5 l of milk/day from day 3 to 50, and 2.5 l/day from day 50 until weaning on day 56. Dry matter intake (DMI) was greater (p < 0.01) in the AH‐TMR and AH‐FC treatments than in the CON during the pre‐ and post‐weaning periods. Calves fed the AH‐FC diet showed the highest post‐weaning DMI among the treatments. The calves receiving ad libitum forage tended (p = 0.08) to increase crude protein digestibility and overall volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentrations in the rumen. No differences were observed among the treatments at the time spent on standing, lying, eating and performing non‐nutritive oral behaviours. Compared to CON calves, animals in the AH‐TMR treatment spent more time (p < 0.05) ruminating. In conclusion, our data suggest that forage supplementation in both forage offering methods increased total DMI, ruminal pH and ruminating time in dairy calves. Hence, there is no benefit in the free‐choice provision of AH in dairy calves.