Calf welfare has been a key focus area of Drs. Dan Weary and Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk’s industry research chair in animal welfare at the University of British Columbia. In a recent episode of the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s research podcast series, Paths to On-Farm Excellence, Weary and von Keyserlingk discussed milk feeding and group housing – two key elements of their research surrounding calf welfare and management.

A potential consequence of the dual hutch housing system is that when calves choose to share a hutch, this could increase the risk of heat stress during warm weather. We conducted a study at the University of Wisconsin – Madison to see if this concern is warranted and to measure how calves use hutch ventilation.

As the temperatures soar, managing heat stress in dairy and beef calves becomes key for ensuring the health and future productivity of the herd. Heat stress not only affects the immediate well-being of the animals but can also have long-term implications for their growth and development. 

In this article, we investigate how advanced airflow software, commonly referred to as computational fluid dynamics or CFD, and 3D visualization software can help when planning a new calf facility.