Measuring health and performance in preweaning dairy calves

The main aim of calf rearing is to produce a healthy calf that is achieving the target growth rate. Calf mortality rate and daily liveweight gain represent appropriate bottom-line ‘output’ measures for evaluating the success of a calf-rearing programme, and they are affected by various ‘inputs’ or aspects of the calf-rearing process. This article summarises how these outputs can be monitored, and highlights how some key input areas can be assessed when output targets are not met.