The Life of Cattle: Dairy, Beef and Calf Welfare

Cattle form social bonds, synchronise rest and feeding, and are motivated to graze, groom and rest comfortably. Welfare depends on health and on whether housing allows these behaviours.

Milk production requires repeated calving. Calves are commonly separated from their dam early, though timing and contact systems vary. Lameness, mastitis, metabolic disease, fertility pressure and inadequate lying comfort are central welfare indicators.

Beef cattle may spend substantial time on pasture or be reared indoors or in feedlots. Risks include difficult births, painful procedures, weather exposure, disease, transport and mixing. A pastoral image does not describe the whole life cycle.

Useful measures include mobility, injuries, body condition, cleanliness, mortality, medicine use, access to comfortable lying space, human handling and how calves are managed.