In dairy farming, it is unusual for calves to be fed directly by their mothers during the suckling phase. Normally, the mother and calf are separated immediately after birth, but no later than the end of the colostrum phase. Feeding is then carried out either using an automatic feeder or, for example, with buckets. Throughout the entire rearing phase, the calves generally have no contact with adult animals and usually spend their time only with calves of the same age.

For many years, there have been farms that milk their cows yet still allow the calves to suckle at the udder and express normal mother-calf behaviour. In this way, the calves learn natural social behaviour and the routines in the barn from an early age.

This rearing method is known as ‘mother-bonded rearing’. Under this system, calves are allowed to spend more time with their mother or a foster cow and to suckle milk directly from the cow’s udder at all times. However, there is no fixed, rigid schedule governing contact between cow and calf. Implementation can vary from farm to farm. A basic distinction is made between mother-bonded and foster-bonded rearing. In mother-bonded rearing, each calf is allowed to suckle from its own mother. In foster-bonded rearing, a cow nurses her own calf and usually one to three additional calves. The number of calves per foster cow depends on how much milk the cow has and how much milk the calves are to receive from the foster cow.

When and for how long the calves can suckle from their mother or a foster cow, and how weaning is carried out, also varies greatly from farm to farm. Gradual weaning – for example, first weaning off milk and then separating the calf from the adult animal (i.e. the foster cow or the mother) – reduces stress during this sensitive phase. The advantages associated with cow-based rearing, as well as the challenges regarding animal behaviour, animal health, work efficiency and economics, are weighed up against one another. How cow-based rearing with a foster cow might look in practice on a very large farm is demonstrated here using the example of Hofgut Eichigt (in the Saxon Vogtland region).