Table D.4: Summary of welfare consequences, ABMs, hazards and preventive measures in systems keeping veal calves in large groups and automatic milk feeding

Welfare consequence	ABM	Hazard	Preventive measure of the hazard
Inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour	Tongue rolling Non‐nutritive oral manipulation	Barren environment Concentrated diets Low frequency of feeding/duration	Provide relevant enrichment, e.g. rubbing fixtures (brushes), enrichment objects, bedding Increase fibre content of diet to increase foraging Make animals work for their feed, e.g. straw rack, and increase feeding frequency Provide access to an outdoor area and pasture
Inability to chew and ruminate	Tongue rolling	Limited solid feed structure (e.g. concentrates) Restricted solid feed amount Low frequency of feeding	Ad libitum provision of roughage, ideally in a long format
Respiratory disorders	Coughing Nasal and ocular discharge Rectal temperature above 39.7°C Respiratory sounds at auscultation	Large groups Close proximity in the same room of calves originating from different farms and sharing the same air space	Avoid stress‐inducing events, such as long and repeated transport Avoid contact between calves from multiple farm origins Ensure appropriate ventilation to avoid high ammonia or dust concentrations
Group stress	Number of aggressive interactions	High number of animals per automatic milk feeder Open stalls at the automatic milk feeder Low space allowance Regrouping	Decrease stocking rates Higher space allowance reduces disturbance when resting Low number of animals per automatic milk feeder Avoid regrouping Incorporation of a door that closes the stall when the calf enters the feeding area Structuring the pen into a designated lying area, eventually with further structuring could reduce disturbance
Gastroenteric disorders	Diarrhoea Hair loss in the perineum and hind legs Bloat Abomasal lesions Ruminal plaques Ruminal underdevelopment	Poor hygiene including bedding, teats, buckets; poor biosecurity Poor colostrum and poor colostrum management Calf stocking density Heterogeneous (size and age) groups Poor quality milk replacers	Vaccination of pregnant cows Strict hygiene measures Routine (twice daily) monitor of calves to detect early cases Feed milk in multiple (> 3) smaller meals with a teat allowing for normal extension of the neck. Diet with a high concentrate/fibre ratio Provide ad libitum access to solid feed structure
Resting problems	Number of lying bouts Time spent in lateral	Low space allowance per animal	Higher space allowance Increase lying area Keep the group stable
Metabolic disorders	Haemoglobin concentration Haemoglobin concentration	Low iron content in the diet	Provision of diet with a high iron content Provision of ad libitum hay