It is in their nature for cattle to develop and maintain close social bonds, yet individual housing of dairy calves remains mainstream in the dairy industry. Studies have shown that calves prefer social environments and develop important social bonds with other calves. In the opposite respect, calves raised without access to social contact are more reactive to novelty and experience reduced competitive success after grouping. The ability to cope with the stress of novel environments during development is further likely to impact longer-term welfare and production. The objective of this project is to evaluate the relationship between access to social companions during the preweaning phase, development of personality traits, and response to novel feeds. This study will provide crucial information about how experiences in early life impact dairy calf behavioral development, which may be applied to refine calf rearing practices.