Early separation of dairy calves and dams is viewed negatively by the public. The objective was to observe the effects of nightly mixing of dams and calves versus early separation on behavior, milk production, and average daily gain (ADG) over a 14-d period. Primiparous cows and their calves (n = 20) were separated within 6 h of birth. Cows were housed in a freestall barn in the same pen. From d 0 to d 4, calves were housed in individual straw-bedded pens. Starting at d 5 postpartum until d 19, calves with successful passive transfer (n = 20) were housed individually in hutches from 6:00 to 20:00 h. Nightly, (20:00 to 6:00 h) cow-calf pairs randomly were housed either as control (C); dams in freestalls 24 h/d and calves housed in groups on pasture), or mixed housing (M; dams on pasture with calves). Calves were fed 4 L 26% crude protein and 20% fat milk replacer (Ag Central Co Op, Madisonville, TN) from d 0 to 4 and 6 L from d 5 to d 19. Calves were provided ad libitum starter grain (Calf Primer 1, AG Central Co Op, Madisonville, TN) and water. Cows were milked twice daily at 7:30 and 19:30 h. Loggers were attached to dams and calves’ rear legs before d 5 to measure step count, standing, and lying behavior. Milk yield was measured on a daily basis and sampled twice weekly for components. Calf weights were recorded twice weekly. A linear mixed model was used to evaluate the effect of treatment and sex on milk production, milk components, and calf and dam step count, standing behavior, and lying bouts. t-tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of treatment on ADG. Control dams took less steps per d than M dams (1795.9 ± 86.1 vs 2114.5 ± 76.0, P = 0.01), and produced more milk (28.9 ± 1.9 vs 23.8 ± 1.7 kg, P = 0.047. Differences in milk yield should be interpreted with caution as cows were not balanced by projected milk yield. Nightly mixing of calves and dams did not influence calf or dam lying behavior, SCS, milk components, or ADG (P ≥ 0.13). Calf final body weights were 44.32 ± 5.13kg for (C) and 45.59 ± 4.58kg for (M). Partial exposure of cows and calves may be a viable opportunity to address public concerns.