One of four children of Swiss immigrant parents from Wiedlisbach, Canton Bern, Switzerland, he left the family dairy to study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he received the BS in Animal Husbandry in 1938.

He obtained the MS degree in Animal Science at Oklahoma A&M University in 1939 where he studied reproductive performance of sheep.

In 1947 he began his PhD work at the University of Missouri in reproductive physiology studying genetic control of boar development under the supervision of Gordon Dickerson.

Hauser was best known for his research on biological efficiency of the life cycle of beef cattle with special emphasis on genotype x environment interactions.

He subsequently did studies that, for the first time, demonstrated that photoperiod modified the processes leading to puberty and postpartum fertility in cattle.