Reciprocated cross sucking between dairy calves after weaning off milk does not appear to negatively affect udder health or production

Abstract

Cross sucking by dairy calves occurs most commonly before weaning, but is of most concern in older animals where it has been claimed to cause mastitis and udder damage. Providing ad libitum milk allowance via a teat and gradual weaning reduces cross sucking, but low levels of this behavior still persist. Our aims were to understand why this behavior persists in some calves after weaning off milk and to examine whether individuals which are cross sucked postweaning are more likely to sustain teat injury or develop mastitis during their first lactation. Fifty-six female Holstein calves were housed in groups of 8 and fed milk, grain, and hay ad libitum from automated feeders. During weaning, milk allowance was gradually reduced according to grain intake. Cross sucking was recorded using overhead video cameras (5 observation periods of 72h). The effects of weaning on cross sucking were examined; to examine whether cross sucking affected udder health, all incidences of damaged quarters or clinical and sub-clinical mastitis in the first lactation were recorded, as was milk production. The overall level of cross sucking after weaning, at 4 to 5mo of age, was low and a small proportion of individuals accounted for the majority of events. The duration of cross sucking that occurred at 4 to 5mo of age was correlated with the amount of cross sucking done before and immediately after weaning. After weaning, the calves that cross sucked did so on certain calves, with the most sucked calf within each pen accounting for 73.98% of all cross-sucking events. No relationship was found between cross sucking and being cross sucked in the period before weaning but a positive correlation was found by 4 to 5mo of age. The majority of calves reduced or ceased cross sucking after weaning. Individuals still observed to be cross sucking by 4 to 5mo of age had formed pairs with other cross-sucking individuals and cross-sucking events occurred almost exclusively between these pairs. Cows that were cross sucked as heifers were no more likely to develop mastitis or have higher somatic cell count in their first lactation than those which were not involved in cross sucking. Cross sucking typically begins before weaning, but the formation of lasting pairs of reciprocal cross-sucking partners after weaning may be responsible for this behavior persisting in group housed dairy calves after weaning off milk. Low levels of cross sucking did not appear to have a negative effect on udder health.

Keywords: cross sucking; dairy calf; mastitis; social behavior; weaning.