Factors associated with intersucking in Swiss dairy heifers

Intersucking is a problem that may lead to udder damage, mastitis, milk loss, and culling of breeding animals. To analyse the risk factors for intersucking in dairy heifers in Switzerland, we asked 130 randomly selected dairy farmers about a broad spectrum of environmental factors that might be associated with intersucking (such as housing conditions, management, and the feeding of calves and heifers). In total, 2768 heifers (Swiss Brown Cattle, Simmental and Holstein Friesian) were included of which 303 had ever performed intersucking. Data at the farm level were analysed using path analysis (linear and logistic regression). Two outcome variables were considered: the occurrence of intersucking on the farm and the proportion of intersucking heifers above the cut-off of 7.2%. Farms where calves had no access to barnyard or pasture, where calves were reared in pens in enclosed buildings, where heifers after weaning were not restrained while feeding, where heifers after weaning received <0.5kg concentrate per day, and where heifers after weaning were fed > or =40% maize silage (dry-matter ratio) were most likely to have intersucking heifers.