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In this type of abnormal behavior cows may suck their own teats or the teats of their herd mates. The inter-sucking or self-sucking has been found to be more common in young lactating cows than in the older cows. It has been reported that as many as 25.2 per cent of the primiparous cows and buffaloes and 4.3 per cent of the multiparous cows and buffaloes were observed to suffer from inter-sucking or self-sucking. The cow which sucks milk from their herd mate characteristically chooses the same lactating animal and this leads to formation of paired arrangement. The most of the instances of inter-sucking has been seen in animals waiting the evening milking.
This abnormal behavior can be corrected by application of a modified bull nose ring having spines to the suckler cows which will cause pain to their herd mates during sucking. In the affected animals the self-sucking can also be prevented by use of anti-suck harness, Elizabethan collar or neck cradles (series of wooden planks fitted around the neck) to restrict the movement of the neck. In order to distract the sucking behavior some bitter substances can be smeared on the teats of affected cows.
As a preventive measure the milking of lactating animals should be done with regular interval and at fixed time interval. There should be sufficient space to the animals and the size of the group should be small. If the self-sucking behavior persist even after implementing the preventive measures then it is either better to isolate the problematic animal or cull them from the herd.
