Breed, parity, and days in milk affect risk of tongue rolling in dairy cows

Stereotypic behaviors are repetitive, invariant movements with no obvious biological function. Tongue rolling (TR) is a common stereotypic behavior in cattle, characterized by a repeated circular movement of the tongue inside or outside of the mouth. We assessed TR in adult lactating dairy cows (from 45 to 305 d in milk; DIM) on a large commercial US dairy comprised of Jersey and Jersey-Holstein crosses (n = 8,158 cows). Cows were monitored during each of 3 consecutive milkings using video cameras located at the center of 2 rotary parlors. In total, 29.0% (2,365/8,158) of cows tongue rolled at least once, 7.9% (646/8,158) at least twice, and 1.7% (141/8,158) tongue rolled during all 3 milkings. The effects of breed (Jersey vs. Jersey-Holstein cross), parity (first lactation versus older), DIM, and the interactions between breed and parity and DIM on TR (comparing cows that were never observed rolling versus cows observed doing so at least once) were tested using logistic regression, revealing interactions between breed and parity. Among primiparous cows, Jerseys were more likely than Jersey-Holstein crosses to tongue roll [odds ratio (OR) = 1.61, confidence interval (CI) = 1.35–1.92]; similarly, among second-parity and older cows, Jerseys were again more likely to tongue roll than were Jersey-Holstein crosses (OR = 2.35, CI = 1.95–2.83). The effect of DIM differed by breed and parity; for primiparous Jerseys, the odds of TR increased with DIM (OR = 1.31, CI 1.12–1.52, for every 100-d increase), and for Jersey-Holsteins cows the odds of TR decreased with DIM (OR = 0.61, CI 0.43–0.88, for every 100-d increase). These breed, parity, and stage of lactation differences within a single farm suggest a role of both genetic and developmental effects in the proclivity to tongue roll.