Supplementary material for "Understanding non-nutritive oral behaviors in dairy calves (Bos taurus, Bos indicus): A systematic review"

We reviewed 81 studies and synthesized the direction of intervention effects based on the authors' conclusions. We found that feeding calves in a way that allows the expression of natural suckling behavior is effective in reducing NNOBs.

Keeping calves with their dam during the milk-feeding period consistently reduced the risk of cross-sucking and other NNOBs. Where dam-rearing is not possible, the risk of NNOBs can be reduced by providing calves the opportunity to suck milk from a teat that provides a slow milk flow during sucking, offering daily milk allowances and meal sizes that prevent hunger (e.g., ≥20% of body weight of milk/d, and approximately 10 % of body weight of milk/meal).