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Shrink during Shipment of Feeder Cattle¹

Iowa State University, Ames 50010

Abstract

Data collected from the fall of 1961 through the fall of 1971 on a total of 4,685 feeder cattle routinely purchased in 53 shipments indicated an average shrink of 7.2 and 9.1% (P<.05) for cattle purchased from a ranch or from a sale yard, respectively. The distance shipped ranged from 240 to 1,824 km with an average of 1,023 kilometers. The regression coefficient indicated that percent shrink had a positive regression of .38 percentage points per 100 km deviation from the mean distance shipped. Ten additional shipments involving individually identified feeder steers averaged 8.8 and 8.9% shrink for two shipping procedures, respectively. Sixty steers were slaughtered to provide data on various pre- and post-shipment components of weight. Slightly less than half the total shrink was from loss of contents of the digestive tract. The length of time required to regain shipping shrink ranged from 3 to 30 days with an average of 10.4 to 10.9 days. Over half the shipments providing data (23 of 43) required 7 days or less to regain shrink.

¹ Journal Paper No. J-6592 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames. Project No. 1503.

² The assistance of B. R. McClurg, Sy Angstrom and Tom Wickersham of Iowa State University and Clyde Wells, manager of the Black Estate Ranch, Granbury, Texas, in collecting the data is gratefully, acknowledged.

³ Present address: University of Kentucky, Lexington.

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