172 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 

 Shrinkage on leef cattle in transit. 



It is concluded from these investigations that " the shrinkage of cattle in 

 transit depended very materially upon (a) the conditions existing at the time 

 of shipping and upon the treatment received during the drive to the loading 

 pens; (b) the length of time the cattle were held without feed and water before 

 being loaded; (c) the nature of the fill which the cattle had before loading, a 

 great loss in weight being experienced with succulent grass, beet pulp, or silage; 

 (d) the weather conditions at the time of loading and while in transit; (e) 

 the character of the run to market, slow, rough runs causing a greater shrink- 

 age ; (f) the kind of treatment they received at unloading stations; (g) the 

 time of arrival at market, the fill being small if they arrived just before being 

 sold, and cattle that were shipped a long distance and arrived at market during 

 the night usually not filling well ; whereas if they arrived the afternoon before 

 or about daylight of the sale day, they generally took a good fill; and (h) the 

 climatic conditions at the market. 



"An exceedingly large fill at market is not desired as it will detract from the 

 selling price. The shrinkage on calves may seem small, but under normal con- 

 ditions it holds about the same proix)rtion to their weight as is found with 

 grown cattle. The difference between the shrinkage of cows and steers is not as 

 great as is ordinarily supposed. Steers will usually shrink somewhat less than 

 cows of the same weight. The shrinkage during the first 24 hours is greater 

 proportionately than for any succeeding period of the same duration. The 

 shrinkage of cattle was found to vary in direct proportion to their live weight 

 when conditions were the same and all other factors were equal. The shrinkage 

 of range cattle in transit over TO hours during a normal year is from 5 to 6 

 per cent of their live weight. If they are in transit 36 hours or less the shrink- 

 age will range from 3 to 4 per cent of their live weight. The shrinkage of 

 fed cattle does not differ greatly from that of range cattle for equal periods 

 of time. It varied from about 8 per cent with all of the silage-fed cattle 



