﻿SHRINKAGE OF WEIGHT OF BEEF CATTLE IN TRANSIT. 23 



have plenty of grass and water before weighing, there will usually 

 be a heavy shrinkage. 



2. The .shrinkage is not the same for all classes of cattle. It will 

 be greater on cows than on either steers or mixed stuff, and smaller 

 on calves than on any other class of cattle. 



3. The shrinkage will usually be in direct proportion to the size 

 of the animals, where all other factors are equal. 



4. The weather exerts a primal influence on the shrinkage of cattle 

 while in transit, and upon the fill taken at the market. 



5. The greater the fill taken at market the smaller will be the 

 shrinkage. 



G. The fill at market may be influenced by the weather, the time 

 elapsed since the cattle were last fed and watered, the time of arrival 

 at market, and the feeds given while there. 



7. A big fill of grass and water at the point of origin just previous 

 to loading is not desired. The cattle will not stand up well, and 

 it may cause them to scour. 



'8. The practice of withholding feed and water for from 10 to 25 

 hours before loading, in order to make the cattle take a big fill at 

 market, is to be condemned. Very frequently the fill is not taken, 

 and usually the shipper loses money by this procedure. 



9. In a droughty year the shrinkage of the cattle largely takes 

 place during the drive from the ranch to the loading pens. The 

 shrinkage in transit may be small and may be completely overcome 

 by the fill at market. 



10. The variation in shrinkage of fed cattle is not as wide as that 

 on range cattle, and the fill at market of the fed cattle is more 

 uniform. 



11. The shrinkage of cattle finished on cottonseed meal, hulls, and 

 corn chop is greater than the shrinkage on range cattle. 



12. The shrinkage of cattle is much greater during the first 3G 

 hours in transit than during any subsequent period of the same 

 duration. 



