﻿SHRINKAGE OF WEIGHT OF BEEF CATTLE IN TRANSIT. 69 



Table 28; — Summary of northwestern and no ut It/western work of I!) It. 





Num- 

 ber of 

 ship- 

 ments. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 cattle. 



Aver- 

 age 



weight 

 at 



origin. 



' (toss shrink- 

 age. 



Fill at mar- 

 ket. 



Net shrink- 

 age. 



Ratio 



of 

 shrink- 



Description. 



Range. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Range. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Range. 



Aver- 

 age. 



age to 



live 



weight 



at 

 origin. 



Southwestern range ealves 

 en route less than 36 hours . 



3 



8 



17 



3 



13 

 5 



4 



211 



730 



1,307 



1,383 



126 



849 

 150 



180 



Pounds. 

 240 



1,193 

 800 

 907 



1,020 



783 

 751 



1,066 



'Pounds. 



Lbs. 



Pounds. 



Lbs. 



Pounds. 

 11-13 



65-83 



26-60 



4-04 



50-72 



+21-71 

 19-75 



14-32 



Lbs. 

 12 



70 



34 



32 



61 



26 

 42 



21 



Per ct. 

 4.9 



Northwestern range steers 

 Southwestern range cows en 



106-124 



Ill 



40-41 



41 



6.0 

 4.0 



Southwestern range cows en 











3.6 



Northwestern range cows en 



85-110 



97 



35-37 



36 



.6.0 



Southwestern mixed range 

 cattle en route less than 24 



3.3 



Southwestern mixed range 











5.6 



Northwestern mixed range 

 cattle en route over 36 



25-51 



42 



9-28 



21 



2.0 











1 Gain in weight instead of a shrinkage. 

 CONCLUSIONS. 



1. A big shrinkage may be caused by one of three things, viz., 

 (a) A big fill at the point of origin when weighed; (b) failure to 

 fill at destination; or (c) a poor, slow run to market. 



2. The shrinkage for the first 24 hours is always greater than for 

 any succeeding period of the same length, and the rate of shrinkage 

 is also much greater for the first 24-hour period than for any suc- 

 ceeding period. 



3. Cattle of the Northwest will shrink from 5 to 6 per cent of their 

 live weight while in transit from 36 to 72 hours. 



4. There is practically no difference in the rate of shrinkage of 

 spayed heifers and steers of the same size and quality when shipped 

 under similar conditions. 



5. The shrinkage of cattle from Montana and the Dakotas to the 

 Chicago market was not as great as usually predicted by the cattle- 

 men of that section. 



6. The careful handling of cattle while driving to the loading 

 pens, and the feeding of some good bright hay just before loading is 

 profitable for the shipper. 



7. Too great a fill of water just previous to loading should be 

 avoided, the condition of the cattle should approach the normal as 

 near as possible when ready to ship. 



8. The practice of holding cattle off feed and water for a long 

 period before shipping with the idea that they will take an exceed- 



