Shrink in Cattle

 

John A. Paterson, PhD 
Extension Beef Specialist 
Montana State University

Shrink of a 600 lb calf which was penned, sorted, weighed and transported for 8 hours

Factor of shrink

% Shrink

Pounds lost

30 min. preliminary sorting

.5

3

Weighing and loading

3.0

18

First 4 hours of trucking

4.0

24

Second 4 hours of trucking

1.0

6

Total shrink

8.5

51

Time in transit and cattle shrink

Hours in Moving Truck

% Shrink

Days required to recover pay weight

1

2

0

2-8

4-6

4-8

8-16

6-8

8-16

16-24

8-10

16-24

24-32

10-12

24-30

 

 

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