Shrinkage in cattle: what you need to know

crucial aspect of managing your cattle. It’s not just a reduction in sales weight, but also a potential decrease in the price you’ll receive. However, with the right knowledge, you can make informed decisions and mitigate its impact.

The thing is that some shrinkage is to be expected, but too high of levels can indicate a problem. Abnormal levels of shrink can often be used as a health indicator for calves. Places like receiving facilities at stocker operations, grow yards, and feedlots use this to determine which calves may need more care.

Experienced buyers and sellers in the cattle market are well-versed in the concept of shrinkage. They use this knowledge to make fair adjustments in cattle pricing. As a cattle owner, understanding the factors that contribute to shrinkage will help you negotiate fair prices for your cattle.

What is shrinkage?

Shrinkage can be categorized into two types: fill shrink and tissue shrink. Understanding these types and their differences is crucial for effective management. It will help you identify the type of shrinkage your cattle are experiencing and take appropriate measures to address it.

The most common type that you will deal with is the fill shrink. Fill shrink is caused by your cattle’s loss of rumen fill, manure, and urine. Being held off of feed and water overnight will cause this to occur. This type of shrinkage is recovered in a short period of time after feed and water intake return to normal.

Tissue shrink is a decrease in the weight of the carcass and other body tissues. This type is primarily the result of extra-cellular and intra-cellular fluid losses. It is generally associated with long periods without feed and water. Think very long hauls, like out-of-state. This type of shrinkage will take longer to recover than the regular fill shrink. Tissue shrinkage can take up to 30 days to recover.

These two types only sometimes occur independently. Most of the time, fill shrink will appear first, but as time goes on, tissue shrinking can happen. During the latter part of transport, tissue shrinkage is the relatively more important thing to focus on.

Surveys of cattle markets have shown price differences due to shrinkage. Cattle that are gaunt or shrunk before marketing have a $2-$4/hundredweight premium over cattle with average fill. Now, this may seem like a good thing, but in reality, it is not. These premiums are unlikely to cover the excess weight loss’s lost revenue.

What causes it?

Your cattle’s diet will play an essential role in the amount of shrinkage. Cattle on grass, wet beet pulp, or silage will typically shrink by 4%. Fat cattle on concentrates will shrink from 2.5% to 3% if no feed or water is available. If they are available as a free choice, then morning weight will be about 2% less than evening weight.

How much stress your calves deal with during weaning also plays a part. Weaning is one of the most stressful periods in your calf’s life. This event typically happens at the same time as marketing, which can add to the stress. Weaning can add to the pressure due to handling, shipping, fasting, and commingling. According to Oklahoma State, calves that were weaned 22 days prior to sale greatly minimize shrinkage.

The length of the transport is also a factor in how much shrinkage will occur. The most significant weight loss occurs during the first few miles and hours of transport. The length of transit has a more significant influence on gross shrink. One can expect around 2% more shrinkage when cattle are transported versus to a dry lot stand. Usually, shrink occurs rapidly during the early part of transport, levels off, and then gradually increases.

If they have eaten before being transported, it can also have an impact on the amount of shrink that occurs. Steers moved directly from the pasture had higher shrinkage than those fed hay before transport. The reduced shrink is likely due to the slower passage rate of feed through the digestive tract and less water loss.

Why reducing shrinkage is essential?

Aside from the potential health issues, shrinkage can also affect your return. Cattle are sold per pound, so the lower the weight, the less you will get. As I mentioned earlier, though lighter calves may get a little more of a premium, it is rarely enough to cover the total loss in weight.

The outward appearance of the calves in the market can affect the sale price. Cattle that are extremely thin and gaunt will get less of a price. The other side of that coin is that overly fat or “full” calves will not get as much because they will be expected to lose most of that weight from feed passing through the system. You will want to balance from being too thin to being too fat.

Often, the buyer may offer a price with a declared shrink, percentage included. Instead of buying the cattle on a delivered basis, the buyer may offer a price with this included. What this means is that it is a predetermined percentage applied to all the animals regardless of the actual percentage shrink.

You could always haul them to the local sale barn if you want to avoid going that way. Here, they should consider their asking price, the amount of actual shrink that occurs, and the resulting price they get. An example of this can be a cattle owner who may want $225/cwt, but the cattle experience an 8% shrink while in transport and at the sale barn. To meet their demand, the calves will actually need to sell for $243/cwt to compensate for shrinkage.

How you handle your calves before transporting them can significantly affect how much shrinkage you will get. Preconditioning your calves before marketing reduces shrinkage because you reduce the calf’s stress. Unweaned calves transported directly to the auction barn can have a shrinkage of 7-10%. Calves that are preconditioned only experience shrinkage of 2-5%.

If you want to learn more about good weaning techniques, check out my previous post, “5 tips for calf weaning success”, where I discuss specific strategies to reduce stress during weaning and minimize shrinkage.

Reducing the other types of stress that your calves go through will also help to reduce this. Avoiding overcrowding calves in a trailer is one way. Not moving them in extreme heat or cold can also reduce the total amount of stress likely to occur. Handling your cattle carefully and along Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) guidelines, which are industry standards for cattle handling, is always a good idea.