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Proper handling and facility design are crucial for maintaining beef quality. Bruises can severely affect carcass value, resulting in over $250 million in annual losses due to improper cattle handling. Understanding the factors that cause bruises—such as narrow gates and rough handling—is vital. Utilizing principles of animal behavior, including proper lighting and noise management, helps in reducing stress and injuries. Implementing effective facility corrections can enhance cattle welfare and ensure a higher quality product for the industry.
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Beef Quality AssuranceAvoiding bruisesQuick Tips on Handling & Facilities
Top ten quality challenges to the industry of Audit • “Too frequent and severe bruises” • Bruises affect the value of not only carcasses, but also byproducts • “Bruising from improper cattle handling costs the industry over $250 million annually in carcass trim at the time of processing” (NCBA, 2000). • Cattle are responsible for about two-thirds of all human injuries caused by farm animals. (Hunkle, Hubert, & Harp, 1997).
Bulls Bruising Severity Frequency Distribution% Cows All Cattle 1999 - 11.8% No Bruises 2007 - 36.6% No Bruises
What can cause bruises? • Loin bruises • Narrow gates, horns • Gates hitting the side of the animal • Protruding gate latches, boards, and sharp edges • Shoulder Bruises • Rough handling • Presence of horns • Broken flipper gates in runways • Protruding gate latches, boards, and sharp edges • Back Bruises • Improperly adjusted one-way gates • Vertical gates hitting the back (should be padded) • Tall cattle hitting their backs when exiting the bottom compartment of a semi-trailer
Principles of animal behavior • Cattle vision • Can’t see directly behind them • They will move to lit areas, but not blinding light • Noise • Flight Zone • Use to your advantage, but all animals are different • Natural circling behavior • Curved chute • Natural following behavior • Never take a single animal to load a runway
Transporting • Heat and cold stress can make em sick (morbidity) and kill em (mortality) • Starts, stops, and cornering • Rest • Check cattle after first 2 hrs • Check cattle every 4 hrs after that • Density • How many can we fit?
Common Reasons for BalkingBeef Cattle Handling and Facility Design, Temple Grandin • Sparkling reflections on puddles • Shadows – reflection often looks like a cattle guard • Reflections on smooth metal • Loose chains that jiggle • Metal clanging • High pitch noise • Air hissing – compressors, etc. • Head on air drafts • Moving plastic • Fan blade movement • People moving • Small objects on floor • Clothing on a fence
Common facility corrections Beef Cattle Handling and Facility Design, Temple Grandin • If you use a curve design make sure cattle can see at least 2 body lengths ahead of them – no dead ends • If a back stop is used where cattle load a runway, avoid hanging chains (try a rope to hang the gate that can be released when they go in)
Common facility corrections Beef Cattle Handling and Facility Design, Temple Grandin • Crowd pen • gates solid (if panel gates, cover the panels with plywood or something that can’t be seen through – same with crowd pen fence • Gates 12 ft. long – 10 ft min • Keep crowding pen ½ to ¾ full • Fence height • 5 ft. – British breeds • 5.5 – 6ft – Continental or ear breeds
Common facility corrections Beef Cattle Handling and Facility Design, Temple Grandin • Squeeze chutes • 555 psi for hydraulic chutes • Loading chutes • 30” wide – works for bulls and cows • 20 degree slope for loading • Runway width – straight sided • 26” wide cows • 18” wide for calves • Straight funnels into runway should be 30 degrees
