Any ideas for reducing sale barn shrink?

[Texas PaPaw]

I'm trying to figure out how minimize shrink on calves sold at the sale barn. Seems they always sell all drawed up. Grazing green grass & it runs thru quickly. Have tried bringing to the sale the day before & having hay fed & that doesn't seem to help as they are pulled from the hay pens in the early AM but don't sell before 3:30 pm or later. Calves are sold in the order they are consigned, which is a plus for prior day delivery. Owner says he will reserve low number backtags if I call the day before so calves can sell early.

Am thinking about putting calves on a fresh round bale the day before sale & hauling them in late AM on sale day after they have had their morning fill. Am hoping this hay will stay with them until they sell. Also, I want to be sure and not have them too full when they sell as the buyers really hammer you on over filled animals. Don't want to sell too full just with average fill. Should I put them on the round bale 24 hrs before sale? 12 hrs? 36hrs? Any other ideas.

I appreciate your thoughts & suggestions.

Good luck & happy trails.

Brock

 

[endebt]

Tex the best way to cut your loses is to sell private treaty. When you sell that way they pick them up at you place and pay you. No loses to srink. That is how i do it and it works. Talk to me thursday.

 

[Beefy]

we put a roundbale in the pen at night or afternoon (as soon as we finish sorting) and have them shipped the day of the sale around 9AM. I always tell them that i will pick up the check at the sale and they normally sell mine pretty early as a result. i guess as a courtesty to me so i dont have to wait around all night.

 

[dj]

cement?

 

[dun]

Many moons ago we used to load them with salt for a week before a sale. They didn;t loose much water weight and looked in better condition then they were. That was a pretty standard procedure 40 plus years ago.
If I remember correctly, but probably don;t, it seems like most of the shrink takes place in the first 10 miles, maybe 20.

dun

 

[Tod Dague]

I was talking to a guy a month or so about that same thing. He said he liked to deliver the calves about 3 days before the sale. The sale barn will feed them for a dollar a day and his calves will gain better then 2 lb/day just in filling their guts back up.

 

[Howdyjabo]

"I was talking to a guy a month or so about that same thing. He said he liked to deliver the calves about 3 days before the sale. The sale barn will feed them for a dollar a day and his calves will gain better then 2 lb/day just in filling their guts back up."


I'm glad our local sales won't do that--- thats just a train wreck waiting to happen to the poor soul that buys them. I want them out of the salebarn as FAST as possible and I want the stress as short as possible.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Many moons ago we used to load them with salt for a week before a sale. They didn;t loose much water weight and looked in better condition then they were. That was a pretty standard procedure 40 plus years ago.
If I remember correctly, but probably don;t, it seems like most of the shrink takes place in the first 10 miles, maybe 20.

dun

I still do pen them the night before in the lot with salt limiter feed. I still have never hauled a constipated cow.