"shrinkage"

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jnm303

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I have always sold my feeders directly from farm and use scale about 3 miles away. I am thinking about taking to sale barn 90 miles away. They would be taken in night before sale. Best guess of how many pounds a 500lb steer would lose??
 
Lots of things can make a difference. How long they have been weaned is a key one. For the average sale barn they will just put them in a pen with a 100 others and one water trough and nothing good to eat if anything at all. If thats the case it will be something close to 6% or 7% for long weaned calves, 8 to 12% for trailer weaned bawlers. They will lose 5% just on the trip.

Taking them the night before is a killer for avoiding shrink.
 
My local sale barn will feed them hay but if you have several calves and bring the feed they will pen them separate and feed them for you.
 
Many people can't help but take them in a day or more before the sale but I want them eating at my place until the last minute.
Years ago I had a connection with a cow buyer at a sale an hour away. I would call him during the sale to see what time I needed to be there. The workers would many times not even pen them just send them straight to the sale ring. Save 25 lb per cow on 10 cows @.50 is a free $125.
 
Most liveweight sales here are standardised. The cattle have to be in by the curfew time the evening before the sale. They are not allowed to be fed in the pens just free access to water. They get weighed soon after being sold. Usually can count on about 5% shrinkage.

Ken
 
wbvs58 said:
Most liveweight sales here are standardised. The cattle have to be in by the curfew time the evening before the sale. They are not allowed to be fed in the pens just free access to water. They get weighed soon after being sold. Usually can count on about 5% shrinkage.

Ken
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As long as everything is standardized and the price reflects it that is fine. I see some brought in the night before, some weaned, most still bawling. I try my best to buy from the ones brought in the night before if they match my needs.
I still have a hard time understanding why weighed after sold.
 
kenny thomas said:
I still have a hard time understanding why weighed after sold.
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For a lot of years in this area the standard was the scale was right outside the sale ring. Cattle got weighed right after being sold. In recent years most of the sales have gone to ring scales. The weight comes up on the reader board about the time the bidding starts. It sure takes the guess work out of buying.
 
around here, you can reserve a lot, so you can get a favourable sale time, but have to bring them in the night before. Mine get feed and water, though it's certainly not much.
They're weighed right at sale time
I just can't imagine having it done like some places do, pens from different owners, weighing after the sale, etc
 
Yes as Kenny says, ts an old cattle buyers trick. Buy the calves with the low tag numbers. They have dropped everything in their rumen and bladder and are taking the moisture out of their body tissue. When you get them home your trailer will not have any fresh dung or urine in the bottom. I have bought some calves that will weigh 15 lbs more after I get them home just because they walked to the water trough before I could get them in the chute to work and weigh. In the hot summer the shrink way worse.
 

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