Case Study: Prevalence of horns and bruising in feedlot cattle at slaughter

Carcass bruising of finished cattle can be attributed to suboptimal cattle handling and has become an animal welfare concern. Bruised carcasses require excess trimming, leading to increased sanitation risk and loss in time, and can potentially decrease profits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the prevalence of horns and prevalence of bruising in lots of cattle at a commercial slaughter facility and to report size of horns and the anatomical location and severity of bruising on beef carcasses. Carcasses (n = 4,287) of feedlot cattle were observed at one commercial beef packing plant in southwest Kansas. Within lots of cattle, the percentage of cattle with horns averaged 7.7 ± 7.4% and ranged from 1.3 to 26.4%. Average single horn length was 11.1 cm and average distance from horn tip to horn tip was 39.6 cm. Of the carcasses evaluated, 55.2 ± 23.2% had one or more bruises and 25.6 ± 8.3% were severe (>15 cm), 35.6 ± 7.0% were moderate (5 to 15 cm), and 38.8 ± 12.5% were minor (<5 cm). The majority of bruises (61.8%) occurred on the dorsal midline, with 18.6% on the left side and 19.5% on the right side. The prevalence of bruising on the caudal third was 21.8%, on the center was 60.5%, and on the anterior region was 17.6% of the entire carcass. Results from these data suggest there was no significant relationship between the prevalence of horns and the prevalence of bruises in a lot of cattle, indicating that further research evaluating causation of carcass bruising is needed.