The time it takes for the animal to return to pre-transport immune levels is also worth noting. It can take up to six days after transport for the immune system to return to normal. In terms of the physiological responses your cattle undergo, the increased blood levels of free fatty acids, urea, creatine kinase and ‚-hydroxybutryate require time to return to normal. In long-distance transport the recovery time can be as long as five days due to the disruption of food and water consumption. This is something to consider when your bulls are being hauled to different events around the country. If your bull is not performing at his peak, it can be due to a depressed immune system or other physiological disruptions from the transportation.
Cattle, when compared to other large animals such as horses, have higher cortisol sensitivity. This aspect comes into effect when reproduction is in question. If you have just transported a load of females from, say the feed yard, and you want to AI them, it is best to wait until they have settled down and acclimate to their surroundings. The less stress they are under, the higher their conception rates will be. Also, if you are hauling your females to have reproductive work done, the stress can cause the females not to take.

It is important to note that there are two phases of stress associated with shipping. The first phase is considered the “perception of events” in which the cattle go through the process of being loaded into the trailer. This can be amplified if poor handling techniques are used and the level of anxiety is increased. The second phase is the transportation itself. This is the stress of standing for long periods of time, trying to stay balanced, the novelty of the surroundings, weather, etc. These two stressors together lead to the above mentioned impacts of transporting cattle.

Unfortunately, science has yet to find any real remedies to the problems associated with transportation stress. There have been attempts to use electrolyte supplementation during transport which has been shown to decrease dehydration. However, when hauling calves it is detrimental to give them access to cold water mid-trip because it negatively affects their electrolyte balance. Having your animals in good nutritional condition and properly vaccinated will help with their coping abilities. Additionally, if you’re hauling your bulls to events, if you get them there a few days prior to the event you will give them more time to recover from the shipping stress. This is usually not possible given the scheduling of most of the events; however, if it is possible it should be utilized.

Another method to improve the trip for the bulls is having a good driver and selecting the best routes to drive. Cattle do much better on open roads than they do in suburban areas or country roads where there is a lot of stop-and-go traffic or bumpy roads. Your driver should have experience hauling livestock and should take care when braking and making turns. This seems like common sense, but there are drivers who handle their cargo rougher than they should. The easier the ride is, the less muscle fatigue your bulls will undergo and that should help their performance.

When you hear about the bulls that are considered the best, it is usually noted that these bulls haul well. There certainly is truth to that. Every animal is different and some bulls will handle travel better than others will. These bulls will habituate to the routine of loading and traveling and perform at their peak like nothing ever happened. Other bulls will suffer from transportation stress and put on a poor performance. The best bet is to alleviate as much stress as possible during the loading and driving as possible and make sure they’re healthy before the trip.