Browsing by Author "Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor"
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Item Open Access Attitudes and competencies of third year veterinary students towards their role as an animal welfare advocate and attitudes towards pain and pain mitigation practices in beef and dairy cattle in the United States by veterinarians and producers(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Johnstone, Ellizabeth Charlotte Spencer, author; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Pinedo, Pablo, committee member; Ahola, Jason, committee member; Stuart, Amy K., committee memberAlthough leading veterinary organizations emphasize the importance of animal welfare knowledge, there exists a gap in current veterinary student animal welfare education and training. A survey instrument was created to assess third-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) student knowledge of key animal welfare topics, opinions regarding the inclusion of welfare education in the veterinary curriculum, and views on veterinarian responsibilities as advocates. In Spring 2018, Colorado State University added a required animal welfare course to the DVM curriculum. Pre- and post-course paper surveys were distributed to the third-year students enrolled in the animal welfare. One hundred thirty one completed pre-course surveys were collected and 125 completed post-course surveys were collected. Of the pre and post-course surveys collected, 61 were paired with identification codes and utilized for statistical comparison. Results indicated that the course led students to view the inclusion of an animal welfare course in the veterinary curriculum more favorably (p=0.009) and improved their confidence in conducting research on animal welfare topics (p<0.001). The course did not change students' sense of responsibility towards welfare advocacy. Associations were not found between attitudes towards these issues and demographic variables of home community, respondent gender, and track selection (p>0.06). Veterinarians were consistently ranked by students as the most influential member of a community in matters of animal welfare. Future research on the lack of veterinary student knowledge of animal welfare should be done on a national scale to facilitate strategic development of mandatory animal welfare courses in veterinary curricula. Future research should be designed to gain knowledge regarding DVM students' opinions and attitudes regarding effective methods of incorporating animal welfare education into their professional training. The objective of the second survey project was to evaluate the current pain management practices and opinions towards pain management in cattle of beef and dairy veterinarians and producers in the United States. Pain management strategies in livestock have evolved in the last few decades but a variety of obstacles continue to limit improvements in the use of pain mitigation by members of the cattle industries. One such obstacle is the lack of FDA-approved analgesic drugs for use in cattle in the United States which offers limited pain management options to cattle veterinarians and producers. An on-line survey was developed to investigate current use of pain mitigation by cattle veterinarians and producers. The survey was distributed electronically to multiple listservs in Summer 2018 (BEEF Magazine, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, National Milk Producers Federation Farmers Assuring Responsible Management evaluators, Dairy Moms and Dairy Girls Facebook groups; N=46,577). A total of 1,187 (2.5%) surveys were received; 41.9% of respondents identified as producers, 47.9% as veterinarians, and 10.2% as both. Multivariate logistic regression was used for analysis. Veterinarians (OR [95% CI] = 10.2 [7.21-14.4]) and producer-veterinarians (OR [95% CI] = 3.30 [2.02-5.39]) had significantly greater odds of using analgesia than producers in all cattle ages. Summary data suggest that analgesic use changed with cattle age; 57.6% of respondents used pain management in calves <2 months of age, while 71.6% of respondents used pain management in cattle more than 12 months of age. Respondents agreed that "cattle benefit from receiving analgesic drugs" (76.6%) and that "US/USDA/FDA regulations limit my ability to use analgesic drugs in cattle" (64.01%). Fifty-eight percent of respondents indicated their use of pain management had increased in the last 10 years. Data identify impediments to improving pain management practices in cattle. Results indicate the need for education and communication between veterinarians and producers on the necessity of pain management.Item Open Access Benchmarking and analysis of current pre-slaughter management factors and their influence on welfare and meat quality outcomes in fed beef cattle(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Davis, Melissa, author; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Nair, Mahesh, committee member; Hess, Ann, committee member; Mooney, Daniel, committee memberSeveral factors related to pre-slaughter management of fed beef cattle and their impacts on welfare and meat quality have been identified and discussed thoroughly in previous literature. However, a full catalog of these factors and indicators used to evaluate their impacts on cattle welfare is missing. Additionally, benchmarked data for these factors and welfare and meat quality outcomes, and an analysis of their relationships on a large scale is underrepresented in current literature. The objectives of the first chapter of this dissertation were to catalog pre-slaughter management factors, identify indicators used to evaluate their impacts, and ultimately gain a further understanding of the relationships between pre-slaughter management factors and cattle welfare. This review included an in-depth analysis of 69 studies from across the globe that identified factors related to transportation and handling using behavioral and physiological indicators to measure welfare that were the most researched throughout the studies. The discussion of this review also identified pre-slaughter factors that require benchmarking and/or more research on their potential impacts on cattle welfare. Thus, the objectives of the second chapter in this dissertation was to benchmark pre-slaughter management factors at a collection of commercial fed cattle processing facilities. This data collection took place at five commercial processing facilities in the West, Midwest, and Southwest regions of the United States from March 2021 to July 2022. Data were collected on a total of n = 637 slaughter lots representing n = 87,220 head of cattle. Transportation factors such as distance travelled and the time cattle waited on the truck to unload after arriving at the facility, space allowance in lairage for cattle, lairage duration and cattle mobility was recorded. Environmental factors were later recorded from an online weather service, and cattle characteristics and several meat quality factors including bruising, quality grading, carcass weight and dark cutting were obtained from plant records. Descriptive statistics were calculated for both the lot and individual animal level depending on the variable. Cattle travelled on average, 155.8 ± 209.6 km (Mean ± SD) to the processing facility from the feedlot, waited 30.3 ± 39.7 minutes to unload at the plant and were held in lairage for 200.7 ± 195.0 minutes. The mean lairage density was 3.1 ± 2.0 m2/animal, and a majority of cattle (91.8%, n = 77,645) were scored as having normal mobility. Carcass bruising prevalence was 69.7% (n = 57,099), and of those that were bruised, 65.2% (n = 39,856) had multiple bruises. Having this baseline benchmarking data outlines not only areas that need further improvement, but also areas in this sector that the industry has already improved upon. This benchmarking data also identified the need for additional analysis on the relationships between these factors and outcomes. Therefore, the objective in the final chapter of this dissertation was to assess the effects of these factors on select welfare and meat quality outcomes in fed beef cattle. Using the same data set and methods as in the second chapter, any slaughter lots with no response variables or < 75% of predictor variables present were excluded. A total of n = 619 slaughter lots representing 84,508 head of cattle were used for further analysis. Descriptive statistics for this subset of data and linear and logistic regression models were performed to assess relationships. Statistical significance was determined at P < 0.05. Predictor variables of interest included plant, breed, sex class, operation shift at the plant, distance travelled, truck waiting time to unload, lairage duration and space allowance, THI, and wind speed. Outcome variables of interest included mobility, bruising, dark cutting, quality grades, and hot carcass weights. All outcomes of interest were associated with several pre-slaughter factors of interest, particularly plant and cattle breed. Increased odds of impaired mobility were associated with increased distance travelled (1.001, 1.000 – 1.001; OR, CI) and truck waiting time (1.003, 1.001 – 1.004; OR, CI). Increased odds of carcass bruising were associated with decreases in distance travelled (0.997, 0.996 – 0.998; OR, CI), but increases in space allowance in lairage (1.035; 1.017 – 1.053; OR, CI). Cattle that experienced increases in lairage duration were associated with decreased hot carcass weights (P < 0.0367) and increased odds of cark cutting (1.034, 1.001 – 1.068; OR, CI). Additionally, cattle that were slaughtered during the first shift of operation at the plant were associated with decreased odds of being bruised (0.806, 0.772 – 0.842; OR, CI), being classified as a dark cutter (0.416, 0.336 - 0.514; OR, CI), and having a poorer quality grade (0.777, 0.657 - 0.920; OR, CI). Results from these studies identify areas where further and more detailed research is needed to fill knowledge gaps and fully understand these relationships. This research also has the potential to aid in informed decision-making regarding cattle management during the pre-slaughter period and further educate the industry on sustainable management practices.Item Open Access Benchmarking animal handling outcomes and analyzing impacting factors on cow-calf operations(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Calaba, Elaine, author; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Hess, Ann, committee member; Engle, Terry, committee member; Ahola, Jason, committee memberAnimal handling is an important part of the cattle industry; proper handling of animals can improve animal welfare and increase consumer confidence. One way handling is assessed on cow-calf operations is through producer education programs, such as the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program. A part of these producer education programs is assessing animal handling outcomes. However, there has not been much research into the occurrence and implication of cow handling outcomes. The objectives of this study were to: 1) quantify handling outcomes on cow-calf operations in the United States and 2) investigate potential factors that may influence these outcomes. An assessment was developed by refining existing BQA Cow-Calf program outcome definitions in addition to questions about animal factors, facilities, and management factors. Handling outcomes observed included: Prod Use, Miscatch, Vocalization, Jump, Slip/Stumble, Fall and Run. A total of 76 cow-calf operations were sampled in 24 states (Central, n = 17; East, n = 30; West, n = 29), with herd sizes ranging from 10 head to more than 5,000 head. Observations occurred during processing of either cows or yearling heifers through a cattle chute restraint system, regardless of procedure being performed. With herds less than 100 head, all cows or yearling heifers were observed as they moved through the single file alley, into the chute, and upon exiting the chute for a distance of three body lengths. On operations greater than 100 head, a maximum of 100 contiguous head were observed. Results indicate that most participants were BQA trained (70%) and had crossbred herds (63%) with a Docile temperament (57%) and had Daily Visual Contact with their herds (47%). The mean observations for Prod Use (18.1% ± 28.9), Miscatch (2.5% ± 5.1), and Fall (2.5% ± 4.2) exceeded the upper limit of BQA standards. The BQA threshold for Prod Use is 10%, Miscatch is 0%, and Fall is 2%. Vocalization (3.8% ± 7.6), Jump (7.5% ± 9.9), Run (7.7% ± 13.8), and Slip/Stumble (6.3% ± 9.1) were within BQA thresholds (5%, 25%, and 10% respectively). Prod Use had the greatest number of impacting factors including BQA status, Herd Size Group, Temperament, and Visual Contact while Miscatch, Vocalization, and Fall all had single impacting factors (Region, Temperament, Visual Contact, respectively). Visual Contact and Temperament had an association with the majority of outcomes. Future research should focus more in-depth on specific factors and the variety contained within and on the role of veterinarians in handling outcome frequencies.Item Open Access Carcass bruising location and bruise trim loss in finished steers, cows, and bulls at five commercial slaughter facilities(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Kline, Helen Carter, author; Grandin, Temple, advisor; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Belk, Keith, committee member; Engle, Terry, committee member; Rollin, Bernard, committee memberDetermining the location of, and investigating possible causes of, bruising in beef carcasses is critical for addressing animal well-being concerns in the livestock industry—as well as understanding losses in value that are a consequence of carcass defects. This study was conducted in five commercial slaughter facilities, located in multiple regions of the U.S., that slaughter fed steers/heifers, cows and bulls. At each plant, animals from thirty trailers, at least one animal from each utilized compartment. In total, approximately 50 animals were marked each night, providing 150 marked animals over the three days of sampling at each facility. Individual carcasses were followed through the slaughtering process and were evaluated before carcass splitting for: presence/absence and location of bruising, and the weight of bruised meat that was removed from carcasses during trimming. This study found that 28.1% of carcasses observed were visibly bruised. Regions of the carcass that had the highest bruise incidence were the round, rib, and loin beef cuts, respectively. However, some carcasses had deep tissue bruises that were not visible on the surface of the carcass, but trim loss was collected once these bruises were exposed and averaged 1.0 kg per carcass. Cattle in the top deck compartment were less likely to be bruised when compared to cattle in the belly compartment (P = 0.03). Reduction of bruising enhances animal well-being and reduction in trim loss adds economic efficiency along the entire beef supply chain.Item Open Access Effect of hot-iron brand size and meloxicam on behavior, health, and performance of beef calves in a pasture setting(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Keogh, Lily, author; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Cramer, Catie, advisor; Wolfe, Barb, committee member; Engle, Terry, committee memberAnimal welfare is of growing importance in beef cattle production and therefore there is heightened interest in regularly practiced, painful management practices. Hot-iron branding is a common method of permanent identification of cattle, created by intense thermal damage to the hide. The main objectives of the study were to quantify the effects of hot-iron brand size and meloxicam on pain related behaviors and health and performance parameters of 2-month-old beef calves on a commercial cow calf operation. A total of 126 calves were enrolled in the study (bulls, n=56; heifers, n=70). Calves were hot-iron branded with one of two iron sizes (small (SM), large (LG)) and administered meloxicam (MEL; dosed for a 113-kg calf at 1mg/kg of bodyweight) or a placebo (PLA)), and castrated (CAS) or not castrated (NCAS), if a heifer calf. Following the treatment application, behavioral observation (2 h periods) using instantaneous scan sampling occurred at 6 h and 24 h post branding; these observation periods (OP) represent the pharmacokinetics of oral meloxicam. A logistic regression (PROC GLIMIX) was used to assess the association between castration status, brand size, medication, observation period, as well as any interactions, on the proportional behavioral outcomes. More LG brand calves were observed standing, lying, and displaying event behaviors as compared to the SM brand calves (P = 0.003, P = 0.011, P = 0.016, respectively). OP affected the display of event and state behaviors, with standing observed more at 6 h and event behaviors displayed more at 24 h (P = 0.0028). Concurrently, CAS and SM or LG branded calves exhibited more event behaviors and standing than NCAS calves (P = 0.022). No effect of the fixed variables on average daily gain (ADG) or morbidity were observed (P > 0.05). MEL did reduce the proportion of branded heifer calves expressing event behaviors as compared to PLA, however it had less of a behavioral impact on the concurrently castrated and branded calves (P = 0.022). The results indicate that pain is present within the 24 h following branding and castration and that concurrent castration and branding elicits a greater behavioral response than only branding. This study highlighted both the feasibility of administering an oral analgesic in a commercial setting and that implementing a smaller brand size may be a strategy to reduce pain associated with hot-iron branding.Item Open Access Effects of penetrating captive bolt gun model and number of stuns on stunning-related variables of cattle in a commercial slaughter facility(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Casagrande, Renan, author; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Hess, Tanja, advisor; Grandin, Temple, committee member; Wagner, John, committee member; Sharp, Benjamin, committee memberThe objective of this study was to assess two different penetrating captive bolt gun models (Jarvis USSS-1 and USSS-21) and two stunning methods (1KNOCK and 2KNOCK, applying one and two knocks, respectively) on stunning-related variables in cattle. Heads were collected at a commercial slaughter facility and knocking efficiency, knock hole diameter, brain damage, knock hole placement and hemorrhage were assessed. Knocking efficiency was not impacted by gun model or number of knocks (P = 0.39 and 0.12, respectively). Knock number influenced knock hole diameter, brain damage and hemorrhage in the cavity (P ≤ .01). Presence of brainstem damage was greater (P < .01) when using the USSS-21 gun. Results suggested similar performance between the USSS-1 and USSS-21 gun models. Potential benefits of using the newest model could be related to damaging vital brain areas like the brainstem.Item Open Access Evaluation of different hair characteristics and the impact of liver abscess presence on stress related physical and physiological parameters associated with well-being in beef feedlot steers(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Baier, Faith Susan, author; Grandin, Temple, advisor; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Engle, Terry, committee member; Rollin, Bernard, committee memberPhysiological and behavioral parameters are commonly used to assess cattle welfare. The overall objective of these studies was to understand the impact of animal-based characteristics and the presence of a metabolic disease on the overall well-being of beef feedlot steers through the measurement of physical and physiological parameters. The objective of Experiment 1 was to determine the impact of hair color and length, and animal age on hair cortisol concentration in beef feedlot steers. Nineteen beef crossbred steers were used for this study. Seven of the steers (1,043 ± 6.8 kg; approx. 9 years of age) were fitted with ruminal fistulas and duodenal cannulas and classified as old steers. The other twelve steers (680 ± 4.5 kg; approx. 2.5 years of age) were fitted with only ruminal fistulas and classified as young steers. One steer was euthanized due to health problems within the first week of the study. Steers were categorized into one of three groups: old with black hair (OB, n = 3); old with white hair (OW, n = 3); young with black hair (YB, n = 12). Hair samples from the right rump region of each steer were collected throughout a period of six weeks from six different areas. Only samples collected during Week 6 were used for analyses. Older steers exhibited greater hair cortisol concentrations than younger steers (P < 0.001). The white hair of the old steers yielded higher concentrations of hair cortisol as compared to black hair from young steers (OW = 10.89 ± 2.03 pg/mg and YB = 0.98 ± 0.11 pg/mg, respectively; P < 0.001). Hair cortisol concentration was not impacted by duration of growth (P = 0.33). However, cortisol concentrations exhibited a weak, positive correlation with hair length (r = 0.33, P = 0.01). Additionally, the average hair growth per week of beef steers in the winter months was calculated to be 0.90 mm. Further research should be performed to improve our understanding of the effect of hair characteristics on hair cortisol concentrations as related to the well-being of cattle. The objective of Experiment 2 was to evaluate the relationship between liver abscess presence and stress-related parameters in beef feedlot cattle, utilizing both physiological (hair and serum cortisol, ocular temperature) and behavioral measurements (mobility scoring). The ultimate goal of the study was to establish an initial understanding of the welfare state of cattle with liver abscesses so that management practices can be maintained or changed to allow for the production of cattle to be continually practiced in an efficient and sustainable manner. Three hundred and sixty-three beef breed, Bos taurus feedlot cattle were categorized by the liver abscess score assigned during the slaughter process. The liver abscess scoring groups were: no liver abscess presence (NLA; n = 316); mild liver abscess presence (MLA; n = 21) and severe liver abscess presence (SLA; n = 24). Two animals were unable to be assigned liver abscess scores. No relationships were identified between the presence of liver abscesses and the measured parameters – ocular infrared thermography (P = 0.55), hair cortisol (P = 0.96) and serum cortisol (P = 0.21). Furthermore, hair color was not statistically significant when compared across liver abscess scores (P = 0.70). All animals exhibited normal mobility with no visual signs of lameness. The data indicate that under the conditions of this experiment, where adhesions to the body wall were not tabulated, liver abscesses did not impact measured stress-related outcomes. Additional research is necessary to understand the impact of liver abscess presence on other stress-related parameters associated with well-being in cattle. Further research should be performed to increase our understanding of feedlot cattle welfare, in relation to all associated factors – health and disease, environment, and management-related. Both studies also concluded that future research should be focused on establishing benchmark values of hair cortisol concentration for other applications and validations such as hair sampling techniques, metabolite analysis methodology, and potential health indicators.Item Open Access Pre-slaughter factors affecting mobility, blood parameters, bruising, and muscle pH of finished beef cattle in the United States(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Sullivan, Paxton, author; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Hess, Ann, committee member; Nair, Mahesh Narayanan, committee memberDecades of work have focused on reducing fear, stress, and discomfort in cattle moving through the pre-slaughter phase by improving and promoting low-stress animal handling, transportation, and management processes. Even still, there is limited information about the effects of pre-slaughter factors on animal welfare and meat quality outcomes in finished cattle in the United States. The objective of this study was to track individual animals through the slaughter process to identify pre-slaughter factors associated with key welfare and quality outcomes. A total of 454 cattle from one slaughter facility were included in the study. Pre-slaughter factors assessed included: distance traveled, lairage density, lairage duration, season, and truck waiting time. Animal-related characteristics, i.e., body weight, breed, and sex, were also recorded. One trained observer scored mobility of all study cattle using the North American Meat Institute's 1-4 scale (i.e., normal to extremely reluctant to move). Postmortem, exsanguination blood was collected on animals and analyzed for cortisol, creatine kinase, and lactate. Carcass bruising was scored using a modified version of the National Beef Quality Audit's bruise scoring methodology (i.e., no bruise, one bruise that was ≤ the size of a deck of cards, one bruise that was > than the size of a deck of cards, and multiple bruises). Ultimate muscle pH was measured 32 to 36 hours postmortem. Multi-predictor models were selected for each outcome variable using Aikake Information Criterion (AIC). Continuous outcome variables were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models and categorical outcome variables with mixed-effects logistic regression models. Increased truck waiting time was associated with increased cortisol (P = 0.04) and lactate (P = 0.02) concentrations. Similarly, an increase in lairage duration was associated with an increase in creatine kinase (P = 0.05) and the odds of cattle being bruised (P = 0.03). Less space allowance per animal in lairage was associated with increased odds of cattle having impaired mobility (P = 0.01). There was a seasonal effect for many of the measured outcomes; the summer season was associated with greater lactate concentrations (P < 0.0001), increased odds of impaired mobility (P < 0.0001), and increased odds of carcass bruising (P = 0.003). The findings of this study indicate that many of the pre-slaughter factors assessed influence key welfare and meat quality outcomes of finished beef cattle, warranting future research and consideration.Item Open Access Survey of management and marketing practices on U.S. cow-calf operations and evaluation of different captive bolt lengths in a commercial slaughter plant(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Martin, Miriam Sharon, author; Grandin, Temple M., advisor; Edwards-Callaway, Lily, advisor; Delmore, Lynn, committee member; Rollin, Bernard, committee memberFinding ways to objectively measure welfare within different sectors of the beef industry is necessary to continually improve cattle welfare from birth to slaughter. The first objective of Study 1 was to benchmark cow-calf producer perspectives on management strategies and challenges that ultimately affect cattle welfare on ranches in the United States. The second objective of Study 1 was to quantify how producers are marketing their calf crop, their priorities when selecting replacements, and if producers saw value in handling and care guidelines. A total of 1,414 responses from cow-calf producers in 44 states were collected through a survey done in partnership with BEEF Magazine. Thirty questions were asked of producers to gather demographic information, producers' current handling and health management practices, and how they prioritized industry challenges. As well as establish at what age and through what avenue producers are marketing their calf crop, and gauge producer perspectives on a quality assessment outlining handling and care guidelines. After analyses of producer responses, it was concluded that the frequency of management methods and decisions are impacted by age, operation size, location, and BQA certification [P-values ≤ 0.009]. A higher percentage of respondents who were BQA certified used electronic eartags, followed by freeze branding [P-value = 0.009]. A higher percentage of respondents not BQA certified used basic eartags and hot branding. 74.5% of respondents were preconditioning their calf crop. A higher percentage of respondents were preconditioning their calf crop that were BQA certified, than those who were not BQA certified [P-value < 0.001]. The most important beef industry challenge identified was cow-calf health and the biggest challenge to producer's own operation was identified as land availability/price. The most important animal health issues on producers' operations were identified as Bovine Respiratory Disease, flies, Pinkeye, and reproductive health. Health challenge responses varied significantly by producer age, beef cow inventory, and region of the United States [P-values < 0.001]. By producer age, calf/neonate health was identified as the biggest challenge for respondents under the age of 30 [P-value < 0.001]. Respondents age 55-70 responded that Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD)/regulations was more of a challenge than any other age group. The percentage of respondents who marketed their calf crop at certain ages varied by herd size [P-value < 0.001]. Respondents with 50 head or less or more than 1,000 head more frequently retained their calf crop through finishing and respondents with 51 to 200 head and 201 head to 500 head more frequently backgrounded and then sold their calf crop. Respondents' top priorities when selecting bulls were calving ease, followed by growth and feed efficiency traits. When selecting females, top priorities were reproductive efficiency, followed by mothering ability. The percentage of respondents using pain management differed by whether or not a vet had offered to administer a drug for pain management [P-value < 0.001]. 13.5% of respondents answered yes, a veterinarian had offered to administer a drug for pain management when castrating or dehorning. Of those 13.5% who responded yes pain management had been offered, 54.55% of respondents chose to use a pain relief method. A higher percentage of producers that precondition also indicated that they use a pain relief method when castrating or dehorning more frequently, though it was still a low percentage [P-value = 0.006]. Overall, 46.3% of respondents saw value in handling and care guidelines and 54.9% of respondents saw value in a program including source and age verification, a vaccination plan, and handling and care guidelines. Respondents who were BQA certified, had a beef cow inventory of 501 to 1,000 head, who preconditioned their calves and backgrounded them before selling, and who lived in the West more frequently saw value in a quality assessment outlining handling and care guidelines [P- values ≤ 0.015]. The objective of Study 2 was to examine the effects of captive bolt length and breed type on post-stun leg activity in cattle. A total of 2,850 Holstein (HOL) and non-Holstein British/Continental bred (NHOL) steers and heifers were observed post-stunning at a large commercial slaughter facility. A penetrating pneumatic captive bolt stunner was used with three different bolt lengths: CON, 15.24 cm; MED, 16.51 cm; and LON, 17.78 cm. Hind limb kicking, forelimb activity, take away belt stops, carcass swing and number of knife sticks during exsanguination were recorded for each animal from video recording. Hind limb and forelimb kicks observed ranged from 0 to 25 and 0 to 8, respectively. A significant main effect of treatment [P < 0.001], breed type [P < 0.001] and an interaction between treatment and breed type [P < 0.001] on hind limb activity was found. Analysis of post-stun hind limb and forelimb activity indicated that increasing pneumatic captive bolt length does not decrease post-stun leg activity but alternatively can increase kicking when using the longest bolt tested in particular types of cattle, i.e. Holsteins. Other parameters associated with the shackling and hoisting process were impacted by breed type as well. There was a higher percentage of cattle experiencing take away belt stops and carcass swing in HOL as compared with NHOL.