Cattle are sensitive to light, movement, and sound. Loading and unloading can be a traumatic experience because of this sensitivity. Facilities should reflect the natural behaviour of cattle to follow and move in a circle. Rough handling must be avoided. Under loading trucks can allow the cattle to circle, kick or slip during transport.
Tension is caused when cattle are grouped together with unfamiliar cattle.
This is especially true when mixing bulls or introducing females to bulls. Transit in itself is not a great contributor to shrinkage unless the cattle are poorly loaded, the roads rough, the weather extreme or the ride excessively long. Trucks should arrive on time with the boxes or liners clean and ready for transporting livestock. The paperwork that accompanies the livestock is an important part of the sale process. Paperwork that is incompletely or incorrectly filled out may delay the sale or delivery of livestock.