Bruising and muscle pH with mixing groups of cattle pre-transport.

The effects on bruising and muscle pH of mixing cows and steers at loading, and 96 hours before loading, for transport to slaughter were examined. A second experiment investigated the effect on bruising of mixing two strange groups of steers at loading, 24 and 96 hours before loading. All cattle were hornless Bos indicus crossbreds from the same property in north Queensland. The bruise score, bruise trim weight and muscle pH of mixed cows and steers did not differ significantly from that of those transported separately. Mixing of two strange groups of steers did not significantly affect bruising. Time of mixing had no noteworthy effect on bruising. Cows bruised significantly (P less than 0.01) more than steers. These results have important implications for low cost beef management.