Changes in temperament in heifers when handled either frequently or infrequently were evaluated subjectively based on their behavior when restrained in (chute score) and exiting from (exit score) a squeeze chute. Chute scores decreased over time–a favorable direction–with more dramatic declines in heifers handled more frequently. Heifers with higher chute scores on the first day of handling had the largest reduction in score. Exit scores changed less over time. Chute score therefore may be more indicative of acclimation to a novel environment than exit score. Both scores appear to offer a fast, easy and inexpensive way to quantify docility in cattle. Heifers became calmer with repeated gentle handling. Producers therefore may benefit from allowing cattle a few days to acclimate to new working facilities before assessing docility

Lewis, Ronald M.

Parham, Jamie T.

Swecker, W. S., Jr.

Tanner, Amy E.

Wahlberg, Mark L., Wahlberg

English

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports Animal Science Department
2018
Repeated Calm Handling Can Lead to More
Docile Cattle
Jamie T. Parham
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Amy E. Tanner
Virginia Tech
Mark L. Wahlberg Wahlberg
Virginia Tech
W. S. Swecker Jr.
Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Ronald M. Lewis
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, ron.lewis@unl.edu
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr
Part of the Large or Food Animal and Equine Medicine Commons, Meat Science Commons, and
the Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Department at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has
been accepted for inclusion in Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Parham, Jamie T.; Tanner, Amy E.; Wahlberg, Mark L. Wahlberg; Swecker, W. S. Jr.; and Lewis, Ronald M., "Repeated Calm Handling
Can Lead to More Docile Cattle" (2018). Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports. 964.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr/964
2018 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report · 75 
©  The Board Regents of the University of  
Nebraska. All rights reserved.
Repeated Calm Handling Can Lead to More Docile Cattle
Jamie T. Parham
Amy E. Tanner
Mark L. Wahlberg
W. S. Swecker, Jr.
Ronald M. Lewis
Summary with Implications
Changes in temperament in heifers when 
handled either frequently or infrequently 
were evaluated subjectively based on their 
behavior when restrained in (chute score) 
and exiting from (exit score) a squeeze chute. 
Chute scores decreased over time– a favorable 
direction– with more dramatic declines in 
heifers handled more frequently. Heifers 
with higher chute scores on the first day of 
handling had the largest reduction in score. 
Exit scores changed less over time. Chute 
score therefore may be more indicative of 
acclimation to a novel environment than exit 
score. Both scores appear to offer a fast, easy 
and inexpensive way to quantify docility in 
cattle. Heifers became calmer with repeated 
gentle handling. Producers therefore may 
benefit from allowing cattle a few days to 
acclimate to new working facilities before 
assessing docility.
Introduction
Temperament is often described as an 
animal’s behavioral response to handling 
by humans, or any fear- eliciting situation. 
The response of cattle to handling depends 
not only on their reaction to humans, but 
also on elements such as social context, 
physical environment and novelty of the 
situation. Strong behavioral responses of 
cattle to stressors, human or otherwise, 
have been associated with increased risk to 
handlers, poorer weight gain and meat eat-
ing quality, decreased tolerance to disease, 
and increased production costs. Because 
of the negative consequences of excitable 
temperament in cattle, there has been an 
increase in selection for docility. Breeding 
values for docility have been established, 
but the success of selection depends on the 
consistency and accuracy of measures of 
temperament. Furthermore, such measures 
would benefit from being fast, simple and 
inexpensive to collect.
Behavior when restrained in (chute 
score) and exiting from (exit score) a 
squeeze chute have been proposed as meth-
ods to measure temperament of animals in 
a production setting. Research using these 
methods report inconsistent results, some 
proposing the use of scoring systems while 
others not. Therefore, the objectives of 
this study were to identify a procedure for 
evaluation of behavior that is indicative of 
stress, and to determine if behavior changes 
over time.
Procedure
A 3- year study conducted at Kentland 
Farm, Blacksburg, VA, utilized predomi-
nately Angus (75% or more), spring- born 
heifer calves. Each year, heifers arrived 
at the facility following a one week fence 
line weaning period at the Virginia Tech 
Shenandoah Valley Agriculture Research 
Extension Center, and placed in a single 
management group on grass.
The experiment had a factorial design 
consisting of two measurement protocols 
(Frequent (F); Infrequent (IF)), and three 
events, each one month apart (starting days 
of Oct. 13, Nov. 10, and Dec. 8). Prior to the 
beginning of each year’s study, heifers (n = 
40) were randomly split into measurement 
protocols, accounting for dam age, sire, and 
weaning weight. Frequent measurement 
protocol entailed collecting behavioral 
measurements over three consecutive days 
within each event while IF measurement 
protocol involved collecting behavioral 
measurements on the first day of each event.
On the first day of each event, a random 
group of 4 heifers, regardless of measure-
ment protocol, were moved calmly into the 
tub from a holding pen. Each heifer was 
calmly moved through the alley way into 
the squeeze chute, and the heifer’s head 
caught and secured in the head gate. Before 
being approached, chute score (1 = docile, 
6 = aggressive) was recorded by 3 expe-
rienced observers within the first 15 sec. 
Heart rate, rectal temperature, and a fecal 
and blood sample were then taken. Upon 
release from the squeeze chute, an exit score 
(1 = docile, 5 = aggressive) was recorded by 
the same 3 experienced observers.
On the second and third day of each 
event, a random group of 4 heifers at a time 
from the F measurement protocol were 
again calmly worked through the same 
protocol as on the first day.
Data Partitions
Chute and exit scores for each heifer 
were averaged across all 3 observers and 
split into threshold categories. Heifers with 
both an average chute and exit score greater 
than or equal to 2.5 (n = 21) were consid-
ered temperamental while heifers with both 
scores less than 2.5 (n = 54) were consid-
ered docile. This left some heifers that fell in 
neither category (n = 43).
As a second comparison, threshold 
groups were created based on chute score 
only. They consisted of heifers with chute 
scores greater than or equal to 3 (n = 27), 
between 2.5 and 3 (n = 21), between 2.0 and 
2.5 (n = 27), between 1.5 and 2 (n = 24), and 
less than 1.5 (n = 19).
Statistical Analysis
Scores were treated as continuous, and 
analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure 
in SAS. First, the effect of frequency group, 
event, and their interaction were com-
pared on the first day within each event. 
Second, the effect of event and day within 
event were compared across all 9 days for 
heifers in the F group. Year was included as 
a random effect. Least squares means and 
standard errors (SE) for chute score and 
exit score were obtained using the Tukey 
function of SAS.
76 · 2018 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report
Results
Mean chute and exit scores compar-
ing temperamental and docile heifers by 
event can be found in Table 1. There was 
no effect of event, frequency group, or 
their interaction on either score for both 
temperamental and docile heifers. However, 
there was a larger numerical decrease in the 
temperamental group from event 1 to 3 for 
chute score compared to exit score, with no 
change in chute or exit score for the docile 
group. As expected, heifers that started with 
a lower chute score simply had less room to 
decrease on the scale.
While the effect of frequency group 
was not significant, there was a stronger 
decrease in chute and exit scores over time 
when considering the F group of heifers 
only. Table 2 shows the change in scores 
across events for both temperamental and 
docile heifers. Chute score decreased from 
event 1 to 2 (P < 0.05), but remained con-
stant from event 2 to 3 for both categories 
(P > 0.34). Temperamental heifers started 
with a chute score of 3.15 ± 0.17 on event 1, 
which reduced to 2.48 ± 0.17 on event 2 and 
3. Allowing heifers to acclimate to a novel 
environment may be worthwhile when 
evaluating their behavior in the chute. Exit 
score did change in the docile heifers from 
event 2 to 3 (P < 0.05); however this small 
of a change is likely not noticeable in prac-
tice. More importantly, the temperamental 
heifers did not significantly change in exit 
score across events.
Since chute score appeared to be the 
more sensitive measure, all heifers were 
separated based on their average chute 
score on day 1. Results comparing frequen-
cy groups across event are given in Table 
3. The effects of frequency group, and the 
interaction of frequency group and event, 
were not significant for any chute score cat-
egory. The effect of event was significant for 
the two chute score groups with the highest 
scores, with a decrease from event 1 to 2 
(1.08 and 0.66 for ≥ 3.0 and 2.5– 3.0 groups, 
respectively). These decreases from event 1 
to 2 became smaller when the chute score 
on day 1 was lower, again as expected.
The F group of heifers was again consid-
ered separately. Chute scores numerically 
decreased across events for all heifers, 
except for the 1.0– 1.5 group which remained 
constant. Heifers with starting scores 
greater than or equal to 3.0 and between 2.0 
Figure 1. Average chute scores by day for the frequently handled group of heifers, separat-
ed by their chute score on their first day of handling.
Table 1. Effect of event on average chute score of temperamental and docile heifers.
Measurement Threshold Category Event SEM P- Value3
1 2 3 Event
Chute Score Temperamental1 3.32 2.51 2.84 0.29 0.212
Docile2 1.69 1.74 1.76 0.14 0.936
Exit Score Temperamental1 3.16 2.95 2.80 0.20 0.277
Docile2 1.57 1.68 1.57 0.15 0.624
1Temperamental calves are those with both chute and exit scores ≥ 2.5 (n = 21)
2Docile calves are those with both chute and exit scores < 2.5 (n = 54)
3 Effect of frequency group and its interaction with threshold category were not significant (P > 0.05)
Table 2. Effect of event, and day within event, on average chute score of temperamental and docile 
heifers in frequently handled cattle.
Measurement Threshold Category Event SEM P- Value
1 2 3 Event Day
Chute Score Temperamental1 3.15a 2.48b 2.48b 0.17 0.005 0.102
Docile2 1.90a 1.52b 1.40b 0.13 0.003 0.498
Exit Score Temperamental1 3.04 2.97 2.92 0.22 0.580 0.402
Docile2 1.53a 1.55a 1.38b 0.16 0.034 0.177
1Temperamental calves are those with both chute and exit scores ≥ 2.5 (n = 10)
2Docile calves are those with both chute and exit scores < 2.5 (n = 30)
a,b Means in a row with differing superscripts differ (P < 0.05)
Table 3. Effect of event on average chute score of both frequently and infrequently handled cattle
Chute Score n Event SEM P- Value1
1 2 3 Event
≥ 3.0 27 3.57a 2.49b 2.51b 0.22 0.006
2.5– 3.0 21 2.67a 2.01b 1.98b 0.16 0.018
2.0– 2.5 27 2.18 1.91 2.03 0.16 0.463
1.5– 2.0 24 1.58 1.71 1.83 0.13 0.351
1.0– 1.5 19 1.17 1.46 1.46 0.13 0.148
1 Effect of frequency group and the interaction not significant (P > 0.05)
a,b Means in a row with differing superscripts differ (P < 0.05)
2018 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report · 77 
their chute scores decreased substantially 
and remained relatively constant thereafter. 
When cattle are excitable during their first 
handling experience, more than one obser-
vation of temperament may be beneficial 
before making selection decisions.
Jamie T. Parham, graduate student
Amy E. Tanner, research technician, 
Animal and Poultry Science, Virginia Tech
Mark L. Wahlberg, associate professor 
emeritus, Animal and Poultry Science, 
Virginia Tech
William S. Swecker, Jr., professor, Virginia- 
Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Ronald M. Lewis, professor, Animal 
Science, Lincoln
Interestingly, there was an increase in 
chute scores from day 1 to 2 in cattle with 
chute scores between 1.5 and 3.0. This could 
indicate residual anxiety in these cattle 
from handling on day 1. However, with 
calm handling in the following days, they 
became more docile.
Conclusion
Docility in cattle is becoming a very 
popular selection criterion due to its impact 
on growth, carcass quality and well- being. 
Selection for docility on site requires a 
measurement that is fast, inexpensive 
and relatively easy to conduct. Chute and 
exit scores in cattle appear to be useful 
measures of docility. Importantly, heifers 
appear to acclimate to handling in a calm 
environment. Particularly in the more 
temperamental cattle, after just a few days, 
and 2.5 decreased in score from event 1 to 
3 by 0.81 and 0.57 (P ≤ 0.05), respectfully. 
Heifers with chute scores between 2.5 and 
3.0 decreased almost a full point on the 
scale; however, the small number of animals 
(n = 9) coincided with a larger SE, and thus 
the decline in score only tended toward 
significance (P = 0.073).
The change in chute score across days 
for the three groups of F heifers with chute 
scores greater than 2.0 is shown in Figure 
1. Overall, there was a decrease in chute 
score within each event. In the month time 
span between events, chute scores either 
slightly increased, or stayed the same as the 
previous observation. On the final day of 
the study, regardless of chute score on day 1, 
each category on average had a chute score 
less than 2.0. Subjectively, this score is indic-
ative of a docile heifer. Thus, heifers appear 
to acclimate to calm handling in the chute.


Repeated Calm Handling Can Lead to More Docile Cattle

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - LincolnDigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - LincolnNebraska Beef Cattle Reports Animal Science Department2018Repeated Calm Handling Can Lead to MoreDocile CattleJamie T. ParhamUniversity of Nebraska - LincolnAmy E. TannerVirginia TechMark L. Wahlberg WahlbergVirginia TechW. S. Swecker Jr.Maryland College of Veterinary MedicineRonald M. LewisUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln, ron.lewis@unl.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcrPart of the Large or Food Animal and Equine Medicine Commons, Meat Science Commons, andthe Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Department at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.Parham, Jamie T.; Tanner, Amy E.; Wahlberg, Mark L. Wahlberg; Swecker, W. S. Jr.; and Lewis, Ronald M., "Repeated Calm HandlingCan Lead to More Docile Cattle" (2018). Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports. 964.http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr/9642018 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report · 75 ©  The Board Regents of the University of  Nebraska. All rights reserved.Repeated Calm Handling Can Lead to More Docile CattleJamie T. ParhamAmy E. TannerMark L. WahlbergW. S. Swecker, Jr.Ronald M. LewisSummary with ImplicationsChanges in temperament in heifers when handled either frequently or infrequently were evaluated subjectively based on their behavior when restrained in (chute score) and exiting from (exit score) a squeeze chute. Chute scores decreased over time– a favorable direction– with more dramatic declines in heifers handled more frequently. Heifers with higher chute scores on the first day of handling had the largest reduction in score. Exit scores changed less over time. Chute score therefore may be more indicative of acclimation to a novel environment than exit score. Both scores appear to offer a fast, easy and inexpensive way to quantify docility in cattle. Heifers became calmer with repeated gentle handling. Producers therefore may benefit from allowing cattle a few days to acclimate to new working facilities before assessing docility.IntroductionTemperament is often described as an animal’s behavioral response to handling by humans, or any fear- eliciting situation. The response of cattle to handling depends not only on their reaction to humans, but also on elements such as social context, physical environment and novelty of the situation. Strong behavioral responses of cattle to stressors, human or otherwise, have been associated with increased risk to handlers, poorer weight gain and meat eat-ing quality, decreased tolerance to disease, and increased production costs. Because of the negative consequences of excitable temperament in cattle, there has been an increase in selection for docility. Breeding values for docility have been established, but the success of selection depends on the consistency and accuracy of measures of temperament. Furthermore, such measures would benefit from being fast, simple and inexpensive to collect.Behavior when restrained in (chute score) and exiting from (exit score) a squeeze chute have been proposed as meth-ods to measure temperament of animals in a production setting. Research using these methods report inconsistent results, some proposing the use of scoring systems while others not. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to identify a procedure for evaluation of behavior that is indicative of stress, and to determine if behavior changes over time.ProcedureA 3- year study conducted at Kentland Farm, Blacksburg, VA, utilized predomi-nately Angus (75% or more), spring- born heifer calves. Each year, heifers arrived at the facility following a one week fence line weaning period at the Virginia Tech Shenandoah Valley Agriculture Research Extension Center, and placed in a single management group on grass.The experiment had a factorial design consisting of two measurement protocols (Frequent (F); Infrequent (IF)), and three events, each one month apart (starting days of Oct. 13, Nov. 10, and Dec. 8). Prior to the beginning of each year’s study, heifers (n = 40) were randomly split into measurement protocols, accounting for dam age, sire, and weaning weight. Frequent measurement protocol entailed collecting behavioral measurements over three consecutive days within each event while IF measurement protocol involved collecting behavioral measurements on the first day of each event.On the first day of each event, a random group of 4 heifers, regardless of measure-ment protocol, were moved calmly into the tub from a holding pen. Each heifer was calmly moved through the alley way into the squeeze chute, and the heifer’s head caught and secured in the head gate. Before being approached, chute score (1 = docile, 6 = aggressive) was recorded by 3 expe-rienced observers within the first 15 sec. Heart rate, rectal temperature, and a fecal and blood sample were then taken. Upon release from the squeeze chute, an exit score (1 = docile, 5 = aggressive) was recorded by the same 3 experienced observers.On the second and third day of each event, a random group of 4 heifers at a time from the F measurement protocol were again calmly worked through the same protocol as on the first day.Data PartitionsChute and exit scores for each heifer were averaged across all 3 observers and split into threshold categories. Heifers with both an average chute and exit score greater than or equal to 2.5 (n = 21) were consid-ered temperamental while heifers with both scores less than 2.5 (n = 54) were consid-ered docile. This left some heifers that fell in neither category (n = 43).As a second comparison, threshold groups were created based on chute score only. They consisted of heifers with chute scores greater than or equal to 3 (n = 27), between 2.5 and 3 (n = 21), between 2.0 and 2.5 (n = 27), between 1.5 and 2 (n = 24), and less than 1.5 (n = 19).Statistical AnalysisScores were treated as continuous, and analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS. First, the effect of frequency group, event, and their interaction were com-pared on the first day within each event. Second, the effect of event and day within event were compared across all 9 days for heifers in the F group. Year was included as a random effect. Least squares means and standard errors (SE) for chute score and exit score were obtained using the Tukey function of SAS.76 · 2018 Nebraska Beef Cattle ReportResultsMean chute and exit scores compar-ing temperamental and docile heifers by event can be found in Table 1. There was no effect of event, frequency group, or their interaction on either score for both temperamental and docile heifers. However, there was a larger numerical decrease in the temperamental group from event 1 to 3 for chute score compared to exit score, with no change in chute or exit score for the docile group. As expected, heifers that started with a lower chute score simply had less room to decrease on the scale.While the effect of frequency group was not significant, there was a stronger decrease in chute and exit scores over time when considering the F group of heifers only. Table 2 shows the change in scores across events for both temperamental and docile heifers. Chute score decreased from event 1 to 2 (P < 0.05), but remained con-stant from event 2 to 3 for both categories (P > 0.34). Temperamental heifers started with a chute score of 3.15 ± 0.17 on event 1, which reduced to 2.48 ± 0.17 on event 2 and 3. Allowing heifers to acclimate to a novel environment may be worthwhile when evaluating their behavior in the chute. Exit score did change in the docile heifers from event 2 to 3 (P < 0.05); however this small of a change is likely not noticeable in prac-tice. More importantly, the temperamental heifers did not significantly change in exit score across events.Since chute score appeared to be the more sensitive measure, all heifers were separated based on their average chute score on day 1. Results comparing frequen-cy groups across event are given in Table 3. The effects of frequency group, and the interaction of frequency group and event, were not significant for any chute score cat-egory. The effect of event was significant for the two chute score groups with the highest scores, with a decrease from event 1 to 2 (1.08 and 0.66 for ≥ 3.0 and 2.5– 3.0 groups, respectively). These decreases from event 1 to 2 became smaller when the chute score on day 1 was lower, again as expected.The F group of heifers was again consid-ered separately. Chute scores numerically decreased across events for all heifers, except for the 1.0– 1.5 group which remained constant. Heifers with starting scores greater than or equal to 3.0 and between 2.0 Figure 1. Average chute scores by day for the frequently handled group of heifers, separat-ed by their chute score on their first day of handling.Table 1. Effect of event on average chute score of temperamental and docile heifers.Measurement Threshold Category Event SEM P- Value31 2 3 EventChute Score Temperamental1 3.32 2.51 2.84 0.29 0.212Docile2 1.69 1.74 1.76 0.14 0.936Exit Score Temperamental1 3.16 2.95 2.80 0.20 0.277Docile2 1.57 1.68 1.57 0.15 0.6241Temperamental calves are those with both chute and exit scores ≥ 2.5 (n = 21)2Docile calves are those with both chute and exit scores < 2.5 (n = 54)3 Effect of frequency group and its interaction with threshold category were not significant (P > 0.05)Table 2. Effect of event, and day within event, on average chute score of temperamental and docile heifers in frequently handled cattle.Measurement Threshold Category Event SEM P- Value1 2 3 Event DayChute Score Temperamental1 3.15a 2.48b 2.48b 0.17 0.005 0.102Docile2 1.90a 1.52b 1.40b 0.13 0.003 0.498Exit Score Temperamental1 3.04 2.97 2.92 0.22 0.580 0.402Docile2 1.53a 1.55a 1.38b 0.16 0.034 0.1771Temperamental calves are those with both chute and exit scores ≥ 2.5 (n = 10)2Docile calves are those with both chute and exit scores < 2.5 (n = 30)a,b Means in a row with differing superscripts differ (P < 0.05)Table 3. Effect of event on average chute score of both frequently and infrequently handled cattleChute Score n Event SEM P- Value11 2 3 Event≥ 3.0 27 3.57a 2.49b 2.51b 0.22 0.0062.5– 3.0 21 2.67a 2.01b 1.98b 0.16 0.0182.0– 2.5 27 2.18 1.91 2.03 0.16 0.4631.5– 2.0 24 1.58 1.71 1.83 0.13 0.3511.0– 1.5 19 1.17 1.46 1.46 0.13 0.1481 Effect of frequency group and the interaction not significant (P > 0.05)a,b Means in a row with differing superscripts differ (P < 0.05)2018 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report · 77 their chute scores decreased substantially and remained relatively constant thereafter. When cattle are excitable during their first handling experience, more than one obser-vation of temperament may be beneficial before making selection decisions.Jamie T. Parham, graduate studentAmy E. Tanner, research technician, Animal and Poultry Science, Virginia TechMark L. Wahlberg, associate professor emeritus, Animal and Poultry Science, Virginia TechWilliam S. Swecker, Jr., professor, Virginia- Maryland College of Veterinary MedicineRonald M. Lewis, professor, Animal Science, LincolnInterestingly, there was an increase in chute scores from day 1 to 2 in cattle with chute scores between 1.5 and 3.0. This could indicate residual anxiety in these cattle from handling on day 1. However, with calm handling in the following days, they became more docile.ConclusionDocility in cattle is becoming a very popular selection criterion due to its impact on growth, carcass quality and well- being. Selection for docility on site requires a measurement that is fast, inexpensive and relatively easy to conduct. Chute and exit scores in cattle appear to be useful measures of docility. Importantly, heifers appear to acclimate to handling in a calm environment. Particularly in the more temperamental cattle, after just a few days, and 2.5 decreased in score from event 1 to 3 by 0.81 and 0.57 (P ≤ 0.05), respectfully. Heifers with chute scores between 2.5 and 3.0 decreased almost a full point on the scale; however, the small number of animals (n = 9) coincided with a larger SE, and thus the decline in score only tended toward significance (P = 0.073).The change in chute score across days for the three groups of F heifers with chute scores greater than 2.0 is shown in Figure 1. Overall, there was a decrease in chute score within each event. In the month time span between events, chute scores either slightly increased, or stayed the same as the previous observation. On the final day of the study, regardless of chute score on day 1, each category on average had a chute score less than 2.0. Subjectively, this score is indic-ative of a docile heifer. Thus, heifers appear to acclimate to calm handling in the chute.

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Repeated Calm Handling Can Lead to More Docile Cattle

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