Real or Tuff?

[15444]

Anyone have experience running both a Real Industries squeeze and a Tuff Equipment squeeze? The more I look at the features on a Tuff, the more I am tempted to go for it, even though there isn't a local dealer nearby.

Kato, have you any experience with Tuff squeezes?

[kato]

I'm not familiar with Tuff.

We've had a Real squeeze for at least 20 years. The same one. I'm afraid we've just about worn the poor thing out. When we bought it we had looked at a few others, but this one gave us the most for our money. Working at the vet clinic, and traveling to farms, I saw a few much more expensive chutes that weren't nearly as good. The design is good, but to be honest, the materials aren't the heaviest out there. We've had it to the local welding shop for a couple of tuneups. Mind you, between cows, calves and feeders, ours gets more than your average use. It probably gets 700 head total through it at a minimum over a year, between vaccinating, treating, and yes SADIE, re-tagging too. LOL

[SADIE]

Where to begin----Every year I make a trip through agribition and check on all chutes and updates. I never heard of "tuft" ---will look for it.

Seen, and worked in many setups with many different squeeze chutes, alleys and corral setups. In the area we practiced our office would even ask what set up are we working in before we even decided to go out there.

Some people with good chutes and setups still had a hard time working cattle. Some breeds and weather conditions can totally change the outcome.

The two veterinary clinics that I built the working pens and stalls we liked 2-W from Nanton Alberta. Roundup---brown metal was "junk"---gauge of steel lighter.

Tub and Alley with sliding doors, palpation cage and chute is still "hi Hog"---it worked and is still working.
The sorting pens leading up to the tub, alley etc is 2 W. The calving barn is 2W. Saskatoon Fall Fair and Agribiton still use 2-W pens and alleys because once you are on that system you it is protable and can still add to it today.

All animals are vaccinated in the chute using plastic monoject needles subcut in the neck region---the side doors expose both sides of the neck.

Seen many wrecks in chutes working cattle. Once an operator starts braggin about his setup or keeps trying to chisel down his time/fee with the vet clinics it often/not always happens that a cow or animal gets wedged in a chute and the "cutting torches have to come out". We as veterinarins like to sit in the "truck" and read books while the welders and front-end loaders work at repairing the system. This happened more than once when you are on a farm call 60 miles out with 700 head to process and the wreck was with the first 50 head.

Had to help butcher a few times also---do the antimortem inspection. When it was preg-checking season our practice would try to encourage the producer to palpate first and the last was any needles or ivermectin. Kept us from taking on the fumes of especially the old ectosides.

Our set up appears to work well with my family. Worked quietly with a radio, no prods work.

Hydraulic chutes--first ones were scarry to work in as a veterinarian. A green-horn at the controls often pulled the wrong lever and squeezed us in the back. The noise is there and those operations---want speed so that usually meant a electric prod or two in the process. Disliked those operations to work in.

Just comments with this thread.

[kato]

Things we look for in a chute.

- Straight sides, none of that stuff where it's narrower at the bottom.
- Side gate that opens!
- Palpation cage, with a way to slip a post in behind it so you can catch a big bull for a semen test. Hardly anyone thinks of this. They can be longer than a lot of chutes, and we don't like to catch bull's heads, especially for this. Some chutes have the side doors of the palpation cage solid, and it just won't work, for this purpose anyway. Probably does make it better for animals coming in not to stall though, so I guess it depends what your uses for it are.
- Bottom sides that drop easily, for same semen test, and possible milking.
- Top side bars that drop easily for branding, or heaven forbid, a c-section.
- Good floor.
- Little side door for access to neck shots.


Our neighbour has a feedlot, and got one of those hydraulic chutes with all the bells and whistles. It was pretty slick, but not cheap. One of the best alternate uses we found by accident, when testing cattle for the vet clinic, was that if an animal with big horns went through, and we had to mouth it for export, it was not easy to catch it in the headgate. However, if you got it in the chute, and then let it back out, it was easy to catch it with the back door, which was identical to the headgate. Bonus.

[grassfarmer]

I use a Real maternity chute attached to their crowding tub. I fitted an Elias scale in the bottom of the chute to weigh as we go. The Real works OK but the build is fairly rough and cheap compared to the likes of Hi Hog. For the little work we do through a chute it is adequate - can't justify several thousand dollars more for a fancier squeeze chute. Worst thing about the Real equipment is the noise in my opinion - everything bangs and clatters which doesn't make for a pleasant experience for the animals.

[per]

Also never heard of a tuff. I can't rope and I run two operations 45 miles apart so I have lots of headgates here and there to make up for my lack of cowboying skills.

Down to our Real, good enough but after years of service it had to be rebuilt. I also modified it so the gate would swing all the way back as well as forward as I needed Sadies torch one day to rescue a cow. It only sees one or two head a year now.

2 hihogs, they work well and are trouble free and not noisy.

An old hiqual. Thank goodness it is not our main chute. All its weak design issues have been modified.

An old Stampede Steel unit. This is our main chute and works well for pregtesting which is all it does. Quiet and easy to operate. It has a morand ally (2 cows) and a tub attached to it.

Calves are vaccinated it the 2 cow ally five at a time or a longer wood ally (removable sides) behind the hiqual. No need to ever catch them.

My pick for a manual infinitely adjustable quiet easy to operate chute is the Stampede. If their new stuff is as good as that old unit then that is where I would be looking.

[SADIE]

Per--you are right on with Stampede. That system is newer than Hi Hog and now has been around awhile. At trade shows one sees many chute (brands) come and go. That concerns my interest.

The pearson---cables.
extended 2-w---cables.
Powder River---american--the last I saw was still the "Scissor doors" like for the horned animals.

Morand----looks good but still not alot of them around. Where are they made??

Another note that some might like. The home system has the chute and palpation cage on a slab of concrete. Working on solid footing at the front is a preference to me. Right handy at the chute is the 3-sided office shack with a front sliding door. An infra red heater is above the counter. Lights. A dry place for the record books and whatever.

I have worked in many "closed in" facilities. Old barns or new built up sheds. My working pens are all 2 W with many 10' or 12' gate in frames to walk through or sort animals back. I refuse to climb over another corral fence-----tough on veterinarians after 20-25 years.

[burnt]

per, you are serious that you can't rope? And here I was thinking that every westerner was born with a rope in his hand!

Well now I don't feel so bad for coming clean on the other site . . . hahaha

[per]

Sorry to disappoint you burnt. Lots of sports I am good at but the rodeo disciplines are not any of them.

Morand is made in Mayerthorpe or one of those towns up that way.

[15444]

http://www.tuff.bz/squeeze_chute.html

[15444]

http://www.tuff.bz/squeeze_chute.html

I like covered sides, the bi-fold back door and the ratchet butt bar. All things that I have yet to see on a Real.


That being said, I just got wind of a deal on a 5 year old Real portable system for 6 grand. New ones are 10.

[smcgrath76]

We have a REAL portable with 1/4 tub.
We use it for AI, and have used it for
fall vaccinations, etc. It is a pretty
good unit for a portable, but is much
louder than the wood setup at home. We
almost never use the squeeze, but we do
catch heads for AI. It works pretty
well for its's purpose. We do use the
squeeze for branding yearlings. It does
have sliding gates, that I wish were
rolling doors.
If it weren't for the distance, I much
prefer our stationary set up with just a
self catch headgate. The longer chute
makes things a lot faster when there are
only a couple of people working cattle.

[johndeere1]

I bought a tuff portable squeeze and crowding tub in july. I have ran about 500 head through it and has worked real well. the only thing is the jacks or lack of them to lift the unit up to remove/install the wheels and hitch. Other than that its been real good.