Need some help... please

[kato]

Black bull, that wasn't very nice ;-)

I travel around with my boss the vet during bull testing season, and I've seen quite a few 'expensive' chutes that are a bit of a joke too. They need to be long enough that you can put a bull in the chute and put a bar behind him so you can get down and measure. This means no solid sides on the palpation cage doors, or else a very long squeeze. They collect better if you don't catch the head, and most aren't built to manage the task.

Of all the farms we've been too, I have yet to see one that works as well as that old Real we have at home. We can preg check cows without catching them too, and that speeds things up considerably.

Other than the bull test stuff, we have probably put about 900 head a year through this old thing, and haven't needed a repair yet.

Sure there are cadillac chutes out there, but sometimes going for the cadillac can break the bank. LOL

Unless you run a feedlot where you are putting animals through every day of the year, is it really necessary to spend many thousands of dollars on equipment that gets used heavily for a few days a year and then sits?

I'd rather spend those thousands on putting a roof over the darn thing! LOL Now that would make a difference.

[angus1]

Good advice... thanks. I've looked at about 10 different models. I'm leaning towards the Hi-Qual alley... it's 30 ft and probably the most quality for the dollar. I'm not yet sold on the squeeze or tub. Still looking.

[cswilson]

I've A.I.'ed a few thousand head or more over last dozen years in every set up imagineable-first off spend a couple hundred bucks and go take a Bud Williams or Dylan Biggs handling course there isn't a cattleman alive that can't learn something from them. The best chutes I've found are the new Stampede steel ones-Somerville's are good but a little more cumbersome. A foot of extra length saves you alot of grief over the years. If a chute is a 30 year investment an extra thousand bucks is less than a penny a day-I'd spend that to get what I want. Crowding Tubs are a nuisance if not used properly and can really slow things down. The best systems I've seen is a rectangular crowding pen and a straight alley to the chute-with some people with cattle sense running it. We run a couple thousand through our system each year and don't own a prod or a whip.

[angus1]

Don't aim to p*** in your corn flakes or rain on your parade, but money definitely is an issue. I watched a neighbor put a less than cooperative bull though his system by himself, and I was very impressed. I do not have lots of people to assist me, or I would design it differently. The tub, properly set up is the key to properly functioning system. I'll be running about 200 head / year through this system. It doesn't have to last 30 years, because I won't. ( I'm getting a little "long in the tooth" )

[cswilson]

Rain and p... all you want lol.