Need some help... please

[angus1]

I am about to purchase some cattle handling equipment. What are some not so expensive, quality equipment... squeeze, tub, and alley??
Thanks in advance..

[kato]

We're kind of in the same boat. We had it planned out in May 02, but have been 'making do' ever since. It's time to bite the bullet though.

We already have a squeeze from Real Industries in Rathwell MB. It's a good basic squeeze, and has worked well for us for the past 8 or 9 years. Now we're also looking for a tub and chute system to go with it. Looking forward to hearing any good suggestions.

While window shopping for the past two years we have picked up a couple of ideas.
-circular chutes work very well.
-don't make the sides go all the way to the floor (ground) because of manure buildup.
-solid sides
-sliding gates in the chute are nice to stop backing up.
-you can never have too many pens to sort into
-make sure your chute will hold a bull for semen testing (some are too short)
-a sorting gate in the chute is terrific
-have a headgate/chute that opens on both sides
-have a headgate/chute that squeezes equally and that has the sides staying vertical
-visit yards and see what the neighbours have
-plan plan plan

Hydraulics are nice, but out of our budget!

Good luck, and let us know what you find. We're still looking for good ideas for our project too.

[black_bull]

Real Industries equipment is a joke. The only thing going for a REAL industries chute is that they were cheap to buy. The only person who would ever like one is someone who had never used a good chute.
There are quite a few SomervilleSteel setups in the Westlock Barrhead area. These setups are hard to find right now but they were by far the best.
The SomervilleSteel tub and alley was a blind system with the right amount of shape and curve. I have used quite a few different systems and the Somerville system was by far the very best. If you can find one for sale I would highly recommend it.

The Cadillac squeeze chute is fine if you are handling enough cattle to warrant one.
However the Cadillac tub and alley does not compare to the Somerville system.

Which part of the world are you from?

[black_bull]

Morand Industries makes good equipment, and if you want to have a custom set up made contact DarTar Manufacturing in Drayton Valley. They build custom panels,pens etc.

[crossfield_beef]

I quite agree that the Somerville equipment was by far the very best. I do not think that they are building it anymore though.

You mention that you are looking for not so expensive equipment. Please keep in mind that you may be using this equipment for 40 years and maybe even more. It has been my experience that good equipment does not lose its value. When you see how good equipment handles cattle compare to poor cheaper equipment like Real Industries, why would you consider the poor stuff unless you only have a few head of cattle.

Keep your own safety in mind. I think that the Prairie Farm Report has a video available.

[grassfarmer]

I'm impressed by how many "Cadillac" systems I see advertised - well designed squeezes and tubs for people that use them a lot. Personally I don't see the need. I'm running 125 cows and use an existing round wooden corral with wooden race attached. On the end I plonk a cheap REAL industries maternity squeeze - it works. I only run my cows through in the spring for their pre-breeding shots and in the fall if we preg-check. It works if I need to assist a calving or suckle a calf and when we process calves. I also picked up an old 4H calf weighing chute for $550 which serves to get individual weights on animals as needed.
I don't feel the need to have $10,000 or $12,000 worth of steel sitting rusting for the 360 days a year I don't need it.
Each to their own but when I see producers with 60 cow herds with a fancy HI-Hog set-up? nice, but is it necessary?

[les]

In the ad`s " for sale " on here there is a somerville system for sale.

[les]

The ad says it has an 18 foot crowding tub, it should say 9 foot.

[Bez]

Grassfarmer:

Could not agre more. We have pens made of heavy wire wire cable on 5 inch centres and a wooden race that ends in a Hi Hog squeeze.

Only one escape ever, and I think that cow could have won the Grand National Steeplechase! She's been burger for a couple of years now.

THe squeeze comes with a trailer so I can move it if necessary. We spent the money on it because I needed something that worked. As for the rest it came up cheap and easy to build. Three days and help from my nephew and we were up and running.

Bez

[WoolyBear]

On our farm we looked for something that was safe, and still affordable. We don't have a lot of animals so we chose the MR Squeeze Chute with a palpation cage. They are still in that $2000 range new. While it doesn't really squeeze that well, it does contain even our largest cows. We bought it used and are sure happy with what we got.

PS...... Its made in Gerald Saskatchewan.

[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.