looking for a head gate

[rookie]

I am modifying a chute and I am looking for the type of head gate that is the gillatine (sp) type. Not a self catch with bi fold doors. Plenty to find in the U.S. but I not finding anything up here. Any one have any info to point me in a direction.

[smcgrath76]

I presume you mean the scissor action type headgate. I think I have seen them at UFA in the past (blue paint). You could probably get a local welding shop to put one together pretty quickly as well. The only other source I can think of is a farm auction or the USA. We used to have a home built one long ago, but went to an adjustable self catch around 25 years ago and would never go back (we don't actually catch a lot of cattle except for the actual act of artificial insemination). Our tech is a little touchy about breeding cattle that aren't caught, even though it has been done a few times (LOL).
With the guillotine, do you need someone to be at the animal's head in order to catch them?

[smcgrath76]

Forgot to mention. We even had our old calf cradle retrofitted with a custombuilt/experimental self catch headgate. One person can now brand/castrate/tag/dehorn etc.
The other search that might be worthwhile is for a hydraulic headgate.

[per]

Could you tell us more about the custom gate for the calf table Sean?

[smcgrath76]

I will try to take a picture and post it on our website. Basically it is the same as most self catch headgates. Adjustable width and a closed front. It has straight bars so does not choke calves or bother them if they go down. The top has a spring loaded plate on either side of the uprights. The gate is opened into the chute, the calf hits the gate (closing it), flip the chute, do the work and hit the lever for the front plunger opens and the gate pops open.
It is retrofit onto an old UFA calf cradle from 30 years ago. It is still faster with a few people, but one person alone can process calves if needed. 3 people can easily do 100 calves in an afternoon. I wish the chute would have come with it originally.
Cost - free as we were testing out several ideas for calf cradles from a local welder.

[per]

Thanks Sean, I am not sure of your web address. This thing looks intriguing though.

[smcgrath76]

Won't be today. We are under another 8 inches (on top of our foot ). Our website is...
www.ranchingsystems.com
Forgive the outdatedness, I am planning a retrofit over the course of the year.

[per]

Thanks Sean. I am soo ready for spring.