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Cattle Chutes

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We use a Pearson chute and self catch head gate. We really like it, but wish they had some type of neck extender. It seems to be the best manual chute I have run. The Hydraulics are great, but the Pearson hydyaulic runs about 11-12 thousand $ last I heard. We paid 2350 for our chute about 3 years ago. We have it set in front of a Linn (post and pipe) tub and alley. I really like the on handed lever for changing the width of the alley. the whole side pivots and slides easily.
 
Sohio said:
What chutes are you guys using. I have priced a Big Valley M1-V, Preifert S04 and a Powder River XL. All with automatic headgates. What is your experiences with any of the these models. I noticed the Preifert has a 'scisscors' type headgate. Do they work nice? I'm just looking for any advice on durability and operation. I will run 350 cows, the calves and some bulls through this device. I will also use it for AI and palpation work. Thanks for any info.
We have used a Powder River for years.Just traded for a Titan West manual.A great improvement.
 
Anybody use a WW? We are looking to update from just a manual gate to a squeeze chute and are considering a WW or Priefert. Whats bad about Priefert?
 
We have a Priefert, and like it really well. I will also put in a good word for the Priefert company, as they are swell folks to work with. Our first chute had an imperfection that injured three cows' feet on one day of working. We finally figured out what was causing it, and did the best we could to solve the problem. A year later I just mentioned our problem to the manager of a ranch supply store, that wasn't even the same place we bought the chute. He told a company rep, and they wouldn't have it any other way than to give us a brand new chute. The new one works like a charm. My hat is off to the Priefert company for having a good product and taking good care of its' customers.
 
Tom,

You are going from a manual headgate to a squeeze, you ask what's bad about one. I wouldn't say there is anything bad, I really think some are better than others. A Preifert Chute would be a great improvement over what you have. There old models didn't have the Squeeze leverage, their newer models are better, but not as good as some other models out there.

I am not a fan of the headgate, but others Love it. Kinda can get into a Chevy, Dodge, Ford discussion. Lots of opinions, so thats why there's lots of brands. My deal on the headgate is I feel more times than not, the auotmatic doesn't work in ranch situations and you end up tripping it manually. But what the heck, cow is caught and you get her worked. I am also not a fan of Friction locks.

When I sell a chute, I really try to match it to the person. One question is how many cows do you have??? If not many, is cost a big concern, are you running cows or yearlings??? These questions answer if you need a commercial grade chute or can get by with less.

Whatever you do, I am glad to see you looking to upgrade. I too often sell people equipment after someone gets seriously hurt just getting by with something that kinda works. I have used a gate in the corner of a corral before. I was younger and lucky. I can get the job done with it, but it's only a matter of time before the job gets me done,

Good luck and whatever you get, hope it works well for you
 
PPRM, what I did like about the Priefert gate and a Foremost gate I looked at is the self adjusting part, not having to move pins and such. We will probably always have less than 50 head and run cows and calfs thru one. Want to get the most for the money but keep cost down as trying to make money. Priefert is about $2000 for the Rancher chute, $2500 for WW. TSC has Powder River chutes for about $1400 and can get Filson for $1500. Thanks.
 
Don't know the model number, but it can be either automatic or manual. We always use it in the manual position, and I don't think I've ever missed catching a critter. Once in a while, a person can bang their shins on the pedal that sticks out, but after about the third time it happens your subconcious takes over and steers you around it.
 
Soapweed, Chin knockers or Head knockers, LOL. Like I said, I think just settle on the manual position and leave it at that. You can get a lot of cattle worked in one, I believe the Priefert works best under cover as friction locks stay dry.

Guest, if you are running bulls through it, then stay away from the Filson and Powder River Value Chute you see at TSC unless you can fit him in without catching him in the headgate. I also think I'd stay away from the Rancher Chute for bulls. I think I have only seen one WW. I wasn't impressed enough to remember, I think it had wooden kick panels, an immediate turn-off for me. But the model you see may be different.

If you are running 25-30 pairs, and can get a bull caught without the headgate, then those less expensive models will work.

I think long run you'd be happier with the more expensive Preifert or sourcing a Powder River XL model, but if you have never used one, you'd not know what you are missing. I think choice also ha a lot to do with familiarity. I am biased partly because of what I am used to. Not really sure if I have helped or not.
 
Sorry the Guest post was me. The WW I am looking at is this one, http://www.wwmanufacturing.com/beefmasterseries.html
for $2500 new. Do you feel the Priefert rancher is too light for a bull? Looked at the Powder River XL with a manual gate but really did not care for it. I appreciate your thoughts, thats why I am trying to ask questions of more experienced people. I have used a Priefert, Filson, and an old Blue Mule before and just seemed to like the Priefert better. Any of them have got to be better than a headgate alone. We got a local guy that pushes WW real hard but one thing I don't like about them and others is the rear gate that lifts up.
 
Tom,

A guy that has used and liked a preifert, I'd tell him to buy it. I looked at the WW, keep in mind this is one guys opinion, three things I don't like. Tailgate, Leg Access and it appears the headgate has cables. i like cables less than friction locks.

It does appear to have better Squeeze leverage to me than the Preifert. I remember seeing this WW now and they don't state the chute weight in pounds. Try to find out, but my guess would be about 1100-1200 lbs. Not much more if any more than the Powder River Value Chute, Preifert Rancher or Filson. But I may be wrong on this. Powder river Self Catch XL weighs 1583 where the XL Manual is 1438 lbs. Self cathc would ost about $3400 where you live and manual about $3,000 where you live.

Headgate operates similar Sallon door fashion as Powder River from what I see. Usualy not a problem if you sort calves and cows from each other and run seperate so you aren't adjusting width.

As far as bulls, I think you could get by if you didn't use the headgates on either the Value chute or rancher, both have side exit. How often do you run bulls in and how many. Some guys only have one and only vaccinate and wormm twice a year.

Tom, from what you tell me, I think the heavier Preifert would make you happy, but you could get by with the Rancher. I'm a Powder river guy, but some guys like Chevy's others Fords, others Dodges,

Good luck
 
Thanks for the info PPRM, I really appreciate your input and you have made me look at some things closer. I went to the National Farm Machinery show Saturday and got to look at a lot of chutes. One thing I see about the Priefert Rancher I dislike is that its is narrower than their bigger chute but I do like their style headgate by it being one I don't have to adjust.

The WW chute is wider and the dealer quoted me a weight I think in the 1330# range. I really don't like the rear gate and worry about the style of headgate.

Have you seen a For-most? I looked at their 375 and 450 models and they have several options available on them like a split rear gate. www.for-most.com is their site. They have a manual scissor type gate the Model 30 that would be one that would require no adjustment for neck size.

Have not found any one that carries the big Powder River here yet but will keep checking. Trying to get the most for my money and get something that works. Once again thaks for you help.
 
Don't know if this will help. I've got an old powder river that I think maybe Jesus himself might have used a time or two!
I took the back gate off and installed a self catch head gate, as I was proccessing quite a few yearlings by myself or with little help. It's a Formost head ketch. Anymore in this country, most of the vets have a hyd. chute that they bring for bull testing or spaying or whatever. Most of the guys who preg test bring their own chute also.
My favorite chute tho', is tied to the fork of my saddle and I use it all summer to doctor yearlings! It's called a rope. Didn't cost too much and only problem is operator error.
 
On the Foremost, I haven't operated or seen one, ask someone who has. Looking at 450, I'd like tailgate sheeted as calves behind tend to stay quiter. I don't like side exits both sides, extra cost and could open to where operator is. Other than that, possibly aq good chute, it's late and I'm tired, but that's what I saw.

if you want to see a Powder River XL in your areqa, call 1-800-453-5318. Customer Service can hook myou up with the local Rep or Eastern Sales Manager, Spence Hogan, who can research where to see one and save you time. Might be at an end users, then you can pick their brain.

As far as scissors manual, that's what PR is. Didn't go into how it works for me as you seemed set on Auto, so that's where I was sending you. I leave my headgate open enough for cow to get in but not through. Works well for me by myself.

Good luck, sorry if I haven't hlped much tonight, at a show all day and dead tired,
 
PPRM, you have been a great help. Are you saying you prefer the scissors type gate? One thing I thought about auto for is if I had to possibly work a sick one by myself, but I guess it is possible to run one in the chute and close rear gate then catch them or am I wrong on that? As you can tell I am not the most experience cattleman because we have been improvising on equipment all these years and now trying to improve it. Another thing that I probably should have mentioned is that we were wanting to stay less than $2500 so we could do this with cash, no debt. I looked again on TSC site last night and they now show the PR XL witha manual gate for 24 something so I might run by there and look to see if they have one. Would the For-most 375 be good? We had thought about covering the split gate also even if its with a rubber piece. We have a small herd and just one bull. The narrowness of the Priefert worries me about getting the larger animals in. Thanks again for the help.
 
Tom,

My head is clearer this morning.


You are right about your description in using a manual heaadgate by runing the animal in and shutting the tailgate, then catching them. I do this all the time.

One thing I realized is a lot of the chutes you describe have a built on tailgate. They then quote size and weight with this on. I am not saying this is bad, it's just that you don't get an apples to apples comparison.

I question if the TSC store will have the final assembly done on the Powder River, it will possibly be in shipping shape vs. using shape. The controls will be inside and not assembled. Just something to realize. Powder River actually has a new rep for your area, you might call that 1-800-453-5318 number and get his. Often times they can coordinate a time when they are coming through to meet with yo. I mention this as they are very good at assembly and fine tuning the chutes, so you get a good demo and if you buy the chute, it is adjusted very well.


On the Foremost, it is a 7' long chute, same length as the old Powder Rivers of years ago. The extra foot the new ones are make a huge difference. I'd say you are looking at a chute where you won't be able to close thetailgate on a lot of mature cattle, definetely not bulls. It is still several hundered pounds lighter than a Powder River XL manual and much lighter than the Powder River Auto XL.

On the width issue with the Preifert, I really haven't heard complaints about that as much as some other isues I've described. The Preifert widens out under the Belly I guess the Wide Chested bulls might present a problem. One thing is Preifert was developed around Brahman's and their body styles.

I went to Powder River Web Site, here's some info on the new rep-

Greg Owens Field Sales Representative KY, TN, IL, IN, MI, OH, WV Home Town: Bowling Green,KY Powder River employee since 2004 Voice Mail: 1-800-411-7373

I do like the scisors headgate, I can get a variety of cattle in and caught. On adjusting self catch, usually most folks work cows as a groupmthen calves, different shots, can adjust alley width, chute width, ect. Therefore, you set it for one group, run them and set it for the next group and run them. Not as much tinkering as you describe, howwever, the PR Auto will be above the $2,500 mark you mention

Good luck
 
PPRM is right about length of a chute being very important-if a cow can step in and have the tailgate close before sge reaches the headgate they work thru really quiet-nothing worse than having to pry cows ahead into the headgate-myself we hardly ever catch heads especially when a.i'ing.
 
NR,

You mention not catching heads. I do a lot of things without catching heads or convienently don't fight them into a headgate and just work them. That is a reason that squeeze leverage is important to me, although in AI ing you might not want to really squeeze them tight. But if I can get a cow in and squeezed in my Powder River, I can get shots, ect done and cow out. Bottom width adjustment makes a huge difference how eefective a squeeze you have.

Again, not saying Powder River is the only brand that you can do this in, just the one I am most familiar with,
 
nt by TSC and they did have an PR XL with a manual gate but it was not assembled for $2750 , but it was damaged. One thing I did notice about it is that both sides squeeze which seems good. I will try to get with the rep and see if any one is assembled anywhere.
 

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