Squeeze Chutes

[angusman]

I am looking at buying a new squeeze chute and am wondering what brand would you all go with. I have currently looked at Priefert, Powder River and For-Most along with some locally varieties. I run around 30 head of cattle and will use it for vaccinations and tagging, AI, and preg checks. I am not looking for fancy, just solid reliable performance.

 

[Northern Rancher]

All of the above will work for you quite well.

 

[IL Rancher]

I would go with the small Formost chute, like it a lot more than the powder river... Most of the vets around here use the Formost chutes.. Have you thought about talking to a vet and seeing if you can "rent" a chute from them for your tagging and vaccination? For 30 cows it might be more economical.

 

[Denny]

I would go with the small Formost chute, like it a lot more than the powder river... Most of the vets around here use the Formost chutes.. Have you thought about talking to a vet and seeing if you can "rent" a chute from them for your tagging and vaccination? For 30 cows it might be more economical.

I would buy one no matter what if you need to capture a cow in a hurry it will pay for itself quick.$3000 does'nt go far in Doctor bills.

The Priefert seems like a good unit.

 

[Soapweed]

I would go with the small Formost chute, like it a lot more than the powder river... Most of the vets around here use the Formost chutes.. Have you thought about talking to a vet and seeing if you can "rent" a chute from them for your tagging and vaccination? For 30 cows it might be more economical.

I would buy one no matter what if you need to capture a cow in a hurry it will pay for itself quick.$3000 does'nt go far in Doctor bills.

The Priefert seems like a good unit.

We have two Prieferts. They work well, and I am thoroughly impressed with the company. On the first chute we had, we processed 200 cows one day and three of them hurt a front foot real badly in the chute. We couldn't figure out what was causing the problem at first, but figured out that there was a sharp edge that was a manufacturing error. We fixed it ourselves and used it for a year. We had bought this chute quite a ways from home, but a local store started selling Priefert. One day in casual conversation, I mentioned to the manager of the store about our problem. He said he'd mention it to the area representative. I told him it was no big deal, and that it was working fine.

Long story short, the company insisted that since it was their fault we should get a new chute. We ended up doing just that, and also bought a trailer to make it portable.

A couple years later, we were in the market for another chute for another location. It was easy to make the choice to get another Priefert. The chutes work very well, and they are good people to deal with.

 

[Texan]

It was easy to make the choice to get another Priefert. The chutes work very well, and they are good people to deal with.

Good people to deal with is right, Soapweed. The Prieferts are cattlemen that use what they sell. They send truckloads of panels and other supplies to hurricane affected areas almost every year to help ranchers gather cattle - at no charge. It's nice to do business with people who care about more than just the money.

 

[Work Hard and Study Hard]

I bought a used WW hydraulic chute about 6 years ago for $2500 have run about 10,000 head through it, no problems. I would really like a Silencer but for now this works. Prior to this I had a Powder River, ran 10 head of bulls through it and it broke. Loaded it up the next day and hauled it to the consignment auction. IMO Powder Rivers are crap.

 

[ET Doc]

Angusman,
We have a Foremost here at the ranch that we've used for 10 years. We've run thousands of recipient cows through it and it holds up well. I don't like the squeeze the best, and the side panels aren't the best to carcass ultrasound in, but other than that, I like it fine.
In general practice, I pull my son-in-law's Hi-Qual hydraulic chute. I've run about 1000 cows a week through it since mid October, and it's great to preg check in. Hi-Qual is also my pick to carcass ultrasound in and to Bangs vaccinate.
I do like the Silencer a little better for preg checking because of the way the head and tail gates open and close, but the side panels are really heavy and cause fatigue if you are carcass ultrasounding more than 150 or so in any one day.
Powder Rivers are the absolute worst to preg check in in my opinion.
So, there you have one vet's opinion for what it's worth. For ranch operation, the Foremost is hard to beat.

 

[jtg]

we have a Pearson Chute.made in Thedford, NE. We absolutely love it! Self catch it squeezes both sides and is hinged at top and bottom. It works way better than those that hinged only at the bottom. Never buy a Powder River. Unless you always like reaching to the sky just to reach the handles. Or they stick out so far you are always running into them or if cattle get to close they can bend them.