rawhider said:
This is the best manual chute I'e been around its a titan west it has preifert head gate and is easy to use alone.
I have never been around one of those, but the picture gives me a chance to look at things I personally look for....It is not to pick on any chute, and I am not as that appears to meet a lot of what I look for....It is just easier to illustrate when there is a picture....Maybe we should tal about features we like or don't like as we are in different parts of the country and exposed to different brands. The features are easier to talk about...
That Chute has a side exit. A must....If a weak cow goes down, you can let her out the side, no need to get a tractor to yard her out. Likely, she has a chance to live....
Is the Chute 8 foot long? I can't tell, but that is a minimum in my book....
I like a two sided squeeze so the cattle stand square...There a re a loit of one sided squeezes out there. I have noticed if cattle aren't standing square, they tend to fight more trying to get thier legs under them...
Adjustable bottoms....I found out how much a coorect bottom adjustment made when processing 700-1,000 head a day in a feedlot. They were Hydraulic Chutes and it seemed you'd get to where you would adjust the Chute bottom slightly if the next group of calves were 50 pounds heavier or lighter....Makes a big difference....
I likea rear trip handle for the tail gate. That way, if I am alone i can close the tailgate while still behind the cow....
I also like a sheeted tailgate. Calves behind tend to stay quieter if they can't see thru......
I like straight headgates instead of yoke shaped ones that tend to choke cattle...
Another important thing is the squeeze leverage. Cattle don't fight a Hydraulic because they feel caught. There is no give. I know a lot of guys like Prieferts, but I had a guy show me that if I stood outside the chute and held the sides, a 250 pound guy could not squeeze me with the foot pedal fully extended.....I'm only 210, so, imagine a 1200 pound cow?...I just prefer a squeeze that has leverage....
Some guys will like other things that aren't as important to me. But bars and Brisket bars are something I have not used.
PPRM