Cattle working system

[tnwalkingred]

All,

I'm thinking about buying a new cattle working system that includes squeeze chute, auto headgate, working pen, sweep tub, and alley way. What brands would you guys buy and why? I'm familiar with all the popular ones such as Powder River, Priefert, and WW. I will be running anywhere from 30-50 head a year through them. I'm leaning towards Priefert right now simply because the cost. They seem alot better than Powder River but I don't want to buy junk either. Thanks for the comments.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I like WW Mfg and Sioux Steel.

 

[bse]

preifert squeeze and head catch everything behind it WW. the preifert for me you dont have to adjust for different size cattle i thinnk the WW sweep works better than priefert sweep, as far as alley way both are pretty good. got all my sweep and alley way half sheeted.

 

[cow pollinater]

I have yet to hear a complaint about anything powder river. I just ordered seven gates from them today.
Priefert does make some stuff that is okay. I have a chute from them that gets the job done but it has a few quirks that take extra time to deal with. The only priefert panels that I have are both crumpled.
Personally, I consider the extra cost to be a good investment because for me the powder river stuff lasts twice as long. If you have really quiet cows that won't test your equipment and working a little slower isn't such a problem then your best investment might be to save a few bucks.

 

[tnwalkingred]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I wish Powder River and WW would put their prices online. It would make shopping ALOT easier. It's very time consuming having to call a dealer and get prices on every piece you want quoted.

 

[Cabo]

If you have friends that are cattlemen I would suggest you ask them to let you try using whatever brand they have when they are working cattle. It will definately be worth your time. I have tried several brands including Powder River and I would buy a Priefert if it cost twice as much as any other brand, unless you are talking about a hydraulic chute. The self catch is by far the best that I have ever used. The rest of my handling stuff is WW galvanized.

 

[HOSS]

Red, up on hwy 96 in between Murfreesboro and Franklin is a guy that sells the Green River brand. He'll even come down and set it up for you to your specs. It is really heavy duty piping. He sells the holding corral, sweep and alley. You have to buy the squeeze and headgate from somewhere else but I can vouch for the quality of the corrals, sweep and alley. I bought one a few years ago and it is still like new. Nothing is going over it or through it. The display unit sits in his front yard on the north side of the highway. He builds the one you want to order.

 

[Isomade]

I have the Powder river, and a Preifert, but the new WW Stampede makes me drool.

 

[Brute 23]

Ranger Gate Co

Excellent customer service and they will build it any way you want it.

 

[HOSS]

http://greenrivergate.com/Home_Page.php

Red, this is the Green River outfit I was talking about.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

http://greenrivergate.com/Home_Page.php

Red, this is the Green River outfit I was talking about.

Thanks Hoss. I may give him a call myself.

 

[Limomike]

Pearson makes a good chute too.

 

[Mike CHS]

Ranger Gate Co

Excellent customer service and they will build it any way you want it.

Hoss - I noticed the website address is in Kentucky so I'm assuming the folks you mentioned are local distributors. I'm just starting to set up our place in Cornersville, TN and that location is convenient.

 

[HOSS]

Ranger Gate Co

Excellent customer service and they will build it any way you want it.

Hoss - I noticed the website address is in Kentucky so I'm assuming the folks you mentioned are local distributors. I'm just starting to set up our place in Cornersville, TN and that location is convenient.

Mike you are correct. They are made in Kentucky just across the line.

I have a good friend and cattleman in Cornersville. He buys heifers and bulls from me.

 

[Mike CHS]

Hoss - We don't even have fence up yet but I'll keep you in mind when we get closer to buying some stock if you don't mind.

 

[blacklabel]

What does it cost to build or have built vs production? Ive never worked in a production setup, so i favor custom

 

[cfry]

I have a small operation, 20 head on average. We've built a corral using timber and mostly Priefert panels and a couple swing panels. It runs into a Priefert auto squeeze chute. It's been an excellent set up and it keeps the cows in. I've had a few wild ones and they never broke or bent anything. Of course, we're fairly small but it suits our needs very well. I hope you find what you need.

 

[HOSS]

Hoss - We don't even have fence up yet but I'll keep you in mind when we get closer to buying some stock if you don't mind.

Give me a holler when you get ready. If I don't have what you are looking for I usually know people that do. I am switching over to registered stock so I may have a good breeding bull by the time you are ready.....I hope anyway....I have a tendency to cull hard on bulls.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Pearson makes a good chute too.

I have an older Pearson -- oldie but goodie. The rest of the mfg'd system -- sweep tub and adjustable alley w/ cut-out gates -- is P.R. Right about this time of year our local dealers have sales on P.R. systems, and that's when I got those pieces last year. Adjacent holding pens are recycled materials w/ mfg'd gates. All the gates have those latches that you can open from either side, and they're slick.

 

[randiliana]

There are many good quality set ups out there. Personally, I can't quite figure out how you can justify buying one of those systems for only 30-50 cows!! We're running a lot more than that and so far are mostly using a home built system made of railroad ties and 2x6's, with an older self catching squeeze chute. Last year we bought a metal alley at an auction to add into the system. I'd love one of those metal systems, but so far I just can't justify the cost, or maybe its more that we just can't scrape up that kind of money....