Squeeze Chute Options

Gather App
I agree on the Priefert set up. The handles are good on the SO4. You are more holding the gate open. I always catch the head with my left hand even though I'm right handed. It just doesn't require that much to drop it with my left and close the squeeze with my right hand at the same time. Then I grab the tail gate handle with my right. It's surprising how fast it really is.

I see guys that think they have to use their right hang or both hands to catch and it's not necessary. They are usually kind of jacked up then going for the handles.
 
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Bringing this back up.

Looks like Red River Arenas has a new auto catch chute option out now.



I'm pretty intrigued by the video, I like that the gates will go all the way in or out, you truly could load problem cattle into a trailer with this style of squeeze chute.

Another option to consider, haven't seen another one built like this.
 
I have two of The Arrowquip chutes with load cells underneath them so I can weigh the cattle every time they go through.
One of the nice features about them is you can get one that you can let cattle out of both sides right from the chute.
They are quite expensive but I would never buy another brand as I am spoiled I have noticed that other manufacturers have started to make them almost identical
 
I had a self locking head gate on a narrow wood alley which I built. I was a nice up grade from a horse and rope. Then I bought a Powder River Longhorn model used at the auction. Another big step up. Some years later I sold it for more than I paid. Bought a Powder River XL with a manual head gate. I prefer a manual to a self locking. They are what they are but I find less failure with them When I moved here there was a Priefert chute which I took to the auction and installed my Powder River. Some of the neighbors darn near threw a party when that Prieferts left. A month or so ago I saw 3 Silencer chutes at the livestock supply. About a week ago I saw them loading the last one on their trailer to deliver it.
 
Is the opening wide enough with the self catch? A lot of my cows won't put their head through unless they see the full width for them to walk through.
I put mine through the crush a lot with weighing and AI breeding and do most things without catching their head so they know they can safely go through but if it is not full width they know that this time they might be getting caught.

Ken
 
wbvs58 said:
Is the opening wide enough with the self catch? A lot of my cows won't put their head through unless they see the full width for them to walk through.
I put mine through the crush a lot with weighing and AI breeding and do most things without catching their head so they know they can safely go through but if it is not full width they know that this time they might be getting caught.

Ken
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The opening is adjustable with 4 pins, plus the chain can adjust the opening to about whatever you want.
 
We have a 30 yr old Pearson and like it. Looked at buying another chute last year so looked at several different brands and kept going back to the Pearson Prime XL. I've also looked at allot of the chutes made in Mexico and they all look nice for half the price too. I'd look for one that suits your style of working and movements. Every cowboy we have out has there own preference to were the levers are at and how comfortable they are. One of the complaints we get on the Pearson is the head gate release. It has two levers made out of 1/4" flat bar. One to release and one to reset the headgate. This doesn't sound like a big deal but after pulling those flat bars several hundred times in a day it works on the hands and fingers. I personally don't like chutes that have things you have to move around to not hit your head or hang a hip on. I also hear allot about the Arrowquips not holding up on bigger operations. Everyone seems to like Preifert and WW chutes, might be because they are so popular and widely used.
 
Lucky said:
We have a 30 yr old Pearson and like it. Looked at buying another chute last year so looked at several different brands and kept going back to the Pearson Prime XL. I've also looked at allot of the chutes made in Mexico and they all look nice for half the price too. I'd look for one that suits your style of working and movements. Every cowboy we have out has there own preference to were the levers are at and how comfortable they are. One of the complaints we get on the Pearson is the head gate release. It has two levers made out of 1/4" flat bar. One to release and one to reset the headgate. This doesn't sound like a big deal but after pulling those flat bars several hundred times in a day it works on the hands and fingers. I personally don't like chutes that have things you have to move around to not hit your head or hang a hip on. I also hear allot about the Arrowquips not holding up on bigger operations. Everyone seems to like Preifert and WW chutes, might be because they are so popular and widely used.
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Have a Pearson about the same age that I replaced with a Mexican made hydraulic chute this year. Same thing for me- guillotine rear gate seemed to get heavier as the day wore on and such. I really like the hydraulic option for the ease of working on me. Do you have any idea on the value of a used Pearson with a palpation cage that has mostly been under a barn?
 
Ebenezer said:
Have a Pearson about the same age that I replaced with a Mexican made hydraulic chute this year. Same thing for me- guillotine rear gate seemed to get heavier as the day wore on and such. I really like the hydraulic option for the ease of working on me. Do you have any idea on the value of a used Pearson with a palpation cage that has mostly been under a barn?
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I've seen them on FB marketplace for $3-4k but don't really know what one would go for. If I had Power to the corrals I'd go with a Mexican made hydraulic chute. They seem really well made. If I get another Pearson I'm going to try a bifold tailgate. The rear gate on ours is becoming a problem.
 
B has 2 sets of corrals. One at his house and another one nearly half a mile down the road. The one down the road has a silencer about 3 years old. This fall he tore down the old corral at the house and rebuilt it with steel. I drove by one day last week and they were preg checking at the one by the house using a brand new Silencer. The cattle market must be good this year.
 
We've got a pretty big feedstore in town that does allot of business and they sell Silincer chutes. I stopped in last summer to look at the chutes they carry and was really surprised to see 8-10 Silincer chutes in stock. I was even more surprised when I stopped by a few months back and they only had one on the lot. $30-40k is a chunk for a squeeze chute.

I have to admit I kept walking over and looking at them even though I'll never have one. I can see where they'd draw you in.
 
Lucky said:
We've got a pretty big feedstore in town that does allot of business and they sell Silincer chutes. I stopped in last summer to look at the chutes they carry and was really surprised to see 8-10 Silincer chutes in stock. I was even more surprised when I stopped by a few months back and they only had one on the lot. $30-40k is a chunk for a squeeze chute.

I have to admit I kept walking over and looking at them even though I'll never have one. I can see where they'd draw you in.
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A new silencer with ALL the deluxe options including extra length, palp cage and weigh bars and it may have had wheels (was awful big to be a portable rig, so probably not) -- sold for $45,000 back on auction in November.
 
GoWyo said:
A new silencer with ALL the deluxe options including extra length, palp cage and weigh bars and it may have had wheels (was awful big to be a portable rig, so probably not) -- sold for $45,000 back on auction in November.
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For money like that I couldn't justify the price unless I had a thousand head to work. It would be nice if you could rent a traveling unit, but I doubt anyone would do it enough to justify anyone renting one.
 
A Silencer would be too heavy to be a "portable/travelling unit". There's always trade-offs. If you want "portable", you also have to accommodate "lighter weight" and "size" (like for an alley leading up to it). I'm sure that most would automatically put a longer alley on than any of the "portable systems" have on them, IF IT WASN'T A PORTABLE SYSTEM. Personally, I wouldn't want an alley that would be shorter than at least 3 cows, if I had a choice. But if you do that with a portable unit, plus a squeeze chute AND a sweep box... you're gonna be longer than a semi trailer! Gets pretty clumsy and heavy to deal with at that point.
 
Dave said:
Just a few years ago a Silencer was $20,000. They over doubled in price in about 3 years?
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Maybe they've become a "Veblen commodity" where their attraction is perceived more from their price than from their actual utility. Veblen commodities become more attractive the greater the cost. There are watches that people collect because they cost more than a million dollars, and they only tell time. Real estate in Jackson Hole is worth more, simply because it's in Jackson Hole.
Prices are up... but double + on a cattle working unit seems a stretch unless it's just gotten popular with people that can afford more than it's worth and like to brag about how much they spent...
 

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