eric
Well-known member
I am in the market for a squeeze chute / headgate, mainly for deworming a few cows and probably putting in ear tags and such. I am having no luck finding any used equipment around N Texas, so I probably will have to buy a new one.
Problem: having a hard time parting with the $2K that Tractor Supply wants for a good one, even the $1200 they want for the cheap one.
Solution: I own a machine shop, have a full time welder and a real good fabricator working for me. Any reason I shouldnt just make my own? It wont be as fancy as a store bought one, but I believe I could design something to hold cows still while I work with them. My idea is to take the design from the grooming cages, use thicker tubing, and make some sort of a V-shaped contraption which I could close either by rope or a wire cable / pulleys mounted on top. I could fabricate a gate for the back, and make the sides hinged either on the bottom so the side falls down or at the rear so the side swings open. I would still have to purchase a head gate, probably an automatic one, but $400 for a headgate is alot better than 2K for the whole chute!
Am I crazy for thinking I could make my own, any dangers I should look out for? Or am I just being a tighta$$ and should go ahead and spend the money for a store bought one? Or better yet, anyone know of any used equipment sites around Texas?
Problem: having a hard time parting with the $2K that Tractor Supply wants for a good one, even the $1200 they want for the cheap one.
Solution: I own a machine shop, have a full time welder and a real good fabricator working for me. Any reason I shouldnt just make my own? It wont be as fancy as a store bought one, but I believe I could design something to hold cows still while I work with them. My idea is to take the design from the grooming cages, use thicker tubing, and make some sort of a V-shaped contraption which I could close either by rope or a wire cable / pulleys mounted on top. I could fabricate a gate for the back, and make the sides hinged either on the bottom so the side falls down or at the rear so the side swings open. I would still have to purchase a head gate, probably an automatic one, but $400 for a headgate is alot better than 2K for the whole chute!
Am I crazy for thinking I could make my own, any dangers I should look out for? Or am I just being a tighta$$ and should go ahead and spend the money for a store bought one? Or better yet, anyone know of any used equipment sites around Texas?