Working Ranch Magazine March/April 2025

the handlers operate the system, par ticularly feeding cattle into it. You’re not going to get maximum positive results up front if the crew bringing them up is rammin’ & jammin’ back there. Anytime I go to a feedyard for a tour I like to have a look at the pro cessing barn, see how they’re doing it. Generally, if all you hear is the hydraulic motor humming outside and the odd “BZZZZHHHT” of the motor functioning under pressure when you approach, it’s a good bet there’s gonna be pros at the helm. CATCH • The floor footing needs to be designed so cattle feel comfort able and confident entering. • Adjustable width setting at the floor level for different classes of cattle is very handy. • Speed of the hydraulics is critical; slow rams throw the headgate person out of timing. • I like blinders on the vertical side rails to keep the flow going. They work great. • The headgate needs to open wide enough to accept horned critters. • Side squeeze needs to be able to be set to slow fast critters down so a clean catch can be made. • Per industry SOP (LEFT) On a trip to Calgary awhile back, our BIF tour stopped in at Rimrock Feeders for a snoop. Walking up to their processing barn, where the crew was reimplanting some 9 weights, there wasn’t a peep, no vocaliza tion from anyone or any critter. Just the hum of the motor outside the building. I smiled.

recommendations, I need to be able to set the hydraulic pressure between 1100 and 1300 PSI. RESTRAINT • Cattle need to be immobilized so they give up the fight in order for the handler to safely perform their duties. I’ve seen several different neck restraint systems, they all look pretty good to me. • Confidence that the restraint system won’t fail, meaning the engineering of the catch elements ensures they won’t let go when you’re halfway through a proce dure, is very important. I’ve seen too many folks bonked on the noggin when a wore-out drop bar comes out of its slot. • Access to the feet and udder is necessary through a split-side drop down or swing out. RELEASE I like a smooth release, so the hydraulics need to reflect that. I don’t like a full, instant pressure purge; I want to be able to slowly perform the release using the handles. There also needs to be a well-engineered emer gency release setup for both sides in case a critter goes down.

mature bulls, but they can handle a 1,300 lb cow. Noise The hydraulic motor needs to be in a soundproof box as far away from the works as possible. Seven hours of that high pitched whining gets on my remaining nerve. And seven hours of the back gate clanging shut is enough for me. If the chute is quiet, the works remain sane. Cleanout The chute needs to be easy to clean. On the big feedyards I worked on, we (meaning the processing or hospital crew) shoveled out the chutes and snakes at the end of every shift. Ergonomics When you’re processing 600 head a day it can wear a person down. Easy to-set ergonomic handle settings make it easier on the operator. Maintenance Grease fitting accessibility and the ability to replace worn or damaged parts, hydraulics, rams, etc. Self-catch Manual Headgate Always a handy feature, there are some well-designed adjustable prod ucts out there. Built-in Scale Adding load cells to the chute base lets you grab a quick weight, which comes in mighty handy in your man agement plan. Exit Traction Oddly, I see a lot of good design right up to the exit area, where the trail to success runs cold. Cattle can do a lot of musculoskeletal damage if they exit too fast and slip on the concrete. The rubber tire mats are excellent, and I’ve even seen an outfit where they created a 12’ x 4’ sand pit inset into the con crete just coming out of the chute. Cattle feel confident when their foot ing is secure, and I think that adds to calming them.

OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS Adjustable Floor

Critical for ease of operation, you need an adjustable floor that will be able to handle 300 lb calves all the way up to the big boys. Not all chute designs are recommended for use with

SLOW & STEADY A crew that revs up the cattle in the back (to be fair, sometimes a group of one-iron cattle will already be rammy before they show up at the feedyard) will end up with two really bad situations (broken horns and shoulder abscesses) and one terrible situation (a critter going

over backwards in the snake). Slow down. During fall run we used to joke, “No sense rushing the works anyway, if we get done at 2 instead of 4 the boss is only gonna have to find something else for us to do, like shoveling bunks, haha.” Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

MARCH 2025 I 23