Aluminum Grooming Chutes

How have your alum grooming chutes held up? I am debating on building an all alum one vs the steel ones I have already built. Sullivans list a precaution with their alumn chutes. Are they really not that sturdy?

They are sturdy, but I wouldn't a wild calf in one and expect it to hold up. We have both steel and aluminum. The steel one is left setup at home. The aluminum one is really only used at shows. The aluminum one is so much easier to move around simply because of its weight, and will last a long time if used properly with all of its pins in place.

we only use our aluminum chute at shows and wouldn't be without it.  Our "show staff" are seven and ten so if the calves are not broke enough for an aluminum chute they probably aren't broke enough to go to the show.  Ours is a home made one patterned after a Sullivan's chute.  works great but someday I would like to have a longer one for those yearling heifers.

Ron
<cowboy>

We have steel chutes at home, but the chutes we take to shows have steel bottoms and then alum. uppers. Its called the Hybrid chute if you want to look it up on the sullivans supply website. They have worked really well for us.

Ron, when you are making your longer chute, go ahead and make me a shorter one for the little ones.
Your show staff should be increasing in numbers here before long shouldn't it? <beer>

wowcows said:

Ron, when you are making your longer chute, go ahead and make me a shorter one for the little ones.
Your show staff should be increasing in numbers here before long shouldn't it? <beer>

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Can't you just tell those little ones to "sit and stay?"  <beer>

On the increase in show staff,  any day now.  She is springing right up.  Spent four hours at the hospital Wednesday night.  Contractions were 4 to 5 minutes apart but not much dilation.  After walking the halls for a couple hours with no change they sent us home.  Kinda like calves  ...  they will come when they are ready.

Ron
<cowboy>

Thanks Everyone!! I appreciate the feedback.

I think I am going to make a steel one first, just because I need one for the house. Our shows are all slick shows, so having a chute at the fairgrounds really isnt neccessary.

On the subject of chutes. How much difference is there between the All Alum  and the Alum Hybrid chute from sullivans?  Durabilty?

BCCC said:

On the subject of chutes. How much difference is there between the All Alum  and the Alum Hybrid chute from sullivans?  Durabilty?

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We prefer the hybrid chutes simply for their durability. If you get a big calf moving around a bunch in one, or loading / unloading abuse, can cause a little bit of tweakage (probably not a word)  to the bottom frame. Once the bottom part is tweaked, it becomes a big pain to get the top bars in, and just throughs it out of "square".