Old Working Chute

I found an old working chute, that I'm thinking of buying... The guy who previously owned it had died about 12-15 years ago, so I would guess it to be 20-30 years old...   It needs some work (new floor), sandblasting, and some paint, but other still works pretty good.  Also, I trying to see if anyone had one like itk, and can tell me more about it, mainly the price of it...  and the brand name maybe... Also a price it might be worth.  

Here's my description..

Self catching headgate with a lower neck brace to keep from dropping their head to the ground
one side sqeezes
the other side is a side gate
has a vertical rear gate
has two boards on bottom, both 2x12's- the upper board is hinged, and will fold down.
the upper sides are all single bars that will hinge and fold down for access
also has wheels

sorry i don't have any pictures, and don't know what color it is
I guess that descibes about every chute out there...  Anything is appreciated! thanks

I purchases an older Powder River chute a year ago that was in similar condition to yours.  Mine has a steel floor, a manual head gate, and no wheels.  I paid $650. 

Some things to consider on price are  size & weight.. some of the chutes are made for smaller cattle and you can't hardly shove a cow into them, while others are made for cows & bulls and little calves escape.  Also you have to watch because some of the chutes are made heavier than others.   

I don't happen to like the type of headgate you described but that's JMO.    I've seen used chutes go from 200 up to 1500, depending on size, condition, how heavy it's made, brand. 

I bought a WW squeeze chute for $900 about 20 years ago.  It sounds just like the one you describe.  I have replaced the floor and painted it once.  Other than that, it has been a great chute.  If you can buy the chute for the right price, it should last you a while once you get it back in working condition.  A new WW like the one you describe is over $2,000.

The way you describe the head gate it sound like what we call the calf strangler. In theory it is a good idea, but if it is what I think it is if you get a calf that pulls back they tend to choke then go down then you can't get the headgate open. Hopefully that is not what is on there.

Too much...just my opinion. Get a good safe chute and pay the money or get that one but don't pay more than about $300.

a WW is the only way to go.  make sure it's not one of those that is so old that big cows will hip lock of they blow through the head catch.  you want one similar to the one in the picture.  make sure the head catch operation is on the left side as a cow stand in it, like the one in the picture.  anywhere from 25 years old to 10 years old is a good one.  the newer ones are made out of muffler pipe.

Personally we have the above pictured WW chute and I absolutely hate it!!  It's on our main farm and ask anyone that knows me I curse that chute all the time!!!  We used a homemade system over that one, the ww is in our calving barn and the only time it gets used is to pull a calf if there is problems and maybe to help nurse a calf on the rare ocassion.

care to sell it?  where are you located and what do you want for it?

That looks like a newer version of the WW chute in our cow working alley.  Love it.  The biggest downside to ours is that the space between the end of the side panels & the head gate is big enough for a baby calf to slide thru - so we don't use it for working the calves. 

so since everyone has their opinions on chutes, what's the good built, long lasting, versitile ones, that are affordable?

spend the extra money and get a hydraulic. Easier on the cattle, you, and everything else. They all have there plus and minus, but they are all better then a manual IMO.

I don't imagine that a hydraulic chute is a necessity for his operation. Up until 2 years ago we ran over 4000 head through a manual chute every year. We bought a used hydraulic chute at an auction for 1100, and yes it is much nicer, but again not a necessity.

Pearson's are the best made hands down.