![]() ![]() ![]() If the chute has solid sides it is really hard to climb out you need a gate to go in and out of the truck or chute,” he says. “I would also put a gate at the top so a person can come out of the loading chute (after following a bunch of calves, for instance), and walk back down the walkway. He also recommends having a walkway up the loading chute so people can go along it if necessary, to encourage a reluctant animal. If you put a slight turn to the alley leading to the ramp, this is better than a straight chute because they don’t see what’s happening at the truck and tend to just follow the cow ahead because they think they are getting away,” he explains. It’s just like a working chute if they can’t see out they tend to go better without balking at something they see off to the side, and they’ll follow the cow ahead of them. “Make the sides of the loading chute solid (wood or metal), so cattle can’t see through it as they go up the ramp. Then if a few cattle come out you are not unloading the whole load,” he says. “I recommend at least a couple gates in the alleyway, and a gate near the bottom of the loading chute, so you can close it off. You want a good corral design for getting cattle sorted and moved into a loading chute. They associate it with the working chute,” says Hamilton. Some people do that to save space, but the cows don’t want to go that direction and tend to balk when you try to load them. “Don’t put a loading chute alley on the same alley where cattle are moved toward the squeeze chute. That’s fine when the corrals are dry, but in winter or spring it gets muddy and slick (or boggy) and hard for trucks to get in and out.” The space for maneuvering a big truck may be limited unless the corral is large. ![]() ![]() Hamilton has a couple of tips for what not to do when building a loading chute. As long as you have a straight shot at it-so drivers can pull up and back into the chute-and not have a sharp corner when they pull out from the chute, it works ok.” Sometimes we have to do it in smaller spaces, but it’s trickier. “They really need at least 200 feet by 200 feet in front of the loading chute to easily turn around and back in there. The loading area needs to be big enough that trucks can turn around and back up to the chute easily. This may be a little tight for a big bull, but for cows and calves it works pretty well,” he says. “About 30 to 36 inches is probably as wide as you want it. You don’t want a chute too narrow for big cattle, but you don’t want it so wide that smaller cattle try to turn around. ![]()
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