Farmer Review: Arrowquip Q-Catch 87 Series Portable Cattle Chute, Alley and Tub

[@spur2626]

I bought the Arrowquip 87 chute with all the goodies, and an Easy Flow alleyway to install a Gallheger scale into. I think this is the best chute out there bar none, BUT this is an extremely expensive system, and for a small operation its hard to justify the cost. Chute, alley, scale kit, and tub are over 30K. I know it should last the rest of my lifetime, but for a 30 head +/- cow calf operation its a huge purchase for me.

[@BuddyNapier-mu1lb]

I have used several types of chutes, all of which work OK, but all of which had their issues. I operate a couple of ranches and installed the Arrowquip chute only in a working pen rebuild a couple of years ago in Central Texas. I only installed the squeeze chute, but used existing materials for the working chute and a local vendor for the tub. It was not that expensive. It all works very well and makes working cows and calves much quicker and safer with much less stress on the cattle. They stay calmer and easier to work next time. I will be installing another one on another ranch this year. In my older age (68), safety of myself and my hands is well worth the investment. Before I get lots of comments about getting a portable chute note that the ranches are 150 miles apart and I don't want to drag a chute that far.

[@Tw33997]

Helpful reveiw just bought one. It works very quite and has so many features, What sold me was the ability to to brand calves standing up. Easyer on the animals.

[@dedrakuhn6103]

What a great review! Well thought out comments and I love you making the great ideas on the cheap ways to make it much better with the 2 speed gearbox and additional bar on top.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Boy that sure would speed things up!

[@jeremybuss5676]

I have used Foremost and Priefert etc. and the Arrowquip is by far the best, very well built, versatile, quite and easy to use. I bought one and enjoy using it. Good luck

[@richardswartzbaugh929]

Carl, you and your family have a Merry Christmas.🎄🎁

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Same to you!!!

[@loverboy3788]

Yeah have fun 😂

[@PoorRoper]

Love the Parasol chute out of Valentine Ne.

[@BoomhauerWorldwide]

PRIEFERT!! I bought a brand new S0191 chute about 10 years ago now, to replace my very old priefert head gate. And I still absolutely love it, I'm a Priefert man, 180 crowd tub, alley, corral panels, everything. I would buy a Priefert S04 or S0191 if I were you, they are in the league of Arrowquip which is very good stuff. I have used at one time or another almost every brand and style chute out there or least what there was back then, first time a used a Priefert head gate i was hooked on them.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

I haven’t had a chance to try one of the newer setups from priefert. We have an old model 85 headgate in the barn and it’s pretty shaky. I always thought the S04 looked pretty good.

[@webbangus]

@@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206 I sold my SO4 to get an Q-87. Priefert is a dinosaur compared to Arrowquip

[@lutherhitt7430]

ArrowQuip is the best on the market. They have all kinds of chute add-ons, etc. Heavy, costly, but the BEST!

[@Arrowquip]

Thanks, Luther! An investment in a good chute will keep you and your cattle happy for years to come. :)

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

I like how easy they are to operate

[@robertmarino2158]

Talk to Mike at this Wyoming life , he has a new set up , maybe he can share info ! Stay safe ! Great info you shared with us ! Bob

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks bob! I’ve seen them before.

[@redbull8661]

I used one of these once, I ended up buying a hi hog because I liked the self catching head gate better and I felt like there was more access to the animals in the chute.

[@raincoast9010]

A well though out piece of equipment. Merry Christmas Carl and family.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Yes it is! Thanks for watching!

[@dawidvandyk296]

Marry Christmas and a Happy New year to you and your Family. Be safe and God bless!!!!!!.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks a lot and same to you!

[@ChroniclesofKayla]

Thank you!! We are wanting to expand and potentially add the arrow setup but just not there yet -

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Good equipment doesn’t come cheap that’s for sure!

[@willian.direction6740]

A couple critical demonstrations in the field to help improve something is very good Mate.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

There is no substitute for field research!

[@mattcunniff5305]

Arrowquip is a little pricey but 100% quality. It will probably be the only system you buy in your lifetime, unless you do like we did and buy a cheap one and realize why it was cheap and then get the arrowquip. My recommendation buy the arrowquip and be done with it. One visit to the doctor from getting hurt is more the what the system will cost you. Good luck guys, which ever one u choose.

[@Arrowquip]

Thank you for choosing Arrowquip, Matt! We're happy you are enjoying your chute. We'd love to hear some feedback from you so feel free to send us a message.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks Matt! It’s good to hear from people who have had experience with the chute for a longer period of time.

[@arthurjennings5202]

Carl, my dad did not believe in spending money. So, we stood the walk board up in the end of the loading chute, ran the calves into the loading chute, pushed a 2 inch pipe behind the last calf, then Dad and I climbed into the chute with the calves. Dad pushed his knee into the calf's side, forcing the calf against the side of the chute. Mom handed Dad the needle, Dad gave the calf the vaccination, handed Mom back the needle, then reached down behind the calf (bull) fond the scrotum, pulled down the testis down, I clamped on the bloodless castraters and the bull, after repeating the operation became a steer. Dad moved to the next calf, flanked the calf while I pulled the pipe out of the chute, and after the calf backed out, I put it behind the calf Dad was flanking. Some of the calves were 300 to 400 pounds when we got around to working them. I did not like working cattle. And we never bought a squeeze chute. We worked the cows the same way, but we didn't have to get into the chute with them. We also aided birth in the same matter, but only one cow at a time. By the way, Merry Christmas

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Good grief it’s a miracle you were never killed!

[@fehimekaya1863]

Nu

[@TheKajunkat]

holey moley, that is a risky way to handle them for sure. we didn't have a squeeze at several of our rental pastures so we (all the boys) had to tackle the calves ourselves. took me years to figure out why the old men would sit on top of the fence and hoop and holler. Played us young boys for a bunch of fools. It was fun but man did we have a bunch of bruises, bloody noses and torn clothes by the time the day was over.

[@blueraid15]

How are you still liking the arrowquip? I am in a similar situation. All the vets around me use formost. And they can get me a discount...so i am leaning that way. Thanks!

[@JohnVanRuiten]

Geez dude, that thing is sweet! Arrowquip should pay you for that, great job demonstrating that baby.

[@Arrowquip]

He brought up some great points and we definitely appreciate it!

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks a lot! It’s a nice chute.

[@lonepine5596]

Merry Christmas to your family Carl 🎄✨

[@stevecorcoran9869]

140 bucks for a 20 volt impact from harbor freight & 15 minutes in the farm shop to build an adapter fixed the problem with the jacks for us.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

I bet that is slick!

[@clarkfarms4426]

We dislike our palco stronghold chute/alley for many reasons, new ones may have some improvement but we have looked into arrowquip recently

[@Arrowquip]

We'd be happy to get you more information on a chute that will fit your needs. :)

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

I think arrowquip make a heck of an alley.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Have you had your headgate slip open before?

[@GoBearstyJpyn]

Great review. I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. Have a great Christmas.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks Jerry! Hope you had a good Christmas!

[@jeangibson5680]

If your going to get one of these chutes, get the one with hydraulics, makes everything so easy.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Boy that sounds great, but I wouldn’t be able to use it down at the pasture corral where there is not electricity.

[@moyockmoo2]

Interesting as always. Thanks, Carl. Merry Christmas!

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks! Hope you had a great Christmas!

[@daspicsman]

Merry Christmas to you folks. Thanks for taking us along for the ride. We really appreciate it.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks for being here!

[@randaljohnson580]

I'd reccomend looking at a Souix calving pen. You can use it as a chute too.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

They are pretty nice for sure, but we want the squeeze and vet cage and the whole chute experience

[@DustinReyna-mj4gb]

What did you go with? I like this cause I’m starting out and only have 12 acres

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

We went with a for-most

[@davidgay2679]

Awesome video, great information

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks David!

[@keitholeniacz7602]

Merry Christmas Dodge Brothers Family🌲

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks Keith! Hope you had a great Christmas!

[@malcolmcolvard9163]

Thanks for the review. Local Southern States recently started selling these and the features looked good. Would like one, but not right now. Currently have a Tarter chute , larger model, with a Prefert manual/automatic head gate used to replace the original Tartar. Have never caught one with the automatic feature on the Prefert. Rigged up a string from the "set handle" to allow the gate to be triggered from the side or rear when it is setup for automatic operation. Would rate the chute a "C" and the head gate a "B". It was what the business could support.

[@Arrowquip]

Investing in a good chute will definitely save you money in the long run! We'd be happy to get you more information and help you with your purchasing journey. :)

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

I have never had success with our priefert headgate using the auto catch feature either. The cow is faster than the headgate.

[@maxtonkyrie4648]

You all probably dont care but does any of you know of a way to get back into an Instagram account?? I stupidly lost the login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me!

[@orlandozyaire8355]

@Maxton Kyrie Instablaster :)

[@maxtonkyrie4648]

@Orlando Zyaire I really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and Im trying it out now. Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@larjomack8576]

The rancher I used to help had an older Powder River squeeze chute and calf table. They seem to work okay but I can't really say that I ever was around any other kind. I'm sure there are different chutes with different ways to operate them but I can't say I am familiar with them.

[@Arrowquip]

Feel free to message us and we can guide you through why we design our chutes the way we do! (Cattle science is very important :))

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

There are lots of different chutes with lots of different features out there.

[@TheKajunkat]

We have had a powder river for about 25 years and it has been a good chute/squeeze but I have had to rebuild it due to corrosion a couple of times. It is also really noisy, needs grease a lot and access to certain parts of the animal are a pain. The cows tend to balk before entering it even when head gate is wide open and have the floor camouflaged to match the alley way. Looked at the new ones but they don't seem to be particularly advanced from the one we have so I am looking around. Arrowquip has certainly caught my eye. I just found a dealership about an hour away and want to check them out. The powder coating, quietness, flexibility, portability, quality of construction and the refinement seem to be pretty impressive. I might have to splurge a little, haha.

[@clairdenning9062]

Bought one and 1 person can handle cattle quite easy with backup gates. Let the animal in the chute with head gate closed, close backup gate then let them into the head gate.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

I do like the handle being at the back

[@HartungFamilyFarms]

Carl!!!!! Miss you man 😢

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

😭😭

[@sethpoffenbarger3919]

I have a palco chute and I love it.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Same as stronghold right? Has the headgate ever slipped open on you?

[@lonepine5596]

Great review Carl. Interesting how it works. Looks expensive.

[@Arrowquip]

We have chutes to accommodate all budgets!

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Cheap chutes aren’t good and good chutes aren’t cheap 🤣

[@johnperry5102]

great video really good presentation and entertaining

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thank you John!

[@lonepine5596]

What kind of drone do you have for those great aerial pics in the other videos? Thanks

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

It’s a dji mavic air 2

[@lonepine5596]

@@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206 thanks Carl.

[@JackdeDuCoeur]

Good review

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks Jack!

[@markoc8616]

DOSS Farms equipment Thank you so much

[@tomharrington1393]

Merry Christmas to the Dodge Family from Clovis, New Mexico Mexico 👍👍

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks Tom! I hope you had an excellent Christmas!

[@pfeatherston7276]

How much does that unit with the options cost?

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

About $17K

[@w056007568]

I like that equipment and it seems well thought out except for the two points you mentioned. The raise or lowering issue could be easily sorted via hydraulics either via an independant 12v motor and pump or tractor hydraulics. Are you thinking of a portable tub, chute and crush like this one or a fixed crush? Either way I would want one fully galvanised rather than paint finish. Also do you have a need for foot paring facility or weighing capability and what are the biggest and smallest cattle that you might want to use it for? We have a fixed crush (it can be moved with a telehandler) that stands on a concrete pad with a frame design that allows for a wooden floor with crossbars to reduce slipping to be used. A removable floor means it is easy to clean out and around it. Underneath the frame to weigh cattle we have two digital weighbars that are quickly and easily installed/removed and sit on the concrete run by a 12v car battery. Once in position you zero out the weight on the reader bearing down on the bars and in use it weighs dead accurate irrespective how much the animal moves about. There are many head gates better designed than the one you have. Overall I prefer static crushes but what is definitely important is its precise location for ease of safe use allowing safe operation to either side, in front or behind a beast.

[@Arrowquip]

Hi Dan, you're right. Those are two very great points he mentioned and we have sent them off to our innovations team. This is the great customer feedback that keeps us agile and continuing to better our equipment. To comment on a few of your points, our equipment is actually powder-coated. So it stays looking new for years to come. Our chutes have a steel floor that has the option to add a rubber floor to it. This reduces noise and keeps the cattle safe from slipping. Our head gate is designed based on cattle psychology. :) The bars in the front allow for light to enter the chute and cattle will follow the light like they would exiting the chute. We design our equipment with the goal of keeping the rancher and their animals safe at all times. If you'd like more info or are interested in knowing more about cattle psychology feel free to message us or head to our website.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Hey Dan thanks for your thoughtful comments here! We are looking at a portable unit so that it can be used here or at the pasture down to dads.

[@sencman200]

Dodge Brothers Merry Christmas!! Check out Sonne Farms..they have recently gotten an arrow unit..seems to work very good for their operation .

[@Arrowquip]

Sonne Farms got a Q-Power 107 series hydraulic chute. It's for sure worth the watch!

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

That’s a major chute!

[@jerrymiller276]

Man. Farmers have to have so many specialty gadgets!

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Yeah if you don’t want to get hurt working cows you better have a good place to do it.

[@jerrykeck2935]

I think you should buy the arrowguip.

[@davidwoolf4296]

For most is really good

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

I really like the for-most 450. I like the v-squeeze and the headgate is so simple and can’t ever fail.

[@timskutnik4397]

How much does it cost to rent one of these chutes per day or use?

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

$2 per head through the chute. Usually $150 minimum.

[@robinghunt]

Seeing a lot of those chutes so they are either good or cheap but I know they’re not both.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Definitely true! The cheap ones are not safe to use.

[@cameronrothwell2033]

They’re not just good they’re the best chutes out there

[@davidperrin4856]

Great video. Merry Christmas. What is your Facebook page under?

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Just my name.

[@coyroberts8356]

Thanks 😊

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Thanks coy!

[@redclover51]

Always a climber in the crowd. ( not social ) Keep us up with A. I. success rate.

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Will do!

[@debbierapp9495]

formost 475 only way to go we have 4 love them

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

We are looking at a portable for-most 450. It’s a really solid chute. Do you use the v-squeeze a lot?

[@oscarbuckland2418]

Red river

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

We don’t have those around here. Where are you from?

[@oscarbuckland2418]

@@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206 I’m from Australia we live around the corner to a red river production site

[@nescrapper4023]

Well im gonna buy a c and b hereford chute. Check em out

[@tomcharter4127]

Two speed jack.

[@scruffy6151]

👍👍

[@jenverhelst6477]

You realize Carl that semi trailers are the same speed on the jacks. At least the ones I dealt with last summer. Pete

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Most semi trailers have a two speed gearbox on them. You pull the handle out for high speed and push it in for low speed.

[@Okiefarmer]

If you could could buy a foremost portable tub with that squeeze chute/headgate you would have a winner. I have a foremost portable tub. It doesn’t fold up as short and neat as that one does but the tub is way more solid top to bottom with a walkway plank on the outside

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

We’ve been looking at a for-most 450 portable chute and considering a portable alley/tub as well, but we might just build a alley into our corral at the pasture. I already have a nice solid alley in the barn here so a chute would hook up nicely to it.

[@cameronrothwell2033]

They have an electric jack which is much faster

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

Yeah I have heard about that. Sounds perfect!

[@molyjdm1]

Buy a Silencer

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

No

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

😂

[@carrotnews9731]

We have it and it is much quieter and the cattle are less stressed but the head catch is rubbish for catching big beefy crazy continental types. Actually so disappointed in it after all that money

[@dodgebrothersfarmandranch9206]

After using the for-most a few times I feel the headgate is much more secure than the arrow. The arrow is definitely the quietest and looks a little nicer but I feel safer with the for-most

[@craigtimmerberg8074]

silencer silencer silencer !!!!!!!

[@skukie27]

Hello, I'm from Argentina, here they are using sleeves and working on top of the animal, I am also in the process of seeing what is best for me, looking at costs and yields. what is your Facebook. Cheers