Rolling Squeeze Chute Made From Wire Spool

"When I started raising goats, I realized we needed a hoof trimming chute. But after pricing units on the market, I decided to build my own," says Roger Holcomb, Mentor, Minn.

"Our local telephone company has a ready supply of empty cable spools made from square tubing. So I got one of those and mounted it on a platform fitted with two rollers on each side that allow the spool to rotate.

"I reworked the center of the spool, using some of the original cross pieces to construct a trimming chute at the center of the spool with a small platform under it.

"The finished unit mounts on a trailer and is fitted with a cable winch that serves two purposes. When hooked up one way, it's used to raise the entire unit off the ground for transport, or lower it back down for work. By reconnecting a snap on the end of the cable, the winch is also used to rotate the trimmer once the animal is secured in the squeeze chute and the headgate's closed. The winch rotates the chute so the animal is lying on his side at the proper height for trimming the hooves."

The platform the animal stands on opens and the person can trim hooves without risk of injury to either the person or animal.

"So far we've run about 150 animals through this squeeze chute and it works great."