“We couldn't keep the cattle coming in fast enough to utilize our new Silencer chute to its full potential,” says Dale Burr, CREC livestock technician. So they widened the barn entrance, built an alleyway and used a Bud Box design connected to a double alleyway to the new chute.

Upon witnessing a demonstration, spectators are often in disbelief. “It's too simple. I think you could buy some panels and build a Bud Box. You don't need a lot of expensive equipment to make it work,” Burr says, noting it can work off of a single or double alley.

CREC conducts several feedlot and cow-calf trials each year, many simultaneously. As such, each animal on trial must be individually weighed every 28 days. The new facility has made the process less labor-intensive.

“It's a lot less stress, both for the people and the cattle,” Burr says. It's also faster. “We've actually eliminated the need for one person in weighing and working cattle.”

Based on their experience, CREC staff members suggest producers consider lighting and surface finishing in processing areas.

“We have lights over the center of the alley, so shadows are minimized — nothing to cause cattle to slow down,” Burr says, noting producers can position chutes and alleys under skylights in building's ridge caps. To avoid slippage, CREC cautions against smooth concrete, which can cause falls when wet.

After 10 years of researching load-out systems, Larry Schnell, Stockmen's Livestock Exchange general manager in Dickinson, ND, put in two Bud Boxes. He likes the Bud Box's simplicity.

“The best thing is that you can change an existing setup to fit this system with very little effort,” Schnell says. After working 70,000 head of cattle, he says he's ready to add another Bud Box for the veterinary shack.

When working a near-full pen, Schnell positions himself to get a few animals started toward the alley and controls the flow with his positioning.

“You don't want them to come in a big lump; you want them one at a time,” Schnell explains. “Once one starts moving, the rest will come pretty much single file.”

The biggest trouble Schnell has with the system is trying to teach truckers not to push cattle from behind. He says they're slow to adjust to the concept; in fact, he says he may need to put up a sign that reads, “Just keep in mind that the whole premise of this loading chute is that truckers are smarter than cattle; please don't prove us wrong.”

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