Gary,  I think you have a point that it may actually be easier sorting etc as I did yesterday with one person than with a crew.  I know if I don't have them in the corral when my vet gets here, they all head to the far corner of the pasture when they see a stranger. 

Basically it is a lot easier to have them follow me than to try to herd them from behind. Better yet is to have them come when I call them. Just got to watch they don't come barrelling down the hill and run me over when they think there is a sweet treat in the fenceline bunks. I try to have them stay behind me...but not always successful at that one, especially with my retained bull that likes to "play".

The chute pictured is a relatively low cost Formost 150 which has a simple partial squeeze mechanism. I don't think we have used the squeeze more than once or twice, and as you point out is not useful for calves.  The main thing my vet likes about it is the drop down side panels that my previous Formost 125 chute did not. But you can buy a 125 for around $1200 compared to $3-4,000 for a full squeeze.

A full squeeze as you suggest would probably keep 200 lb calves from backing out of the headgate but the cost for a full squeeze is quite a bit higher.  I'll look into that with Formost and some other mfgrs at some farm shows over the summer. The idea of a roll in/roll out calf table like the Preifert mentioned earlier for about $1200 may be less expensive than going to a full squeeze chute.

Except for the lightweight calf issue, I really like the setup I have now. And maybe none of the chutes really work well on small calves which is why calf tables exist.  Thanks for the idea of the full squeeze.

"3 under 5 years old" (5, 3 and 1 yr old) is really the pits/, er, challenge of parenting. They have you outnumbered and the oldest is not really old enough to help. After that time 4, 5, 6, 7,...kids doesn't really matter - you've got all the shoes and clothes!

Jim at Dawn