EkoChute Hoof Trimming Crushes
The Ekochute Electro — an electric trimming crush built for herds that trim regularly, supplied and delivered across Scotland.
Trimming Is a Volume Job or It Is Nothing
A crush that is slow to load is a crush that gets used on the obviously lame cow and nobody else.
That is how a trimming routine quietly becomes a treatment routine. The cows that need looking at before they limp are the ones that never get caught, because catching them is a wrestle and there are two hundred of them.
An electric crush is about the loading and the lifting rather than the trimming itself. When the back bar, the feet and the belly bands all work off a switch, one person can put a great many cows through in a session without it becoming a fight — which is the only way regular trimming actually happens.
Ekochute Electro
Every line here is checkable, which is more than most product pages manage.
Electric throughout
Cows load with electric back bar assistance, and all feet and belly bands operate electrically. That is the difference between a session and a struggle.
474kg, and it ships on a pallet
Net weight 474kg. Palletised transport keeps the carriage cost down, which on a machine this heavy is not a small part of the price.
IP67 rated
Fully rated against water and dust. It works in the wettest, dirtiest corner of the farm and is built on that assumption.
Motor protected from shock
The motor-gearbox combination protects the electric motor from load shock, which is what extends motor life on a machine that stops and starts under load all day.
Eaton and Schneider electrics
Named components rather than unnamed ones. The motors run on 230V, the cables are protected in armoured copex, and the mains cable is carried on an overhead guide so it is not lying in the wet.
12 month warranty
Sold with a twelve month warranty. Ask us about parts before you need them rather than after.
It suits a herd trimming large numbers, or trimming regularly — which is the same thing said two ways.
Supplied and Delivered, Not Installed
Worth saying plainly, because most of this section of the site is installation work and this is not.
The crush is sold and delivered rather than fitted by our engineers. It arrives on a pallet and it needs a level, well-drained spot with power near the handling area — which is worth thinking about before it turns up rather than after. Automatic footbaths are the opposite: those we do install and service, and they are covered under Hoofcount.
Races, penning and the rest of the ironwork around it come from the handling range.
When and How to Trim
We sell the crush. That does not make us the right people to tell you how often to trim or what to take off.
Trimming intervals, technique and what to do with a foot once it is off the ground are questions for a qualified hoof trimmer or your vet, and they depend on your herd, your floors and what you are seeing. A web page selling the machine is the last place that should be answered.
What we will happily talk about is the machine, the handling area around it, and whether the problem you are describing is a trimming problem at all — it is very often a floor problem or a footbath problem wearing a trimming problem’s clothes.
Ask Your Rep
A crush is a considered purchase, not a counter line.
Your sales rep
Eight reps across Scotland. Find yours.
Engineering at Stirling
01786 474 481 if it goes alongside a footbath, a handling area or a shed we are already working in.
The country stores
Ayr, Kinross, Lanark & Stirling for hoof knives, blocks, blades and the consumables that go with the job.
Hoof Trimming Questions
What is the Ekochute Electro?
An electrically operated hoof trimming crush. The back bar assists loading and all feet and belly bands operate electrically, so one person can put a large number of cows through in a session. Net weight is 474kg and it ships on a pallet, which keeps the carriage cost down.
Do you install hoof trimming crushes?
No. The crush is supplied and delivered rather than fitted by our engineers — it arrives on a pallet and needs a level, well-drained spot with power near the handling area. Automatic footbaths are the opposite: those we do install and service.
How long is the warranty?
Twelve months. The electrics are Eaton and Schneider, cables run in armoured copex and the mains cable is carried on an overhead guide, so the usual failure points on a wet-site machine are designed around rather than ignored.
Will it stand up to a wet yard?
It is IP67 rated against water and dust, and the motor-gearbox combination protects the motor from load shock — which is what wears out a motor that stops and starts under load all day.
How often should I trim?
That is a question for a qualified hoof trimmer or your vet. It depends on your herd, your floors and what you are seeing, and a page selling the machine has no business answering it. What we will say is that if trimming only happens when a cow is visibly lame, the crush is being used as treatment rather than prevention.
Is a crush what I actually need?
Sometimes the honest answer is no. A lameness problem is very often a floor problem or a footbathing problem before it is a trimming problem. It is worth looking at the passages and the bath before buying a crush to keep up with them.
What is the difference between this and a footbath?
A crush is where an individual cow's feet get worked on. A footbath is a routine every cow walks through. They do different jobs and most herds running a serious hoof health routine have both. We install footbaths; the crush we supply.
Where can I get one in Scotland?
Through your McCaskie field sales rep, or ring Engineering at Stirling on 01786 474 481 if it goes alongside a footbath or a handling area we are already working on. Hoof knives, blocks and blades are on the shelf at Ayr, Kinross, Lanark and Stirling.