How Hi-Hog's Custom Livestock Handling System Design Process Works

Hi-Hog's custom design process is a consultation-led service: you start by reviewing the Design Start Page on hi-hog.com, then call the company so its design team can plan a handling system around your livestock, your workflow, and your available space. It suits ranchers working cattle, bison, or horses who need a layout matched to their yard rather than a stock configuration — and it begins with a phone conversation, not an online checkout.

What the design service covers

According to Hi-Hog's own site, the design team helps plan a system that fits your needs and space. The stated goal is a safe, efficient livestock handling system, and the company explicitly names three use cases:

• Working cattle
• Working bison
• Boarding horses

Because the system is planned around species and space, the same set of Hi-Hog components can be arranged very differently from one ranch to the next. That is the point of the custom route: the components are catalog products, but the layout is site-specific.

The two-step process

Step 1: Review the Design Start Page

Hi-Hog directs prospective customers to its Design Start Page first. This is the preparation stage — the page exists so you arrive at the call with a sense of what a handling system involves and what information the design team will need from you.

Step 2: Call Hi-Hog to begin the design

The site's instruction is direct: view the Design Start Page, "then call us and we can start designing a system that works for you." The design conversation happens by phone with the design team.

Expected outcome: a system plan matched to your operation, built from Hi-Hog's product line rather than a one-size-fits-all package.

What you can build the system from

The design team is drawing from Hi-Hog's full catalogue, which the site organizes into these categories:

For a handling system specifically, the relevant building blocks are the cattle handling line — squeeze chutes, working alleys, crowding tubs, loading chutes, gates, and panels — plus bison handling equipment if you work bison.

Before you call: what to have ready

The site does not publish a required intake checklist, so the following is practical preparation rather than a stated requirement:

• Species and head count you will run through the system
• Available space — the footprint and shape of your working area
• How you currently work livestock and where the bottlenecks are
• Whether you want a full system or an addition to existing equipment

Having these on hand shortens the phone consultation, because the design team's job is to fit a layout to constraints you describe.

If you would rather see the equipment first

Hi-Hog maintains a dealer network across North America, searchable by province or state through a dealer map on the site. Buying locally through a dealer is the alternative path if you want to inspect equipment before committing to a system design. The company also appears at trade shows — for example, it lists attendance at Central Oregon Ranch Supply's 25th Annual Trade Show, where it advertises show pricing on cattle handling equipment and a chance to win a calf trimming chute. Trade shows are a useful opportunity to see the hardware and talk through a layout in person before calling.

Context on the company

Hi-Hog Farm & Ranch Equipment manufactures livestock equipment and has been doing so since 1974 — the site's own framing is "Ranch Proven Since 1974." Its head office is in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and it describes its cattle handling equipment as "trusted across North America." That manufacturing history matters for a custom build: the design team is specifying components the company makes, not assembling a system from third-party parts.

Quick answer

If you want Hi-Hog to design a handling system for your operation: go to the Design Start Page on hi-hog.com, then call Hi-Hog and describe your livestock, space, and workflow. The design team plans the system with you. If you would rather buy locally or see the equipment first, use the dealer map to find the nearest dealer by province or state.