ATV manure spreader

[whistlepig]

The wife has decided she wants to dump horse manure in a manure spreader during the week and spread it once a week to keep the flies away from the horse barn. Not a lot of manure. Just what the 5 horses leave in an outdoor run- in shed during a week's time. Just wondering if anyone has a small one that would pull behind a Honda Rancher or lawn tractor that they would recommend. I don't want to unhook/re-hook the RFM off my tractor and mount/dismount the loader every week to do this.

 

[CliffordK]

I have seen mini-spreaders for sale, perhaps even on Craigslist.

However, manure setting in something like a spreader is hard on it. You would be better off piling it, then picking it up with a tractor bucket and loading the spreader.

Also, be careful of anything sharp and pointy around horses.

Not a spreader, but I've been planning on rebuilding a partly dumping trailer (should be fully dumping, but it doesn't) that squats nearly to the ground so one could easily run a wheelbarrow up into the trailer without any ramp. The plan will be to weld/seal up all the cracks, then try spray-in-bedliner.

 

[stuckinnj]

I have one made by Conestoga, out of Lancaster Area in PA. Pulls easily w/my ATV, 14HP Cub Cadet 1450 and RTV. Fully loaded, it takes no more then 2 minutes to fully disperse. It takes longer to drive it out to the far field for spreading. There are other brands that work well, Milcreek is a big one. As CliffordK mentioned, you do want to leave manure in the 'box' for long periods. The urine in bedding promotes aggressive corrosion.

 

[whistlepig]

I have seen mini-spreaders for sale, perhaps even on Craigslist.

However, manure setting in something like a spreader is hard on it. You would be better off piling it, then picking it up with a tractor bucket and loading the spreader.

Also, be careful of anything sharp and pointy around horses.

Not a spreader, but I've been planning on rebuilding a partly dumping trailer (should be fully dumping, but it doesn't) that squats nearly to the ground so one could easily run a wheelbarrow up into the trailer without any ramp. The plan will be to weld/seal up all the cracks, then try spray-in-bedliner.

I like the trailer idea. Started looking at Polar ATV trailers with a plastic bed today. Manure wouldn't corrode one of these. She wouldn't have more than a trailer full a week. She could dump this far away from the barn and I could take of the manure in the fall after the mower is off and the loader is mounted for snow season.

 

[EverythingAttachments]

We offer the Millcreek Manure Spreaders that are made in PA. Their smaller models work great with ATVs.
Shipping is free to a business or supporting freight terminal within 1,000 miles of Newton, NC.

 

[Tony M]

I did a lot of research into this a while back and soon learned there are two main types of small manure spreaders. One is like a long trailer with a conveyor belt and rotating paddles at the back and the other type is like a big mesh drum driven by direct contact with the wheels with a gravity actuated beater.

A quick trial of both and it was a no-brainer for us. The conveyor belt one threw the manure out everywhere, including over the operator, without breaking it up at all - might just as well have driven around in the truck and shoved it off the back.

The rotating drum OTOH, only lets stuff out that is smaller than the holes in the mesh, which means nothing is left in the paddock that won't break down relatively quickly. The beater did break up the manure effectively and the machine gave a nice, fine even spread.

Sorry, I don't have time ATM to add links, but a search will quickly show the conveyor belt/paddle type and the drum type can be found without too much difficulty, though they did seem less common when I last looked.

BTW, try comparing expected maintenance/repair liabilities for both machines.......

And both could be towed OK with our 18 HP ride-on mower, though a bit more power would've been useful.