Brand New Manure Spreader thoughts

[EddieWalker]

I think that I'm in the market for a brand new manure spreader. I've never had one before. I've never seen one being used before. I just watch YouTube and seen them on there.

I have 68 acres, 4 horses, 50 or so goats and I'll be adding cattle later this year. Four to start, but they are pregnant, so it could be 8 by the time they get here. I'll keep a few and build up the heard to a dozen or so in the future.

My current manure pile is getting bigger and bigger. I've turned it a couple times in the last two years, and added to it about twice a year from what builds up around the hay ring. It's only going to increase, and eventually I'll have to buy something to deal with it.

I'm not excited about buying used. Prices are lower, but they are used and abused to the point that I'm sure that I'll be working on it every time I want to use it. I have too many other projects to deal with, and I don't want another.

I'm thinking that I need something in the 150 cubic feet range with a PTO driven system. I also like the idea of a hydraulic lift for the tail gate.

ABI has some good videos. I'm not sure of their pricing, but I like what I've seen just watching them on YouTube.

Millcreek, H&S, Conestoga and Frontier all seem to have what I'm looking for. Some of the other bigger brands seem too far out of my price range, if they even have something in the size I'm looking for.

I've sent request for prices and will keep looking. So far, I haven't found anything local to look at. I'm not sure how much shipping will be, so that might be a deal breaker right there.

What do you have?
What do you recommend?
What should I look for?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[zzvyb6]

Have you ever tried burning it after it dries out ? I did because the weed seeds in it made it's use as fertilizer a poor choice. After burning it, you get a powder that makes excellent pine tree fertilizer. It doesn't actually 'burn' with flames, but smolders very slowly and thoroughly. About 100:1 pile size reduction. Smells like burning cork. (I kinda like the smell ( ! ).

If you still want a spreader, I've seen a new type that is a chariot type. Ground drive or PTO driven. No clumps. Sorta like a paving machine. Chariot Manure Spreader Eliminates

 

[EddieWalker]

Pine trees grow like weeds here. If you don't mow a field for a year, you will have pines every six inches from each other and they will be 6 feet tall!!! I guess it's the red clay, they do very well in my area of Texas.

My goal is to use the manure to improve my soil in the areas that are not growing hay as well as other areas. I also want to disk those areas, and/or deep plow it with a ripper to break up the surface, hard shell and allow water to get through.

 

[ponytug]

I think that I'm in the market for a brand new manure spreader. I've never had one before. I've never seen one being used before. I just watch YouTube and seen them on there.

I have 68 acres, 4 horses, 50 or so goats and I'll be adding cattle later this year. Four to start, but they are pregnant, so it could be 8 by the time they get here. I'll keep a few and build up the heard to a dozen or so in the future.

My current manure pile is getting bigger and bigger. I've turned it a couple times in the last two years, and added to it about twice a year from what builds up around the hay ring. It's only going to increase, and eventually I'll have to buy something to deal with it.

I'm not excited about buying used. Prices are lower, but they are used and abused to the point that I'm sure that I'll be working on it every time I want to use it. I have too many other projects to deal with, and I don't want another.

I'm thinking that I need something in the 150 cubic feet range with a PTO driven system. I also like the idea of a hydraulic lift for the tail gate.

ABI has some good videos. I'm not sure of their pricing, but I like what I've seen just watching them on YouTube.

Millcreek, H&S, Conestoga and Frontier all seem to have what I'm looking for. Some of the other bigger brands seem too far out of my price range, if they even have something in the size I'm looking for.

I've sent request for prices and will keep looking. So far, I haven't found anything local to look at. I'm not sure how much shipping will be, so that might be a deal breaker right there.

What do you have?
What do you recommend?
What should I look for?

Thanks,
Eddie

If you need one, you need one, but...

I would at least consider moving the hay ring around to spread the wealth. I think of manure spreaders as necessary for confined feeding (dairy) operations, especially those with field crops. Most of the important P/N/K is in the urine. Manure itself is pretty low, but still useful. Moving the hay ring around will enrich the pastures at multiple locations. If you disk the old feeding area after you move the hay ring, that will do a good job of incorporating the valuable material in the soil and reducing any compaction that may have happened.

I compost ours, and run a rototiller through it every so often until it loses steam, so to speak, and then spread it around on the garden.

Since you have never had a manure spreader, I might poke around to find a cheap, more or less working one to get a feel for what you like/don't like. Different designs work better for straw/manure vs straight cow manure or horse manure.

All the best,

Peter

 

[EddieWalker]

My feed area is only about two acres. I've been moving the ring around, but I'm just killing everything in a 100 foot circle around that seems to take years to come back. I guess I could move the ring out to other areas of my land, but I really like it where it is so we can see it from the house. It's also really close to where I store the hay outside of the pasture.

If all goes well with my fencing, I'm going to build a fence line feeder for round bales that's right on the fence next to the hay bales. It will by 8x8 and have a concrete pad under the hay, and then go out ten feet for the cows and horses to stand on. I want their feet to stay dry, and it will just be a matter of time until they wear away all the dirt around the feeder if I don't put concrete down.

I should take a picture of my manure pile. To me, it's pretty big. Once the cattle get here, it's only going to get bigger, faster.

 

[RustyA]

When we had horses and hayfields we bought a slightly used Millcreek PTO spreader. Worked great and I really liked composite floor. 35 hp tractor handled it just fine. We piled manure and turned it during winter then spread it as top dressing in the spring on hayfields.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have a 1940s era manure spreader myself. Just keeps working. Ive replaced 1 drive belt only thing I’ve ever done to it. I can pull it with horses or tractor as its ground driven unit. Spread piles 2 times a year. Have 3 horses. Had 6 at one time.

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[grsthegreat]

Not sure how the sleigh picture snuck in

 

[grsthegreat]

the older styles have better breaking up and spreading methods than the newer ones do i feel...but i may be wrong.

 

[EddieWalker]

The rear picture of yours looks a lot like the ABI spreader.