Spreading Manure
Sonny
Join Date: Posts: 1 |
2000-03-13 13711
I'm trying to decide between buying a manure spreader or a three point hitch and a landscape rake. I have two horses on 2-3 acres so I compost the manure. I wait till I have about 100 bushels or so composted for about 6 months then I spread it in an idle pasture. I need some advise on the best way to spread it. I keep it pretty wet so it will decompose fast but then it is heavy and mucky when I spread it. The furthest I would have to transport is around 700 ft. Will one of those $800 - $1000 spreaders do the job or will they clog up with wet heavy manure? Alterntatively, I could carry the manure out with my front end loader, dump it and spread it with a landscape rake (3x more trips). Any advise?
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Spreading Manure
Harry Webster
Join Date: Posts: 1 |
2000-03-14 13719
Sonny, I have a similar situation to yours, but with five horses in the manure factory. I use a Mill Creek model 25 ground driven spreader and like it a lot. It can handle the wet composted manure/bedding with ease, good shredding action and very even spreading. It real easy to pull, I used to pull it with a 12 hp lawn tractor before I got my 4100. Mill Creek offers a recycled plastic material for the floor with a twenty year warranty. Seems to be pretty well made. I paid about $1k for mine, picked it up at the factory in PA.
HarryW ....
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Spreading Manure
gerard
Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 36 kentucky |
2000-03-15 13767
Sonny,
Same boat as u. Have two horses, 8ac. I'd like to get a spreader but can't justify it at this point for a $1000. I make a pile and even after a whole winter it wasn't that large. I spread it with my loader and then will rake it out with a york rake. Not ideal but pretty cheap. If/when we get more horses we'll probably go with a small spreader like the millcreek 25 or Fuerst ground driven. They should have no problem at all with wet manure. just don't load the spreader in winter unless you spread before it freezes. If you let it freeze you'll beat the hell out of the spreader and possibly pop some chains. ....
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Spreading Manure
Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York Pics |
2000-03-16 13797
There is a rake available that will help you with the spreading of your manure and there are several companies that build them. They are like a chain link fence but with tines that tend to open the grasses up and disperse the clumps to allow faster use of the compost. ....
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Spreading Manure
Sonny
Join Date: Posts: 1 |
2000-03-19 13923
Thanks for your replies. I'm leaning toward a manure spreader now. Wish I could find a good used one. Art, do you mean a flexible tine harrow? That's yet another thing I look at and say how could something so simple cost so much! ....
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Spreading Manure
Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York Pics |
2000-03-20 13955
Sonny, even as a dealer I agree and after searching all the brands I can there are no bargins in them. They do work well for doing what they are designed for and they don't require any maintence. ....
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