Tedder to spread manure

**BTaylorzx** · 06-19-2009 02:15 PM

Has anyone ever used a tedder to spread manure in thier pastures? I would like to find something to spread out the manure after i move the cows onto another pasture. i would like to make it possible with equipment i already own i.e. the rotary tedder. Any ideas? thoughts?

**Hayboy1** · 06-19-2009 10:32 PM

How about using a chain link fence? You can get a 20' or 30' piece and probably pull it with a 4 wheeler if you had to...just a thought

**Mike120** · 06-20-2009 07:33 AM

I tried using an old Ford 3pt side delivery rake in my horse pastures once. It didn't work nearly as well as I anticipated and I went back to my chain harrow. Horse is easier than cow to deal with and a piece of chainlink fence works just fine. I've seen bedsprings used as well.

**CantonHayGuy** · 06-20-2009 08:39 AM

I, like Mike 120, tried using my side delivery rake and wasn't pleased with the outcome.

I took a 16ft cattle panel and cut it in half; flipped it so the smaller squares were opposite each other and then stacked one pc. on top of the other. This made the horizontal rods of the panel offset in order to break up the manure better. I wired the two pcs together at the forward end so that the top panel does a little bouncing; thereby breaking up even more manure. I made this drag out of just the one panel because I wanted it to be manageable for the wife to drag behind her ATV or lawn tractor, so it does work well that way. I did have to add some wood to the top of it to give it more weight when going through taller grass.... without the weight it would tend to ride over the top of the taller grass and not break up the manure as well.

I do wonder if a tedder would work better though.

**Mike120** · 06-20-2009 09:31 PM

It's an interesting concept....I just bought a Vermeer tedder/rake. When I cut again in a couple of weeks I was planning to tedd it just to try it out (it works great as a rake). When I'm done with the hay I'll run into on of my mare pastures and let you know how it works.

**BTaylorzx** · 06-24-2009 05:03 PM

I tried mine out. It worked well, unfortunately it just isn't cost effective For it to work well you have to drive really slow and at a high rpm to spin the tedder fast enough. Also you have to run it so low to the ground to reach the manure i feel like the fingers are under to much stress. Any thoughts on the idea of weaving a chain through an old gate made of square tubing? I'm afraid that any sort of chain harrow, homemade or store bought, will just slide over most of the manure and not spread it.

**Mike120** · 06-25-2009 06:11 AM

Sounds like you experienced what I was expecting. The ground contact was my worry as typically the cuttings are on the stubble. As a kid, cow pies were our weapons of choice for battle. Other than that I don't have much experience with it in pastures. I can tell you what works with horses.

With a typical chain harrow you can adjust the agressiveness by aiming the tines forward or back, you can also flip it over where the tines are not in contact. For breaking up the piles you want the rolling action, not the tines. That's why chail-link fence works as well as anything, and longer is better for more rolling/breaking action. You may need something to break the ground contact like a piece of railroad tie or something like that. I just use the piece of pipe that the chain harrow is hanging off of.

**mlappin** · 06-25-2009 06:01 PM

Take a piece of well pipe however long you want the width to be, useing short pieces of chain fasten old car or wagon tires to it about a foot apart, then fasten another row of tires behind the first row staggered. Hook it to whatever you desire like the old drags. Works reasonably well and is cheap.

**Production Acres** · 06-26-2009 11:51 AM

Best thing we ever used was a large scraper tire. We took a large tire, 8-10ft in diameter and cut it in half such that you have two circles. They work extremely well for feeding cattle as they are indestructable and have a perfect dip in them for holding feed. But for dragging the field, we bore a hole large enough to put a chain in the side of the tire and hook it to the tractor and away you go - for a larger tractor hook up two tires and cover more ground. The tire crosses rocks, goes around trees, and smears the manure flat on the ground. Best part is, you will use one tire for your lifetime and never have to go to the parts store for parts.

**Rider61** · 10-27-2009 09:44 AM

I've tried a lot of things with horse manure. Different approaches worked better in different seasons. When the manure is wet--spring rainy season, fall rainy season--a grade blade reversed does a nice job. When it's dry, a york rake or chain harrow (chain link fence with tines?) works great. Most horse experts don't like manure spread in any fashion. Horses supposedly create an area that they reserve for manure. I've seen that to a point, and I leave those areas alone until they're really bad, then I scrape it up with the loader and add it to the compost. But what's strewn around the pasture I like to break up to keep the parasites guessing.