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| Posted By |  Subject :mini manure spreaders |
Anyone have an opinion on mini spreader brands? I will be purchasing one shortly to begin spreading my composted horse manure. The manure is well composted and crumbles nicely, not much in the way of hay, straw , or wood chips in it so no clods. I have about 4 acres of pasture which are fenced off in about 1/2 - 2/3 acre paddocks. I've looked at Pequea, Fuerst, Millcreek, and a few other off brands. Leaning towards the Fuerst spreader, Millcreek is nice but a bit pricey I think. Pequea coming in second. Can pull with my heavy garden tractor or with my Ford 2810 ( although it's a bit awkward , like to reserve it for mowing and loader work ).Looking in the 15 to 25 bushel range. Thanks . RichM.
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I can't really help you, but thought maybe you could help me. I have been thinking about that option as my horse manure pile begins to grow ( We have only been there about 6 months with the horses.) I was going to start my research next spring. If you would be so kind as to let me know which you go with and how you like. I would appreciate it.
Thanks
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Since you have a 2810 why not look at small dairy auctions for a used one pto driven.Many times there are many small pto spreaders avaiable.
The small ground driven ones would work ok and I would not have a brand preference, as long as you are not picky about how it spreads. BUT I am thinking your loader might be wider than the small spreader is long.
I have looked at them recently for topsoil mixtures, clipped grass, topsoil, leaves mixed.
Biggest draw back to ground driven is lack of spread control, feed vs ground speed and the more you try to feed the harder it pulls until something stops turning and you have to unplug it. Of course compost is not the same as box stall manure.
Olny draw back to the 2810 pulling and loading is : you'd have to unhook and rehook each load.
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I saw one on Northern tools website at the link below. I'm not sure if it is big enough but thought I would let you know.
Web Link
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I am using a trailer now and shoveling it off by hand every 2 weeks or so. Usually several thousand(3000+) pounds of manure I have a large pile in the woods where it doesn't bother anyone. This way I don't need to go to the gym ;)
I want to get a pto driven sreader so that I can continue to have it piled in the woods but with the benefit of automatic UNLOAD :) Right now my property is frozen ice and snow a ground driven unit would not work too well as it would skid. I also don't want the manure spread over frozen snow. I see you live in Maryland where it doesn't snow as much but iif it snows will a garden tracor even pull the small ground driven? With the PTO driven, at least you have the option of unloading in one secluded spot.
The ground driven are better than no cart but I think for a few extra dollars a PTO driven might be a better option. Why not try to get a bigger used PTO spreader? This way you will only need to unload every week or so. I see the small spreaders from dairy farmers for $1000 or so. My hay guy has a older JD spreader that needs minor repairs (tires) that I may buy for much less. With the way it is setup even at it's fairly large size, it will pull easier than my current setup. My trailer tends to be tongue heavy if not loaded carefully. PTO wise it doesn't need much power so I am good there.
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I have a small ground driven Millcreek it works great even in snow or frozen ground both are no problem. Much better than the old wheelbarrow and pitchfork method. My neighbor has a small unit from TSC it was similar in price but, much less quality.
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I have had ponies, they poop too you know..! for 35 years..as a young man I wheelbarrowed it to the garden pile, 150 feet away. I'm 62. No more of that. Snow and all, made a path. Those were the days, buddy..no more however. Just to throw my two cents in, I looked at the mill creeks and all of them, really. And I will share this with you, if you can find a good, old International 100 ground drive spreader, you are in business..trust me, I've restored 3 of them and still have one in use right now. The webs and cross pieces, all of it..are still available. You can get a darned good one, almost like new, for about 900 bucks..I tore mine down, derusted, primed and painted it..use it twice a week. Turns sharp. Good broadcast ability, and hauls more than you think. If you have any questions further I'd be very glad to answer them. You helped me..I'll help you.(It was often called a "Cub" Spreader).
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Thanks for the input. I've considered a regular size ground driven spreader (used) for $$ reasons but I only spread a couple times a year ( when the pile has sufficiently rotted).These smaller paddocks don't offer much manuerving room with the 2810 and full size spreader. I'm still leaning compact wise and ground driven for storage reasons and maneuvering. The 2810 bucket is 6' and most of the compact spreaders in the 25 bushel range come in right at that.Loading would be easy with the ford and pull and spread with the old trusty Speedex garden tractor which has good traction. ( my JD 317 gets stuck in damp grass by itself).Thanks
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I am REAL curious now........ What kind of horses or how many do you have that you have sooooooo much poop to deal with? I did not think horses poop that much. Forgive me as I am obviously not on my game with the "livestock poop logistics". ;o)
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I did initially consider the cub spreader, since I love cubs and have restored several of them. The reason I went with the Millcreek is because of size, the Millcreek is easier to store. Also the cub spreaders In my area were priced well over $1000.00 and still needed some work. Chief as far as horses and poop go, horses are basically poop factories. Raw material goes in one end and several hours later large amounts of finely crafted poop comes out the other end. In my case two horses and two donkeys produce about 2 spreder loads a week.
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