Bale shredder - any ideas on which is the best?

[Yosemite Sam]

Is it a silage feeder and straw spreader? I asked a while ago about the kidds and got no response . What model number do you know?

Just a straw spreader I think, they have clamp silage. It takes either round or large square bales and I believe can chop the straw into different lengths for either cubicles or loose housing. I'll get the serial number for you tomorrow

 

[Sid]

Every is says how great various makes are but no mention of running costs? Time Diesel Repairs Dust?

i would go for a bale spreader(not blower) and an unroller myself

 

[Serup]

Sid i can assure you that i would never recommend anything if i didn't like the running costs after 16 years and about 30.000 heston bales.

 

[DrDunc]

Every is says how great various makes are but no mention of running costs? Time Diesel Repairs Dust?

i would go for a bale spreader(not blower) and an unroller myself

Eighty cows plus followers bedded and fed round bale silage using a Mchale blower, pulled by a deutz k430, loaded using a deutz 6150.4.

Usually not every shed needs bedding every day, but they get silage every day. Average time to feed and bed is an hour a day.

That equates to an average of 6.2l of diesel per day for the loader and blower tractor combined.

About every two years it needs a drive belt (£121), and a set of blades (roughly £60 Inc nuts and bolts). It'll have about £10 worth of grease every winter, and about £8 worth of gearbox oil at the annual change.

Shed design means that if there is the odd dusty bale, it quickly disperses through ventilation. Have injected two calves for pneumonia in total in the ten years using a blower.



Is that detailed enough?

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Every is says how great various makes are but no mention of running costs? Time Diesel Repairs Dust?

i would go for a bale spreader(not blower) and an unroller myself

I don't like machinery but for me I felt there was no choice. 400+ cows on straw, one shed is 70 feet wide, the other 110. I don't have a handler so that rules out the spread-a-bale type.

I'm not spending another winter unrolling and forking round bales out. I won't be using it for silage.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

I chose the Lucas, mainly because I wanted a 6 cube machine, If I were looking for a smaller machine then i almost certainly would have gone McHale.

I spoke to a couple of locals with Teagles and neither rated them and they aimed me towards the Lucas.

I had a demo of a kvernland and it seemed fine. I don't intend to use mine for silage but I tried putting quite a wet bale through the Kvernland and it did chew its way through it but it as jumping up and down banging and clattering the whole time. I definitely wouldn't want to spend a whole winter chopping silage with it. The only other kvernland machine I've ever owned was a rototvator that had a gearbox made of paper mache.

If the Lucas does turnn out to be a heap of sh!t then I'll just so what Sidjon's dad did!

 

[sidjon]

Can I ask: Which model and how much did it cost?[/

QUOTE]
I had 853 on demo for a while, was driven by a deutz lux which is 65hp ,this one will go on mf4255, did like the Mchale but wasn't large enough as we use it to move clamp silage between farms and cost was£15040 +vat about a £1000 cheaper than the lucus which was purchased two years ago.

 

[sidjon]

I chose the Lucas, mainly because I wanted a 6 cube machine, If I were looking for a smaller machine then i almost certainly would have gone McHale.

I spoke to a couple of locals with Teagles and neither rated them and they aimed me towards the Lucas.

I had a demo of a kvernland and it seemed fine. I don't intend to use mine for silage but I tried putting quite a wet bale through the Kvernland and it did chew its way through it but it as jumping up and down banging and clattering the whole time. I definitely wouldn't want to spend a whole winter chopping silage with it. The only other kvernland machine I've ever owned was a rototvator that had a gearbox made of paper mache.

If the Lucas does turnn out to be a heap of sh!t then I'll just so what Sidjon's dad did!

we had the same problem with the lucus with round bale silage but found if we broken up the bale a little it would spread the bales quicker and save some fuel too or just don't make rubbish bale which i haven't done yet

 

[Mr Mackay]

Had a McHale for the last 12 months - superb machine

 

[Turboman]

Looking for a telehandler feeder / spreader. Anyone seen the hustler hurricane model working?

 

[aled1590]

Previously had a taarup (kverneland) and it was a nightmare, blocked straight away if straw was slightly damp or long. Handled pre chopped ok.
Had demo's with teagle and mchale.
Went for the teagle 8100, great machine! Handles everything we put through it, reasons for buying the teagle really was good dealer relationship. Also liked the direct chain drive on it, bad experiences with belts on the taarup. Tried both mchale and teagle with similar straw and same shed and teagle blew the furthest. Oh and most important reason for teagle..matches our red colour theme on the farm

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Is it a silage feeder and straw spreader? I asked a while ago about the kidds and got no response . What model number do you know?

Here are a few photo's that I took this morning. Its a Kidd 450 TC, the TC stands for twin chop. It has 2 sets of knives, the first chops the straw to a long length for loose housing and the second, which is operated by a spool valve from the cab can be activated to cut the straw shorter for bedding cubicles. it takes 2 round bales or 1 heston at a time and will chop silage.

 

[HasthorpeGrange]

Had two Teagal here, first one we had 5 years, second one has done 4 winters and going into its fifth after setting of fire last year
Didn't do much damage other than paint
Can only remember one bale that didn't go through it because it was like concrete
One set of knives on each and a couple of chains over 9 years but that's because of pour maintenance really
Good machine, one of the most reliable on farm

 

[William Mellor]

Got a Teagle 4040 here, brought it secondhand about 15 years ago and and was just 4 years old. Is used everyday in the winter for bedding cubicals on a 50hp tractor. As with the job the tractors air filter is forever blocking up and has caused it to catch fire on 3 different occasions but still plods on apart from some paint damage. Only problem is if there is stones in the straw and these can fly out at speed and has caused a lot of broken windows in the tractor. Will definitely look at buying another when this one gives up the ghost

 

[Rob Holmes]

Kuhn here, brilliant machine, the only suggestion for improvement is the ability to disconnect the control box from the machine, apart from that, Faultless

 

[Valmetal Inc]

just traded in a 2014 McHale 460 from a farmer who bought a new agrichopper 5500

 

[DrDunc]

View attachment 417954 just traded in a 2014 McHale 460 from a farmer who bought a new agrichopper 5500

Like trading in an Angus bull to buy a blackface ram.

 

[marco]

View attachment 417954 just traded in a 2014 McHale 460 from a farmer who bought a new agrichopper 5500

how much do you want for the mchale? I'm serious.

 

[Valmetal Inc]

I've sold the McHale on Friday last........to a customer in Northern Ireland...

 

[DrDunc]

I've sold the McHale on Friday last........to a customer in Northern Ireland...View attachment 418012

Hope the agrichopper owner looks after it a bit better than they did the Mchale blower!