Front-End Loader A Better way to pick up and move manure piles

[farm guy]

Hi Guys,

Got a question, I just finished clearing out one of my barns. I use a pitch fork and a four wheel cart to load up the manure and the very wet spent hay. This stuff is thick and quite heavy. My FEL can pick it up fine. The problem is getting it into the bucket. When the pile is big enough I can scoop down and roll it into the bucket. But after a few loads I just push the pile. I am looking for some sort of bolt on forks or spears that can pick it up without just pushing the pile. Now I have to hand load it into the bucket. Not much fun! When I clean out the barns I am moving several tons of material.

Thanks

Farm Guy

 

[Fawken]

The easy way is to get a "horse girl" to clean stalls daily and put shavings and manure into a big Rubbermaid 2-wheel cart which then can be emptied into the FEL bucket. That's how I do it. Keeps the flies at bay as well.

 

[farm guy]

Hi Fawken,

I do deep litter in my barns and only clean them out 3 or 4 times a year. This gives them a warm floor in the winter months, from the decomposing manure and hay.

Farm Guy

 

[Wagtail]

Three 'thumbs up' for a "horse girl"!

There are even pictures on the web... er, um...

or so I've been told.

 

[bcp]

Something to push against, like a stack of RR ties or a concrete barrier. Here is a 3-sided one, but a back wall alone will work





Bruce

 

[farm guy]

Hi Bruce

Your idea would work like a charm but, the area I dump is also the path I use to bring in my round bales of hay and that would block it completely. I live in the mountains and there is very little flat land here.

Farm Guy

 

[bcp]

Hi Bruce

Your idea would work like a charm but, the area I dump is also the path I use to bring in my round bales of hay and that would block it completely. I live in the mountains and there is very little flat land here.

Farm Guy

I know how that works! My only flat land is under the house.

Here is what I did. The notch only has to be as wide as the bucket.



Bruce

 

[farm guy]

Hi Bruce,

I like your idea, but with my lay of the land I can not do that. The uphill side has a another building and the downhill side has a pasture fence, straight ahead is my hay hut where I store my round bay hay. I have been looking at getting this: Multi-Spear Ultra Fork I think it would do well picking up the manure. Since it will act like a large pitch fork. What do you think? I am trying to upload a picture of the pile to give you an idea what I am up against.

Thanks

Farm Guy

 

[in2toys]

Bobcat, as well as others im sure, make manure fork attachments. Basically 1" square stock steel about 2 feet long spaced about 3" apart. Could probably fab something to mount to your bucket. Yea like that.

 

[TomSeller]

Manure grapple is what I would use.

 

[sd455dan]

Hi Guys,

Got a question, I just finished clearing out one of my barns. I use a pitch fork and a four wheel cart to load up the manure and the very wet spent hay. This stuff is thick and quite heavy. My FEL can pick it up fine. The problem is getting it into the bucket. When the pile is big enough I can scoop down and roll it into the bucket. But after a few loads I just push the pile. I am looking for some sort of bolt on forks or spears that can pick it up without just pushing the pile. Now I have to hand load it into the bucket. Not much fun! When I clean out the barns I am moving several tons of material.

Thanks

Farm Guy

We have used a tined or (manure) grapple bucket for some time, it is built like a pitch fork in that there is no bar bar between tines. It does Not push the old hay or manure and the grapple helps hold everything in place while transporting.

Very similar to the picture Tom posted

My :2cents:

 

[farm guy]

Hi Guys

Here is a picture of the pile I moved over the weekend. The goat barn is on the left toward the back. Straight ahead is my hay hut where I store a round bay of hay for feeding the goats. There were several tons here.

 

[WM75Guy]

I just received one of these. Have not had a chance to use it but it's heavy duty. I plan to use it to clean up old round bales of hay.

9 Spear adapter for Pallet Forks

 

[farm guy]

Hi Repowell

Please keep us posted on how it works. That is very much like the one I would like to get also.

Farm guy

 

[rd_macgregor]

You are kind of boxed in there. I wonder if you could make a collapsible backstop? Get a plate of steel or a dumptruck tailgate and anchor hinges on the manure pile side with bracing to hold it upright when you need it to keep the pile from scooting away from the loader. One barn here has a conveyor that loads inside the barn and dumps outside; the owner parks a dump trailer under the outside end of the conveyor and hauls the dump trailer away when it is full enough.
Hmmm, I think the manure fork approach might be the most straightforward and affordable, though.

 

[TitanSkidsteer]

This Tine Grapple works well! :thumbsup:

 

[TitanSkidsteer]

 

[boggen]

have seen way to many tines err pipe welded to a general duty bucket over my life time, i do not want to even think about. basically all they have done is welded pipe into the bucket, to create a "large pitch fork" in a sense. the pipes stick out any were from 1 to 3 feet. all the ends have bent / hammered into a point and welded / ground smooth. so they slip up under the manure / straw / old hay.

never seen an actual setup via grapple for manure. i guess i could see use for grapple. but most of the manure / straw ends up falling down / hanging from the tines.

you should have good drainage for urine / pee / and spilled water. but there are spots were it will stay. having a bucket of a tractor you can use a push broom or like to push the muck into might be nice. vs trying to get it into a 5 gallon bucket.

have boards from ground up to about 3 to 4 feet high is almost mandatory. vs standard sheet metal of a metal building. so you can run tractor up to the 2x6 to 2x10's and use them as a backer to help keep stuff in the bucket or like till you have bucket curled back enough to keep stuff in it. also keeps live stock from kicking the metal and denting it all to pieces.

 

[farm guy]

Thank you all for the good information. A grapple would be ideal but is bit too pricey. So I am going to get a clamp tines for my bucket.

Thanks again for all your help.

Farm guy

 

[TitanSkidsteer]

Farm guy,

Don't know if you were looking into our 1500 lbs capacity clamp on forks, however if you were, I would be more than happy to give you a TBN discount. I think three sets of clamp on forks on your bucket would not only be cost efficient but also be the perfect set up for hauling manure. You can reach me at 1-800-605-8241, and just ask for Craig.

Clamp on Pallet Forks 1,500 lbs Capacity w/ Stabilizer Bar

Thank you,
Craig