Landscape Rake for Manure Collection

[ruffdog]

Another one:

 

[rScotty]

Do you this it would work to just breakup manure clumps if it was reversed and pulled forward in a pasture?

I think a buddy has a landscape rake, I may try borrowing it to do a test run before buying one.

Well, it would do that I guess - though I've never tried it. A chain harrow pulled backwards would probably do as well or better.

I think you are on the right track to borrow one and try it. I'm betting you will want one with the two gauge wheels, otherwise it stands little chance - but hey, always worth a try. Any implement works only as well as the ground it is on - maybe yours is the magic pasture. If you do buy one, get one like Land Pride that still sells tines.

In fact, I've lent mine out several times now to people who wanted to try it - mostly in large round pens or roping arenas...flat dirt for the most part. None of them ended up thinking it was useful enough to buy one.

One thing they all said was that having two gauge wheels was clearly a necessity for it to work at all, and the other thing they said is that the flip-down grader blade was more useful to them than the rake teeth.

Bottom line is I got one used years ago and keep it just because I keep thinking that something so nicely made ought to be good for something. We have some big piles of wood chips I've been meaning to spread on our dirt driveway...maybe it will work for that. The flip-down grader blade is an optional extra as are the end caps. You can see all these in the Land Pride catalog. In 2009, Neil Messick told me they were selling the basic 84" with gauge wheels for $1900. Probably more now...

rScotty

 

[Southernspeed]

Great tip, thanks. Showed the videos to my wife, said to order it so I ordered their largest model. They offer 6 months no interest.

I think you'll like it! Couple of tips from a long term user: Keep it clean. After I've dumped the load I have a certain spot I park it, run it at working speed then using a hose, spray water up the pick up tube for a few minutes to clean out the tube and hose, it also rinses the inside. Shut it down, tip water and rinse out. If you don't keep it clean the pick up hose gets heavier to handle. Only takes a few minutes.
Always turn gas off and let it run dry before tipping (close vent too), this avoids the carb flooding and diluting the oil.
Keep the air filter clean during dusty conditions.
Check the wiring by the on/off switch. There's a cluster of 4 or 5 connectors there (from memory) , one of them is the 'low oil shut off' wire (yellow on mine) Mine arrived disconnected. Connect it, it's a great safeguard. It's a small engine, working hard so does use oil. If I make tight turns and the engine quits I know the oil level is getting low.
Don't run over the hose! Takes some getting used to!
We've had years of trouble free service from ours.

 

[RayIN]

I don’t want to collect the manure I want to break the clumps up and scatter it.

So I’m thinking of getting one to breakup the manure.

I’m thinking of turning the tines rearward like for pushing going in reverse sine most have the ability to reverse the tines.

However, I would pull it forward with the tines rearward in order to breakup the manure clumps.

This is not the original poster, and has the opposite purpose of Veteran Farmer-the OP.
dieselscout is also not the OP.
Quite confusing.

 

[EdwardL]

If they are dry a landscape rake will work to break them up and leave pieces along the way. I have one and it works, but I also have a pine straw rake that has done a better job of collecting grass, weeds, twigs, leaves, etc. A landscape rake will collect heaver things. A pine straw rake will leave soil and rocks, but collect loose materials.

 

[oosik]

Landscape rake will break up and spread the dry stuff. The wet stuff will be moved around like tooth paste.

 

[old and tired]

...a buddy has a landscape rake, I may try borrowing it to do a test run before buying one.

Much like a box or rear blade, the length of the top link is very important. Running one forward with reverse tines, I think the spring back action would tear up any grass in the area. If it's in the least aggressive setting, the rake would roll over the poop.

Running it normally, forward with a very short top link, the least aggressive setting, would work the best. Bigger clumps would roll until it does break down.

I built my own rake, use the main part of a 5 foot rear blade and replaced the dirt blade with tines attached to angle iron. I had a stout angle iron (4"x4"x0.25") which I drilled holes in... instead of one inch spacing for tines, I did 2". works great. On a normal rake, removing every other tine yields a 3" gap (which I thought would be too big)

[Edit last paragraph, corrected and cleared up some wording]

Yes, Dieselscout80 is not the OP but the OP has bought a vacuum pooper scooper... but now this thread has everything you ever wanted to know about poop (...but were afraid to ask)!!!

 

[oosik]

I don't have any livestock. I grow pines on my 80 acres. And a few ornamentals and half a dozen fruit.

My neighbor on my south property line - he is the big rancher in the area. He has a 600 acre meadow adjoining my property. Just one of about eight or ten he owns.

So......wife and I with wheelbarrow and four tined pitch fork. Three or four barrow loads was enough to fertilize all our trees.

 

[zzvyb6]

My front mounted rotary broom will scatter OR windrow depending on the combined ground speed and broom rpm.

 

[RayIN]

Does anyone have experience using a landscape rake in a pasture to collect horse manure?

I have struggled keeping up with collecting the manure of our horses, who are pastured 24/7, and am considering purchasing a landscape rake with gauge wheel. I figure the rake itself can be used for multiple purposes, leveling gardens, finishing touches on driveway touch-ups, ....

I am not sure of the following though:
1) will a rake pick up a large portion of manure effectively from a pasture (with short grass)?
2) Does manure need to be fresh? Still in large clumps or will stepped on manure and/or poultry scratched manure also get raked fairly well?
3) How critical is a gauge wheel for this task? It seems essential to me but I have never used one. The other tasks I don't think require the wheel but the pasture raking is the primary function that I need it for.

I am not expecting 100% collection of the manure but I do need to collect it for use elsewhere on the farm. Hand collection is surely more effective but I've got too large an area to cover.

I do understand that I can harrow it to spread it around so it does not need to be collected but I need the manure elsewhere, that was a primary reason to get the horses

After giving this more thought.
You bought the horses and continue to pay the considerable monthly cost of keeping and caring for them just to collect the manure. At todays prices, I'd estimate the average monthly cost of keeping horses at $60/month each.

Were this me, I'd sell the horses/manure makers as you referenced, and locate a nearby horse farm that needs a source for manure disposal. It will likely have some sawdust mixed in, but IMO that's a good thing. Pure horse manure is likely too strong for some ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers, and garden plants.

All excess manure you get can be scattered on your field to improve the soil for any future use.