Hay Cutter

[MudHog]

Is there a sickle or disc mower that is non-hydraulic for raising and lowering? My grandfather has always used a modified bushhog to cut hay with. Modified so that it throws the grass out on one side and early by having the side removed except for the skid. This works well, but only on tall thick grass. If the grass is somewhat short and thin, I've seen the bushhog not work. Our tractor does not have rear remotes, so I'm wondering what are my options for a sickle or disc mower that would not need a rear remote?

 

[fitz]

A lot of the sickle mowers just require the 3pt hitch hydr. You raise the bar by hand for transport. I don't have any experience with a drum mower but you may take a look at those also. They also require just the 3pt hookup.

fitz

 

[kenny thomas]

Is there a sickle or disc mower that is non-hydraulic for raising and lowering? My grandfather has always used a modified bushhog to cut hay with. Modified so that it throws the grass out on one side and early by having the side removed except for the skid. This works well, but only on tall thick grass. If the grass is somewhat short and thin, I've seen the bushhog not work. Our tractor does not have rear remotes, so I'm wondering what are my options for a sickle or disc mower that would not need a rear remote?

Years ago Kuhn made a disc mower with a crank on it to raise and lower the bar. I would look for a 7ft New Holland sickle bar mower. Really hard to beat and requires no hydraulic.

 

[MudHog]

Thanks!

I have 3 acres we normally bale, but 2 acres is getting bad. I talked with a horse owner down the road and I can bale their property. All 26 acres. Only request was to give them what I thought was a fair share of the bales. So this is why I'm looking at other equipment options.

 

[hurleyjd]

Thanks!

I have 3 acres we normally bale, but 2 acres is getting bad. I talked with a horse owner down the road and I can bale their property. All 26 acres. Only request was to give them what I thought was a fair share of the bales. So this is why I'm looking at other equipment options.

One of the best sickle mower was the IH1300. There was several models before this that had the same components. Also New Idea had the same mower. These are balanced head mowers and need be with a little mechanical ability any one can replace the bearing in them.

 

[MudHog]

So what about grass quality concerning small trees and such? Does one have to avoid those with sickle bar mowers?

 

[hurleyjd]

So what about grass quality concerning small trees and such? Does one have to avoid those with sickle bar mowers?

I have cut small trees or bushes up to about1 inch dia. I would not want to do it on a regular basis. Also a disc mower does not like small trees either.

 

[Orerancher]

Trees,Fence posts and other such stuff will tearup a sickle mower fast!

I have more then one of them teeshirts

 

[A.J.]

I think a drum mower would work well for you. It can mow as fast as your tractor will go. I've took ours through the thickest Johnsongrass and it mowed right on through it without any problems. The only negative I can say about them from my experience is they make a fairly small cut since most of them are around 5.5 ft or so and tend to windrow the hay more than the sickle bar or disc mower does. Blades are easy to change, and they are relatively maintenance-free and dependable.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

I would also look hard at a drum mower. My neighbor ran one for years on a little ford and had very little trouble. A tip on bailing for your neighbor, around here the standard split is 2/3 of the bales go to the baler and 1/3 goes to the landowner.

 

[MudHog]

What model drum mower and is there one that doesn't require rear remotes?

Tree sizes would be small, under the size of a dry erase marker. Does one have to ted or fluff when using a sickle or drum mower? We don't do anything and simply rake one day, then turn over with the rake the next day before baling.


Thanks on the general ratio. That as about what I had in mind.

 

[A.J.]

I know this dealer isn't in your area, but here's some examples and information on drum mowers . The ones I've run across don't require rear remotes. That and lower horsepower requirements are a couple of their selling points. Unless your hay is really thin, more than likely it would need tedded for the bottom of the mowed hay to cure out properly. Raking like you mentioned to flip it over might help with that some though. http://www.haytools.com/drum_mowers.htm

 

[MudHog]

I spoke to haytools this morning. They don't have any drum mowers, but has a Superior 7ft sickle new for $3750. Used NH and IH sickles are in the same range or slightly lower.

Just looking at the sickle and drum, sickle may be better being the grass falls flat. The drum mower windrows the cutting which makes me think I would need to ted. I'm going to watch some more videos on the drum mowers though.

Initial looking for parts on the NH seems to show everything is still available. Even for say a 1980s model which is in the under $2k range.

 

[Rajela]

In New Iberia, LA you want need to tedder...........

 

[hurleyjd]

In New Iberia, LA you want need to tedder...........

Wish you were closer I would sell you my 7 foot IH 1300 for $ 900 ready to cut

 

[MudHog]

Wish you were closer I would sell you my 7 foot IH 1300 for $ 900 ready to cut

check your PM

Yantis, TX is only 5 hours from here. I've driven further than that just to eat a meal. :mrgreen:

 

[Lucky22]

Mudhog, Get on Ebay and type Hay Cutter, you will find a RanchRide DM-165 it's a 5 1/2 foot non-hydraulic for 2,999.00
I got one this hay season and it does a nice job. It's not for the big boys but does work well for this small farmer, only cut 25 ac's
so it's big enough for me.