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Manure Spreader Doubles As Bunk Feeder
When cow-calf operators David and Ernie Woywitka of Legal, Alberta, started feeding mixed silage and grain, they couldn't justify the cost of a mixer-feed wagon so they bought a new New Holland manure spreader and converted it to do the job.
The only modification they made to the apron-type, rear-unloading spread
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Manure Spreader Doubles As Bunk Feeder LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment 20-1-32 When cow-calf operators David and Ernie Woywitka of Legal, Alberta, started feeding mixed silage and grain, they couldn't justify the cost of a mixer-feed wagon so they bought a new New Holland manure spreader and converted it to do the job.
The only modification they made to the apron-type, rear-unloading spreader was to unbolt the paddles from the spreader beaters to keep them from throwing feed out too far. To load out feed they bolted a two-piece rubber belt conveyor below and behind the back of the spreader. A 5 1/2-ft. length of conveyor runs across the back and a 6 1/2-ft. section runs out the side at an angle to dump feed into bunks. Both conveyor sections are chain-driven by an orbit motor that runs off tractor hydraulics. The angle of the discharge belt can be adjusted by an electric winch controlled from the tractor cab.
As feed comes out the back of the spreader it drops onto the belt. A plywood backstop keeps feed from falling off the back. To switch back to spreading manure, they simply unbolt the conveyors and replace the spreader paddles.
"It has a lot of capacity and few moving parts so it's virtually trouble-free," says David. "It can easily feed 200 cows at a time. We paid $10,000 for the spreader and spent another $3,000 for the belts, orbit motor, and winch. Big commercial mixer-feed wagons sell for $40,000 to $45,000 and we'd still need a spreader to clean out our corrals.
"We pull the spreader-mixer with our Versatile bi-directional tractor. We fill the spreader, alternating layers of silage and grain. The spreader is 17 1/2 ft. long so two dumps of our 8-ft. bucket covers the entire length of it. The beaters evenly mix the silage and grain as it's unloaded. The discharge conveyor can be raised up against the side of the spreader when going through gates.
"The spreader has two unloading speeds - we use the slow speed for big loads and the fast speed for normal loads."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Woywitka, Box 189, Legal, Alberta, Canada T0G 1L0 (ph 403 961-3304).
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