Tedder?

[Southtowns27]

I've been chatting with some people on here about my small haying operation and many recommend that I get a tedder to help the drying process. I know what they do, but I know pretty much nothing about tedders. What exactly do I need? If I'm going to buy one, what do I look for?

 

[Gumby]

I do about 6-13 acres of hay. Some has been very heavy alfalfa. I've found tedding the hay right after I cut it really helps drying, as the stuff on the bottom of a windrow, as it comes out of the mower/conditioner, would never dry otherwise.

I've got a little Italian jobby that has two rotors. I can move at least as fast as mowing with the mower/conditioner. It's simple to do. I've had my teenage daughters ted the hay for me. I wouldn't mind having a 4 rotor model, only to cut down on field and fuel time. Some neighbors this spring (western Illinois region) have been using it, as the drying weather hasn't been the greatest.

 

[Charlie M]

I've got a similar type tedder. I can imagine ever doing hay without one. Around here they are worth at least one day of drying time. I do around 20 acres with mine.

 

[RodinNS]

If you're doing under 100 acres of hay I'd suggest a Haybob. It was made by Zweegers and they're a fairly durable tedder/rake. They're only real downfall is that it's a two rotor machine and for a larger acerage it's just not practical. You can cover 10 acres a day with one if you've got to ted it and then rake it later and I'd think that would about be the limit unless you've got another rake and more help... but they are a good rig for a small operation.

If you were into larger amounts I'd suggest a Kuhn or Claas tedder. The newer NewHolland stuff is also made by Kuhn I believe. I'd suggest that you stay clear of the NH 254 AND 255 Tedder/Rake combo. They're a maintenance nightmare.

Rod

 

[Southtowns27]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'd probably need something bigger than a Haybob.. The one field I do is 26 acres and we do it all at once. The other fields are much smaller, 3 acres and I think 8 acres. We do those 2 together, so 11 acres altogether.

 

[RodinNS]

I think the Haybob would do just fine for that. You can probably cover 4-5 acres an hour with it depending on how fast you want to drive and what you've done the mowing with... but if you're covering ground day after day and having to do the raking with the haybob also, then you get limited in what can be done. Tedding and raking you could cover 20-30 acres a day total... so if you do the tedding one day and the raking the next I'd think you'll be fine.
The problems start when you want to mow, ted, rake and bale 15+ acres every day.

Rod

 

[kyhayman]

Tedders live a hard life so beware of any used one. I've used Internation Machine Tool (not IH) and New Idea, made by Tonutti. Both good machines. My dad has a two basket IMT that he paid less than 1300 for two years ago and does 200-300 acres with it. It covers about what an 8 foot disc mower can in a day. I use a 4 basket. Get new, or slightly used.

 

[HAYBOY1]

I have said this for awhile now, I just bought a new Pequea 4 star tedder. I will put up against any other company's 4 star as far as durability. Side by side the Kuhn, Sitrex, Tonutti, and Claas, it is easily twice the tedder. I bought the TT4000 model, but they do make the two basket version as well as the 6 rotor model as well.

 

[mframe]

Find a nearby farmer who already has a tedder and rent it. I make about 16 acres of hay and pay the neighbor $4 per acre to use his Claas 4 basket. Works out for me and him.

 

[Anonymous-0]

In my area it seems that the only people using tedders are dairy farmers. I've always just suspected it was because they had a little more money to burn than us beefers. I understand how tedders work and the point of it, but what I don't understand is how an extra pass worth of fuel plus the equipment cost justifies the tedding. I seem to be able to make some perfectly fine hay without one. Does it give you a way to pevent leaf loss on pure alfalfa hay? If it's just a dry-time savings, I can't see how it could pay with today's fuel prices (in my climate anyway).

 

[Doug in IL]

That's kinda what I think too. I have never seen a tedder in use around here in my lifetime. A GOOD mower conditioner and a GOOD rake, and you're in business!

 

[RodinNS]

Depends on what the goal is....
A tedder will speed drying time. 'Here', it's not an option. You use it or lose the hay because it will get rained on.
Dairy's will also use it to spread the hay out to promote even drying. There's a considerable amount of research behind that subject, about sugars in the feed and problems with uneven drying in a tight row.
The other factor is silage... An operation that's running a large self propelled forage harvester will want to merge several rows into one. We're talking 4,5, mabey 6 rows. If you try to simply rake that up you get uneven rows that don't feed so well into a chopper... so they ted the rows out so that they're evenly spread out and then come back with the rake and rake them into even rows. Time is BIG money when you're feeding one of those choppers. Don't slow the chopper down for anything.

Rod

 

[Southtowns27]

I hear what you're saying for sure... I'm in Western NY state downwind of Lake Erie, so I pretty much live in a rain forest. The ground in my fields is always wet to a degree. Even if we haven't had rain for a spell, the ground still leaches water. A couple houses down the road have artesian wells so the water table is very high in this area. Historically, we've had a bugger of a time getting the hay (mixed grass) dried out. I have the roller tension cranked all the way down on the haybine but I still need to rake at least twice, sometimes 3 times to get enough air through to row to dry it out. So, in my case, running the tedder won't create another pass, it may actually save me one, and really speed up the process.

 

[Corporate Cowboy]

I'm a small time guy...I only make about 15 acres of hay, and I'm a "part time" farmer at that. That being said, saving a day on drying is critical for me. I work a full time job outside of the farm, so there are times that I can't bale in the afternoon before the rain hits. Last year I picked up an old steel wheeled nicholson fluffer tedder for $50. It works like a champ. For me, this has shaved off a day of drying time and made a huge difference. Pequa makes a modern tedder that is affordable. I would whole-heartedly recommend one. it will even work well on a raked row. For a part timer, I now wonder why it took me so long to get one.

 

[IH farmer]

It depends if you have a 9 foot haybine or a 12 haybine. We have a 9 foot Pequea 910 tedder that works great.