Tedders

[Yooperwing]

Looking at getting a Tedder for next year. Have used the
rotary type(Kuhn).throws the hay all over the
place..does a good job. Saw an H&S that lifts the hay
and sets it back down. Looks kinda like the reel on mower
conditioner. Wondering of any advantages or
disadvantages of the two different types. Thank you in
advance.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

The reel type is very slow and does not tear the windrow up near as well. We had a ground drive Grimm like that for years then a pto one. They would be better for fluffing rain on hay that was about ready to bale. With the spinner tedders you can travel much faster but you need to ted much sooner after mowing to prevent leaf loss. Tom

 

[SETX]

The one piece of equipment I hate the most.....a tedder. I have to have one because I raise jiggs hay and it's so thick it must be tedded.
I have two Kuhn 21' tedders and they do a great job but are a pain to move from field to field.
They either catch on the trailer when loading or unloading and are just a pain to lift with a FEL and place on a trailer.
Pulling them with a pickup usually isn't an option. Tires are rated for 20 mph max.
I can't even recall how many tines I have replaced. And lord help you if the levelling cylynder goes out. Cant be rebuilt and to replace is
it is a $700 dollar bill.

Thats my rant, sorry.

Still they do a good job.

Red

 

[oliverplow]

I have used two different brands of each style of tedders. I would suggest getting a rotary one. I have used a Bush Hog and Vermeer rotary. The Bush Hog was lighter built and tended to break more. However, the Vermeer tends to throw the hay in small clumps, and it is also harder to control it from throwing hay into the fence or crop next to it. If you could demo them first, that would be best.

 

[Hay hay hay]

I have two different brands of tedders. Both are two basket models. Mine are three-point hitch so I can pick them up and move them from field to field. Tedding is so fast that I don't need a four or six basket model. I read up lot of comments about guys repairing the 4 basket lift arms on their 4 basket tedders, just a lot more moving parts to break. I use a tedder to break up the clumps behind a mower and spread out the hay so it will dry uniformly and much quicker. I usually Tedd a couple hours after mowing.

There are a lot of the old light duty imported two basket tedders in my area. Light duty, but will do the job, if the operator pays attention and is not dedicated to breaking everything.

 

[flying belgian]

I use my rotary rake for tedding. Raise the curtain and go. Not as good as a designated tedder but not bad either. Saves owning another piece of equipment.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I've never thought I wanted a tedder, except for late second cutting or third cutting where it is getting late in the summer to early fall. Short days with heavy dew make it hard to get get hay dry. Then I would like a tedder to help with drying otherwise I don't see a need for a tedder. I can usually mow today and bale the next in Early part of the season. June and July along with early August. Sometimes late August and early September after that a tedder would help.

 

[Bill VA]

IMHO - rotary all the way.

 

[Destroked 450]

I have a sitex pull type 4 basket tedder I bought 25 years ago, it tends two mower swaths at a time so tedding take half the time it took to mow, it was one of the cheaper models I could afford at the time
It s done a good job but I won t buy another one

A bit pricy but look at a Krone, heavy built, tow good and the wheels can be adjusted so it throws to outside swat in towards the field and no in the fence row

 

[Texasmark]

I use a 2 basket 3 PT also and enjoy the same benefits. This time I bought a Tar River. Very reasonably priced and very well made. Comes from NC and not having any dealers here I just order it from them and have it drop shipped to my farm. No biggie.

 

[MJMJ]

Rotary type is the only type to consider. I honestly can't think of a single advantage to the reel type.

 

[showcrop]

The reel types are simply not real tedders.

 

[Northvale PA]

We have a Kuhn 4 rotor and Grimm reel type. We used the reel type for many years but now only to fluff up raked windrows, especially alfalfa. Works very well for that. But the rotor is 2x faster so we now tedd the hay twice and that alone gets the hay dried faster which means greener hay and less chance of rain. It does tend to tear out shallow rooted grass which is a problem. I have also had to replace all the rotor bearings, 2 rotor hubs, 2 pinion gears, the drive shaft and many tines. It was used hard by the previous owner and not my best consignment sale purchase. Grease them heavy.

 

[NHbalerman]

Get you a Each tedder very good heavy built tedder. They are the rotor type models are 10 ft to 32 ft can get it with engine drive hydraulic fold and tilt. Find a dealer near you

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 08:13:00 12/20/22) Get you a Each tedder very good heavy built tedder. They are the rotor type models are 10 ft to 32 ft can get it with engine drive hydraulic fold and tilt. Find a dealer near you

Maybe you mean Esch.

 

[Leroy]

Havent made hay for 50 years That said I always used to ruin the teder in the rake. The rotary tedders I see run seam to run so fast I call them beaters I would not own one as I want to keep leaves on the hay. Now the others that look like a combine real yes I would use that kind as it just lifts the hay and dropes it loose without beating it to pieces and knocking all the alfalfa leaves off. The rotary might be OK for grass hay that does not have leaves to get knocked off but not where you want to keep the leaves as that is the food value in the hay..

 

[Leroy]

More of a teader than the rotary type. They lift the hay the same as the
tedders of a hundred plus years ago did. I wished I had one of them when I was
still farming.

 

[Destroked 450]

I ve been tedding with my rotary tedder for over 25 years, I ted right soon after mowing to break up the stems for faster drying and minimum leaf loose
If a second tedding is needed simply reduce rpm s to run the tedder slow and pick a higher gear to maintain good ground speed
This will result in slightly stirred and fluffed hay without beating it to death
My ground is to wet for alfalfa but I do have clover so leaf loose is a concern, slowing down rotor speed helps reduce leaf loose

 

[Leroy]

We only use tedder setting mostly after getting crop rained on. We had a
conditioner that we used when mowing for years ontill got a Case 555 Mower-
conditioner. So only time a tedder was used was after crop getting mashed dowd
or rained on. And crop was red clover untill started with a alfalfa miv then
just the alfalfa with timothy mixed in. Never had to worry about wet ground
here in Ohio.

 

[Leroy]

When I see them in operation the baskets are spinning so fast you cannot tell
the movement, To me that is damaging the hay. You want to do least damage that
you can and the lift and drop type does not do the damage that those baskets
would do spinning that fast. My Amish friends like the lift and drop type and
have good luck with them and don't use conditioners because nobody has found a
way for a horse to power a conditioner Last made hay in 1981 when cows were
gone. The old New Idea rake-tedder actually did more damage than we would have
liked but it was either that and get dry after a rain or loose the crop.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 10:25:31 12/24/22) When I see them in operation the baskets are spinning so fast you cannot tell
the movement, To me that is damaging the hay. You want to do least damage that
you can and the lift and drop type does not do the damage that those baskets
would do spinning that fast. My Amish friends like the lift and drop type and
have good luck with them and don't use conditioners because nobody has found a
way for a horse to power a conditioner Last made hay in 1981 when cows were
gone. The old New Idea rake-tedder actually did more damage than we would have
liked but it was either that and get dry after a rain or loose the crop.

It is very rare to make good quality dry hay here in the North-East without a tedder. A tedder allows you to dry it down much faster than without one so you get less bleaching and much higher feed value. You just have to know how to use it. You don't use it when the hay is nearly dry. In order to get $12.00 per 40 lb. bale we need to make good quality hay that is baled when dry so that it won't mold, yet is dried down quickly so that it is still green, with much more leaf than stem.

 

[Leroy]

How many days do you normally have to wait from cutting to baling? Usually it
was cut one day, roll the next and bale the third unless hit a rainy spell.
Did get a time or 2 to cut and bale the next day. Tedder only used as stop gap
to save rained on hay. Western Ohio.

 

[Destroked 450]

Here in the Ohio valley part of Ky we are lucky to get 3-4 days of dry weather between showers
Depending on type and thickness a hay I ll cut one day, Ted the next morning after hay has wilted over night, rake and bale 3rd if it s dry enough, if not I ll do a low rpm tedding to fluff the hay and possibly rake and bale later that day or wait till the 4th day
If it rains on it more and tedding will be needed
Alfalfa doesn t produce as much hay as the grass hay I raise so it s easier to get it dried down
Some of my better fields will produce 7-9 5x5 rolls per acre, it takes a bit to get hay that thick dried enough to bale

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 08:56:02 12/25/22) How many days do you normally have to wait from cutting to baling? Usually it
was cut one day, roll the next and bale the third unless hit a rainy spell.
Did get a time or 2 to cut and bale the next day. Tedder only used as stop gap
to save rained on hay. Western Ohio.

We usually bale on the third day unless conditions are unusually dry. There is usually a fair amount of moisture in the ground in June. Usually we mow in the evening so that the first rays of sun are drying the hay and the bare ground between the swaths. Everyone here mows into a narrow swath in June. If the ground gets dry we open the mower up and spread it wide. After 4-5 hours of drying we tedd it out. Next AM as soon as the dew is gone we tedd a second time, Depending on conditions we may rake in the early Pm, Then next morning turn the windrows, then start baling early in the PM.

 

[Leroy]

Our ground here in the north central area of Ohio Never had that problem
unless we got a rain the night before. Usually needing rain for the corn at
that time wanting the moisture that usually was not there. And I quit hay when
cows left years before the round balers came out or those rotary tedders. The
John Deere hay fluffer would have been just what we needed here but could not
afford one. To old now to even think about making hay any more. Just when I
would see someone flying across the field throwing the hay several feet I just
cannot think about it not dammaging the hay.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 18:46:51 12/25/22) Our ground here in the north central area of Ohio Never had that problem
unless we got a rain the night before. Usually needing rain for the corn at
that time wanting the moisture that usually was not there. And I quit hay when
cows left years before the round balers came out or those rotary tedders. The
John Deere hay fluffer would have been just what we needed here but could not
afford one. To old now to even think about making hay any more. Just when I
would see someone flying across the field throwing the hay several feet I just
cannot think about it not dammaging the hay.

Well, you can rest easy that they are tedding it because there is still too much moisture in it to rake it so no damage is taking place.