Feed out pictures.

Can't disagree with you there. Our 25 year old MF375 and 20 year old paddle feeder uses no more than 2 fills of diesel per winter. But the feeder is nearly worn out and mixing very inconsistent now which is affecting animal performance. Feeding is taking too long and I need to get straw mixed into the diet, particularly when building up kgs of beet intake. But I have no intention of spending a ball of money on shiney new feeders and straw choppers.

2 tanks of diesel in the tractor for the full winter???

im back diet feeding this winter, and it has reaffirmed my belief that its the greatest waste of time ever, but needs must, due to lack of forage from the drought. We are burning 1lt of fuel per processed ton and I dont leave it mixing for long. Add in extra tractor, parts, maintenance of the two, and im probably adding on an extra 5c per head per day, in costs. I find it hard to see any extra on the output side from diet feeding. I hadnt used the feeder in 18 months and should of sold it, so it was never used again.

If money was no object, I would have loading shovel with 1 - 2t shear grab and a layered pit. All the ingredients put into the one silage pit in proportions that are there or there abouts, and dug out with a 2 ton shear grab and put in front of cattle. getting all feed to the yard where the cattle are been fed would be my number one priority.
 
washing or even chopping beet in a diet feeder is nuts. You will wear out the feeder in no time and the chopping job at best can be described as very average. Free standing chopper or beet chopper bucket is the only job



What diet feeder have you used?


I chopped 7.5t of beet tonight it took less than 10minutes and did a great job,chopped down to less than 50mm.
 
There's your answer!

Had 3 keenans they weren't a patch on the hi-spec that replaced them,it must have had 10 times the tonnes through it,I still have it to this day.

Yip, I have only used these, but the principle of chopping abrasive beet but going round and round is a recipe for lots of wear and big diesel bill . I have put 100t an hour through the free standing chopper with 60hp on it.
 
Yip, I have only used these, but the principle of chopping abrasive beet but going round and round is a recipe for lots of wear and big diesel bill . I have put 100t an hour through the free standing chopper with 60hp on it.

1st time I've fed beet so using what I have in the yard,regards wear I mix 5000t + a year with my tub mixer 7t a week is negligible.

I've a 200hp fendt on the tub at the minute,it runs on vapour (my arse).

What sort of money are free standing choppers?

@Peter has one
 
1st time I've fed beet so using what I have in the yard,regards wear I mix 5000t + a year with my tub mixer 7t a week is negligible.

I've a 200hp fendt on the tub at the minute,it runs on vapour (my arse).

What sort of money are free standing choppers?

@Peter has one

i found chopping beet and spuds hard on the machine, otherwise normal mixing, machine done 15 - 20k ton before reline

ATM there is a replacement tractor on the feeder. 160hp burning 7.5ltrs an hour

freestanding chopper be around €6k nowadays, maybe a shade more
 
2 tanks of diesel in the tractor for the full winter???
Can't say for sure but not much more. We don't measure as the usage and cost is negligible. Only pre chopped beet and meal in the feeder which takes less than 5 minutes to mix. Tractor works for no longer than 20 minutes per day. All cattle in one yard. While there are changes I'd like to make it still is a very cost effective way of feeding cattle. .
 
2 tanks of diesel in the tractor for the full winter???

im back diet feeding this winter, and it has reaffirmed my belief that its the greatest waste of time ever, but needs must, due to lack of forage from the drought. We are burning 1lt of fuel per processed ton and I dont leave it mixing for long. Add in extra tractor, parts, maintenance of the two, and im probably adding on an extra 5c per head per day, in costs. I find it hard to see any extra on the output side from diet feeding. I hadnt used the feeder in 18 months and should of sold it, so it was never used again.

If money was no object, I would have loading shovel with 1 - 2t shear grab and a layered pit. All the ingredients put into the one silage pit in proportions that are there or there abouts, and dug out with a 2 ton shear grab and put in front of cattle. getting all feed to the yard where the cattle are been fed would be my number one priority.

But Ozzy you are also ignoring some of the savings that you have with the diet feeder. Less hours on the loader tractor, less twisting and turning with it and so less on axle repairs and probably less waste. :scratchhead::undecided:
 
But Ozzy you are also ignoring some of the savings that you have with the diet feeder. Less hours on the loader tractor, less twisting and turning with it and so less on axle repairs and probably less waste. :scratchhead::undecided:

I have a group of heifers I was feeding with the grab,once the main group came in I started feeding with the mixer wagon waste is negligible now,partly through feeding the correct amount daily and keeping an edge on appetite.
 
We chop beet with the feeder, 3T in about 10 mins is what I do. Find the feeder great for feeding the milking cows, straw, beet, maize, 2 types of baled silage and barley. Don’t use it for dry cows or weanlings yet anyway. No other way of getting them to eat all those forages.
 
1st time I've fed beet so using what I have in the yard,regards wear I mix 5000t + a year with my tub mixer 7t a week is negligible.

I've a 200hp fendt on the tub at the minute,it runs on vapour (my arse).

What sort of money are free standing choppers?

@Peter has one

I have my one 8 or 9 years now. I must look up the receipt. I think that it was around 3500 plus vat back then.
 
But Ozzy you are also ignoring some of the savings that you have with the diet feeder. Less hours on the loader tractor, less twisting and turning with it and so less on axle repairs and probably less waste. :scratchhead::undecided:

It's swings and roundabouts. The diet feeder is a great tool to mix straw,beet and meal and a small quantity of silage in a tmr consistently every day. Normally on average the 399 will burn around 100 litres of diesel every month mixing 3 loads a day running about an hour on average daily.
ATM I'm feeding one load which consists of two bales @550 kgx2,one grab of first cut 2017 wagon silage@ 450 kg, 50kgs of straw and 130 kgs of meal. That mix is feeding 65 store cattle for twenty four hours. The problem with that mix is the length of time it's taken to prepare. That load is taken on average 40 minutes to chop and mix. If I was feeding all wagon silage it would be mixed and fed out in under twenty minutes. I have to get up and go out and load that and have it mixing before I can have my breakfast or I'd loose to much time feeding the cattle. Imo the running costs of a feeder rise quickly when your using them to feed out those kinds of loads.
On the other hand the labour savings of the diet feeder come in when your feeding a lot of meal and beet. I've one group of cattle eating 1kg straw,10kgs silage,15 kgs of beet and 5kgs of meal and another group eating 3kgs straw,8kgs of meal and 20kgs of beet.
The first mix.
IMG_20181229_140437.jpg IMG_20181229_152142.jpg
 
Interesting post Peter. Would I be correct in saying that some of the reason why your first mix is taking longer is because you are using a Keenan feeder rather than a tub?

As you say it's swings and roundabouts, if you had a tub your depreciation would likely be more plus the 399 would be under more pressure so higher fuel bills etc and probably no quicker with mixes two and three (which are all pit I assume).
 
Interesting post Peter. Would I be correct in saying that some of the reason why your first mix is taking longer is because you are using a Keenan feeder rather than a tub?

As you say it's swings and roundabouts, if you had a tub your depreciation would likely be more plus the 399 would be under more pressure so higher fuel bills etc and probably no quicker with mixes two and three (which are all pit I assume).

Yes it's taking longer because of the bales. The Keenan is ideal for the setup here with the pit silage and the chopped beet. The bales are just too bulky in it compared to pit silage. If you were comparing a new paddle feeder against a new tub feeder it would be better value to buy the tub imo but comparing a reconditioned keenan against a second hand tub there's a big difference in money I've found.
 
Yes it's taking longer because of the bales. The Keenan is ideal for the setup here with the pit silage and the chopped beet. The bales are just too bulky in it compared to pit silage. If you were comparing a new paddle feeder against a new tub feeder it would be better value to buy the tub imo but comparing a reconditioned keenan against a second hand tub there's a big difference in money I've found.

Are you chopping the bales into the feeder or throwing the full bale up on top?
We’re choping them in with the shear grab then go get the bucket of meal and by the time we’re back into the tractor it’s mixed enough to feed out. But then it’s a lot simpler of a mix with just bale silage and meal.
Find there’s a massive difference in bales based on dry matter as to how long they take. The drier the bale the longer it takes to get in and it nearly doubles the length to feed out unless you leave it mixing and chopping for ages
 
Are you chopping the bales into the feeder or throwing the full bale up on top?
We’re choping them in with the shear grab then go get the bucket of meal and by the time we’re back into the tractor it’s mixed enough to feed out. But then it’s a lot simpler of a mix with just bale silage and meal.
Find there’s a massive difference in bales based on dry matter as to how long they take. The drier the bale the longer it takes to get in and it nearly doubles the length to feed out unless you leave it mixing and chopping for ages

Even with a tub mixer I always chop bales in half with the shear grab.
 
Are you chopping the bales into the feeder or throwing the full bale up on top?
We’re choping them in with the shear grab then go get the bucket of meal and by the time we’re back into the tractor it’s mixed enough to feed out. But then it’s a lot simpler of a mix with just bale silage and meal.
Find there’s a massive difference in bales based on dry matter as to how long they take. The drier the bale the longer it takes to get in and it nearly doubles the length to feed out unless you leave it mixing and chopping for ages

I told Keenan's to take off the bale rack before they delivered it as the banging of that would drive me wrong. :angry:

I do shake out the bales complety loose and then load it back in with the loader bucket and then put the grab of silage in last.
 
A question here lads, are ye constantly changing implements between grab and bucket, that would fry my head. If using separate machines then it is taking 3 to do feeding, 2 loading and one on the feeder.
 
A question here lads, are ye constantly changing implements between grab and bucket, that would fry my head. If using separate machines then it is taking 3 to do feeding, 2 loading and one on the feeder.

I was using a shear bucket,great till my Volvo killed it.

I can mix 4 loads and only put the grab on once,I dig enough out then scoop up with a big bucket,this saves dropping silage out the grab.
 
A question here lads, are ye constantly changing implements between grab and bucket, that would fry my head. If using separate machines then it is taking 3 to do feeding, 2 loading and one on the feeder.
Change implements here. I don't mind and I'd be getting on and off the Volvo anyway to unload the feeder into a given shed so I'm on my feet either way.
 
I'm feeding 15kgsilage 12 kg beet 4 meal and 1 or less of straw to last year's calves does them day and a half before it's cleaned up.once it's all loaded I usually give it 10 minutes and it's chopped enough we left the first few loads too long and turned it too mush nd went black before the cattle could finish it. The photo is of 20 month old heifers and we are getting these ready to finish soon I'd hope.
 

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I told Keenan's to take off the bale rack before they delivered it as the banging of that would drive me wrong. :angry:

I do shake out the bales complety loose and then load it back in with the loader bucket and then put the grab of silage in last.

Hard to disagree on the rattle box driving you mad :lol: but I wonder is it taking a bit longer for your mix to get chopped without the added choping affect that the top knife gives it on the way in and the fact that the fingers grab the material and cause it to roll over more?

A question here lads, are ye constantly changing implements between grab and bucket, that would fry my head. If using separate machines then it is taking 3 to do feeding, 2 loading and one on the feeder.

3 atm could easily be reduced if I made up a bucket to fit into the shear grab which I have wanted to do for a few years now. The tractor would only be running for a few minutes putting in the bucket of meal
 
But Ozzy you are also ignoring some of the savings that you have with the diet feeder. Less hours on the loader tractor, less twisting and turning with it and so less on axle repairs and probably less waste. :scratchhead::undecided:

So I done a bit of timing today.
keenan 140 is the mixer, class 640 driving it atm @430rpms, loading with MF 5455 and cubic meter bucket. yard is a mix of new and old, forages with 10m of the feeder, grains 50m, liquid 100m. all sheds withing 50m of mixing. Feeder is full for each mix. had twines off straw etc, so everything ready to go

- 0 - both machines running
- 16.30mins - I was finished loading so loader tractor turned off. Taught I would be quicker but there is a bucket of liquid feed going into this.
- 4 mins - let the feeder mix beyond loading
- 10 mins - unloading. 3 runs, and have to back into dead end passage.
- 9 mins - had 2 pens in this mix where I had to use the loader bucket to feed into. typical for most old yards probably.

I clocked 57 minutes of machinery running, 30 with mixer and 27 with loader @ €45 an hour (???) is say €43. burned about 6ltrs of diesel.

Time wise - using the diet feeder Im feeding an animal every 11 seconds, I remember timing last year and nearly certain It was taking 8 seconds with just the loader and layered pit. loader size was a big limiting factor in digging straight from the pit. If I had a big loading shovel and 2 to 3cub bucket would halve this time I would think.

waste is the same in either system, throw in shite, there will be waste, no crap, no waste



Sorry for this boring shite, but when you spend allot of time loading a feeder I do some serious boring calculations
 
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