Hay on a small scale

Maybe one of these?

https://www.amazon.com/Cordless-Electric-Trimmer-Battery-Powered-Retractable/dp/B0B3SRTWP5/ref=asc_df_B0B3SRTWP5/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598354265882&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12094290655364979051&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015357&hvtargid=pla-1718730240922&psc=1

Jim Fry wrote:Look up "bush hog mower" or "rotary mower". There are many widths, wide and narrower. With a small tractor you'd probably want a 5'. They come either with three-point hitch or pto driven pull behind, with two, height adjustable, wheels. You can often find them used. ~~Then the trick is to take off the bolted on, or if necessary cut off, the (passenger side) right side, side plate. With the side off, the hay is cut and trapped under the mower just long enough to crimp the long stems of grass, and throw it out the side. The grass/hay doesn't get cut into smaller pieces. The crimping helps the hay to dry faster. .

I will definitely look at those. That removal of the side plate had not occurred to me.

We kept horses at a farm owned by a family friend for a couple of decades and part of the board was helping out around the place. So our family helped bale a lot of hay over the years, but with equipment on a scale that fed a barnful of cattle, not the very low budget approach I can justify for a handful of goats.

Kyle Hayward wrote:Maybe one of these?

https://www.amazon.com/Cordless-Electric-Trimmer-Battery-Powered-Retractable/dp/B0B3SRTWP5/ref=asc_df_B0B3SRTWP5/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598354265882&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12094290655364979051&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015357&hvtargid=pla-1718730240922&psc=1

That’s a cool looking machine with some serious blades!

This sounds like a very useful idea! I will certainly be experimenting with it. And the sides of my brush hog are just about shot from rock impacts anyhow... A brush hog seems a slow way to cut compared to a dedicated hay mower twice as wide... but as a way to cut a field that would ruin a hay mower, it sounds great. And the brush hog also cuts heavier stuff.. and can often be found used much cheaper than even a small hay mower..

I've got a 5ft brush hog on a 50HP tractor. It is a pretty good match: there are times I could be running a 6-7ft at a comfortable speed, but there are also times I'm moving at a dead crawl with the throttle pegged, to cut thick reed canary grass.

Jim Fry wrote:Look up "bush hog mower" or "rotary mower". There are many widths, wide and narrower. With a small tractor you'd probably want a 5'. They come either with three-point hitch or pto driven pull behind, with two, height adjustable, wheels. You can often find them used. ~~Then the trick is to take off the bolted on, or if necessary cut off, the (passenger side) right side, side plate. With the side off, the hay is cut and trapped under the mower just long enough to crimp the long stems of grass, and throw it out the side. The grass/hay doesn't get cut into smaller pieces. The crimping helps the hay to dry faster.

Let the hay dry a day or two, then use pitch forks to pick it up. At times I have loaded the hay into a manure spreader, or a hay wagon, for transport to barn. When you can afford it, later on, get a hay rake. Side delivery rakes tend to be numerous where horses used to be used. They work fine for small operations. And with smaller tractors. Some side delivery rakes have a lever to switch it over to ted with. That means the tines rotate backwards so that when you rake with it, it turns the hay over so it dries faster, without raking it into windrows.

Make sure your hay is dry before putting it in a more tightly sealed space, or it can mold or even self-combust. Check around any older farms for older equipment they might have that they don't use any more. Also, you might want to volunteer at any hay making farms so you can learn some about what to do.

~~~I used a bush hog for years before I finally moved up to a hay bine. I made tens of thousands of bales. And sold many of them to happy customers. The rest I fed to my cattle.

Sickle bar mowers exist that fit the BCS.

Andrea Locke wrote:There is a BCS available to rent but it has a flail mower. I understand those cut too small for baling hay but do they work for loose hay? And how small is the cut anyway? Are we talking something really finely chopped like a mulching mower?

Yes, it will mulch. The cut won't be suitable for hay.

A sickle bar mower is the right tool for making hay. These cut near the ground and the whole stalk is intact. They come in sizes small enough for two-wheel tractors all the way to self-propelled units called "swathers" that gather the cut hay into a swath (windrow).

Are there farmers making hay in your area? Have them come over with a swather and they'll make short work of your 3 acres.

EDIT:  Even though I refreshed the page before posting, a lot of the previous comments didn't show up. So my comments are a little out of synch with the conversation. This is not the first time it's happened. Odd.

Silly me -- searching the Web instead of going straight to Permies! Check out this improvised sickle mower:
https://permies.com/t/41610/Cordless-Hedge-Cutter-Sickle-Bar

Yes, a sickle bar mower that would fit the little Kubota is what we ultimately wanted. In the meantime, I found a used bush hog for sale nearby that will work with the tractor, that we will take a look at. Might be just the thing for this field.