Wet bales, marsh hay and canola bales have always been difficult to shred or unroll. A new shredder called the Roto-King has been engineered specifically for difficult bales.
Designed jointly by Crawford’s West in Camrose and MDS Manufacturing in South Dakota, the Roto-King mounts to a large skid steer loader or a typical chore tractor.
“It shreds any type of material into uniform eight-inch lengths. It makes very good bedding for beef or dairy cattle,” said Len Blatz, president of Crawford’s West.
“It handles six by six bales up to 1,800 pounds and wet silage four by four bales up to 2,200 lb.”
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Producers who windrow feed on the ground know that dominant cattle eat first and get the best hay. Stragglers feed last and get the trampled leftovers.
MDS said long uniform windrows of eight-inch shredded hay give the whole herd equal access to quality feed, resulting in better feed use and nutrient uptake for the stragglers.
The shredder runs on a single hy-draulic motor that requires 18 to 20 gallons per minute. The shredding action comes from sharp blades bolted to the four chain-driven shafts. The rotation of the bale can be reversed to speed up the shredding process.
Three shafts rotate in one direction at different speeds, while a fourth rotates in the opposite direction.
When the operator loads a bale and tilts the ripper bed back toward the cab, the top shaft at the back of the bed initiates the ripping action.
“It took a while to get this all worked out to get maximum tearing action,” said Blatz.
“There were lots of details. Rotor speeds and direction of rotation and things like that. We’ve worked a lot with MDS over the years, designing equipment like this. It’s a joint effort.”
With mounting hardware, the Roto-King weighs 1,350 lb. (612 kilograms). Blatz said that makes it a heavy load for all but the biggest skid steer loader.
“You’ve got to be careful with that much lift capacity. A skid steer could tip forward and lift the rear tires. If you want to use a skid steer, we recommend that it’s up in the 80 horsepower range.
“I think you’re better off with a small chore tractor. Something in the 80 to 90 horse (power) range. On a tractor mount like that, we run solid three-quarter inch lines forward and put the quick couplers at the front of the tractor.”
The Roto-King sells for $8,500 and does not handle square bales.
Contact Len Blatz at 780-672-2471 or visit www.crawfordswest.com.
