How do you spread fields with muck heap?

[kellybee]

My fields are poo-picked daily, and with three horses on it since last September there's two humungous mounds of it sat there doing nothing. I've been reading up on people letting it rot and spreading in autumn, so mound one has been untouched since Feb, and the newer mound can stay where it is til next year.

The problem is, whilst I see people use their rotted stuff to spread on fields, I have no idea how to go about doing this! Do you need to pay a contractor to come in and put it all in some sort of machine, or can you buy smaller ones to use yourself? Have seen some spreading gadgets on ebay but it looks as though they're used for either liquid fertiliser or grass seed. Do you barrow it into the field and harrow it or what? I am completely befuddled re the spreading process!

Any suggestions welcome! Thanks

 

[YasandCrystal]

We have 10 acres and a small tractor and we bought a small old muck spreader for around £400. You can buy muck spreaders to go onto the back of a quad or a compact tractor. Or you could speak to your local farmers and see if you can find a contact with a small enough one to maybe come and spread for you. A land maintenance company maybe helpful if you have one near you.

 

[Fat_Pony]

Is it possible to do it on a small area by hand? I'm talking about less than an acre. And when is best time of year to spread?

 

[SuperH]

We hire a muck spreader. There are also lots of contractors that offer muck spreading, may be worth a few calls.

 

[SuperH]

Just seen the size, doubt you will find a contractor to do less than a acre.

 

[Goldenstar]

You will need to remove the ponies for quite a while after and if you worm and leave the ponies out you won't have many beetles etc to process the muck and it will sit around for ages , as you have been poo picking its likely that you don't have loads of muck processers on the land land to do the job even if the ponies are not on the land after worming.
I do have my muckheap spread its well rotted ( at least one whole year ) and it's mainly bedding and is a useful soil improver on my clay land but the horses are off the field for at least four months after.
I would be cautious about doing this TBH.

 

[martlin]

Obviously, a muck spreader is the best option, but when need's must and all that, you put it in a trailer, put your wellies on, you get somebody to tow you around slowly, while you stand in the trailer with a muck fork and throw it about. Then you harrow, and harrow, and harrow.

 

[YasandCrystal]

Is it possible to do it on a small area by hand? I'm talking about less than an acre. And when is best time of year to spread?

I would say it was possible by hand. I would load teh muck onto a small trailer and drive it around spreading by hand as you go. I believe that the ideal time is in the autumn in readiness for the frosts to break it down, but my local farmer says to spread anytime summer included and rest the land and let nature take it's course. It is supposed to be very good to out back what you take off the land and it has definately improved our paddocks.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Is it possible to do it on a small area by hand? I'm talking about less than an acre. And when is best time of year to spread?

Um, dunno if I've read your post right OP but if you've got less than an acre to play with, personally I wouldn't be wanting to spread muck on that area. There are other ways you could improve the pasture, i.e. chain-harrowing, rolling etc.

Plus the fact that I gather from your post that your "muck heap" is, er, horse poo? I personally wouldn't spread horse muck on fields where horses graze, you'll only be risking increasing your worm burden. Any other sort of "muck" would be a different matter maybe, but not to spread one's own muck heap on the same pasture where the horses are grazing! Eeuuucckkk!

One way you could really improve your pasture would be to ask a local farmer if he's got a few sheep to put out there for free? They'd do a fantastic job of clearing up your pasture, with no hassle, and wouldn't cost you a dime.

Just a thought.

 

[POLLDARK]

I use a wheelbarrow & fork. Just a couple of wheel barrow loads a day after poo picking. It's suprising how quickly it goes down.

 

[Suechoccy]

I spread last winter's deeplitter bedding (shavings) plus last year's manure onto my land once it's rotted down. 2 acres. I fork it into the wheelbarrow, then push the wheelbarrow into the field, wear rubber gloves and use a plastic bucket to scoop a bucketful out of the wheelbarrow and then I just swing the bucket round, like casting seed. Easy to see where it lands. Take 3 or 4 steps forward with the barrow. Repeat. Good workout for a human. I do a bit at a time, keep the gloves and bucket by the barrow, and it rots down/disappears quickly and the grass looks great for it. Horses stay on it. (Mine are both wormcounted and wormed).

 

[Fat_Pony]

Um, dunno if I've read your post right OP but if you've got less than an acre to play with, personally I wouldn't be wanting to spread muck on that area. There are other ways you could improve the pasture, i.e. chain-harrowing, rolling etc.

Plus the fact that I gather from your post that your "muck heap" is, er, horse poo? I personally wouldn't spread horse muck on fields where horses graze, you'll only be risking increasing your worm burden. Any other sort of "muck" would be a different matter maybe, but not to spread one's own muck heap on the same pasture where the horses are grazing! Eeuuucckkk!

One way you could really improve your pasture would be to ask a local farmer if he's got a few sheep to put out there for free? They'd do a fantastic job of clearing up your pasture, with no hassle, and wouldn't cost you a dime.

Just a thought.

Why is it wrong to put horse muck on the pasture? It is at least a year old and going on to a field of just under an acre that the horses will come off of in October and won't go back on to it for about 6 months. Why shouldn't I use my free fertiliser on it? A harrow and a roller certainly isn't going to fertilise it and there is no way I'm buying a fertiliser to put on it and end up with super rich grass that is totally unsuitable for horses.

 

[YasandCrystal]

Why is it wrong to put horse muck on the pasture? It is at least a year old and going on to a field of just under an acre that the horses will come off of in October and won't go back on to it for about 6 months. Why shouldn't I use my free fertiliser on it? A harrow and a roller certainly isn't going to fertilise it and there is no way I'm buying a fertiliser to put on it and end up with super rich grass that is totally unsuitable for horses.

It's certainly not wrong to put horse muck on horse pasture - ask any farmer. It is actually very good land management and a source of good natural fertiiser. Worms cannot live in a fermenting muckheap - not unless they are all 'superworm'.

 

[RunToEarth]

See we have never spread horse muck on grazing as they pass weeds in a way that other ruminants don't - if I want to fertilize our grazing fields with organic matter it is usually cow muck.

 

[Goldenstar]

Piles of pure horse poo do not heat and rot down like a muckheap made of stable waste we never use muck heap that have less than one year rotting.
Personally icant understand why you would poo pick one acre to put the poo back on.

 

[Kaylum]

Please make sure people don't put equines on this type of field that suffer from laminitis.horse manure is very rich and makes te grazing rich.

 

[kellybee]

Um, dunno if I've read your post right OP but if you've got less than an acre to play with, personally I wouldn't be wanting to spread muck on that area. There are other ways you could improve the pasture, i.e. chain-harrowing, rolling etc.

Plus the fact that I gather from your post that your "muck heap" is, er, horse poo? I personally wouldn't spread horse muck on fields where horses graze, you'll only be risking increasing your worm burden. Any other sort of "muck" would be a different matter maybe, but not to spread one's own muck heap on the same pasture where the horses are grazing! Eeuuucckkk!

One way you could really improve your pasture would be to ask a local farmer if he's got a few sheep to put out there for free? They'd do a fantastic job of clearing up your pasture, with no hassle, and wouldn't cost you a dime.

Just a thought.

Thanks hun, it wasnt me who stated less than an acre. I have nearer 5, split into winter and summer paddocks. Id spread in autumn onto the summer grazing, and in spring onto the winter grazing. We have our own land, of which the simmer grazing was rested for 6yrs and the winter grazing has been unused for 20 plus yrs so not too concerned about worms, especially when its been rotted down

 

[OrangePepper]

I would not advise muck spreading on grass land as it will spread worms and seeds from the grass and hay that the horses have eaten. I prefer to keep it in a heap and let local gardeners have it for their gardens. Also if not spread thinly will cause under it to die off and weeds to take over. Also may cause Botulism which has been sited as the cause of grass sickness.

 

[martlin]

I would not advise muck spreading on grass land as it will spread worms and seeds from the grass and hay that the horses have eaten. I prefer to keep it in a heap and let local gardeners have it for their gardens. Also if not spread thinly will cause under it to die off and weeds to take over. Also may cause Botulism which has been sited as the cause of grass sickness.

errmmm, isn't that a good thing?

 

[Slightly Foxed]

See we have never spread horse muck on grazing as they pass weeds in a way that other ruminants don't - if I want to fertilize our grazing fields with organic matter it is usually cow muck.

Yep, this.

 

[Spring Feather]

I never spread horse muck on any of our fields either. We have approx 50 horses on my farm so a lot of poo mounts up. I have a road construction company who comes in once a year and takes all the poo mountains. Horse poo manure is a magnet for promoting weeds and I like my pasture fields to look nice and there's no way I would ever risk all of our hay fields by spreading horse manure on them.

 

[NaeNae87]

It's quite common where I am to spread manure onto sandy patches in the grazing paddocks. Actually, soiled bedding (sawdust & sand) and old hay goes out onto the paddocks too. The horses won't graze over the manure fertilized areas for at least 6 months (if they are still in that paddock and not rotated around). The grass is by then well established and edible.

I have never had problems with weeds or worms. If any weeds pop up, they are taken care of and the horses are on a regular worming routine, so there are no problems with worm burdens.

My horses are healthy and happy managing them this way and everywhere I have worked has used this method with success.

 

[kellybee]

Thanks guysw, I'd def rather have healthy, fertilised and nutritious grazing with the odd removeable weed than keep my horses on a bowling green

 

[Goldenstar]

Those of you who poo pick your paddocks and them put the poo back on please explain why you poo pick.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Those of you who poo pick your paddocks and them put the poo back on please explain why you poo pick.

Exactly!!! Doesn't make sense, but hey if it works for you............

You might as well leave the poo in situ and then chain-harrow it to disperse, much easier! But if you want to guard against dispersing worm eggs around you need to do it in a temperature of more than 25C apparently (my vet says), so yes, you could do it this way I guess.

 

[JillA]

Those of you who poo pick your paddocks and them put the poo back on please explain why you poo pick.

To remove the poo into a heap where it can rot and the heat will "sanitize" it. I do occasionally spread fresh poo onto resting ground because it will be some time before it is grazed and by then it will have disappeared into the ground being spread and not dumped in a pile.

 

[Goldenstar]

Well I can see the point if you leave it to rot down for a long while say a year but unless I have it wrong OP was intending to spread to poo she has picked up this summer on the paddock.
We do spread the muckheap on one field it's mainly well rotted bedding plus the muck of course from the stables the heap will be between one and two years old when its spread it's done in spring and the field is rested for six months after so the grazing is not soured by the muck when the horses go back on to it.

 

[Dry Rot]

I wish I had a £ for every time this subject comes up as I still have unanswered questions!

As a matter of interest, I have just been reading up (again) on doing faecal egg counts. It is time to do some counting again and I wanted to refresh my memory.

For those who are interested, the URL is http://www.rvc.ac.uk/review/parasitology/eggcount/step1.htm etc.

(Make sure you read the Interpretation of the Results as that is interesting reading!).

The site also states,

Warning !!!
Do not delay reading the count beyond the recommended time as
the flotation fluid may distort or destroy delicate eggs.
Therefore it is advisable to only process a few samples at a time.

If the eggs are so fragile, how come harrowing is occasionally condemned for spreading worm eggs? (I've said that myself). I have seen freshly hatched larvae in a poo patch on a warm humid day but that was a one off. I gather they do not survive long on short grass (no cover) and become exhausted and die in long grass as they climb up and down the stems in search of a new host.

I do wonder if those who sell wormer do not have a vested interest in making sure we are all kept ignorant and worried so we buy even more wormer! But you could put that down to cynical old age!

As for putting poo back on the land, it has always been my understanding that composting will cause the temperature of the heap to rise due to bacterial activity so killing both parasites and weed seeds

 

[Polos Mum]

Those of you who poo pick your paddocks and them put the poo back on please explain why you poo pick.

I spread muck that's been sat for a year then rest the field for several months (6 if weather allows) combination of these two I think reduced worm risk significantly for it to be worth it.

I also tend to have a couple of weeks off poo picking immediately before moving fields and harrow that in.
ETA - my horses graze in my fields and eat hay cut from my fields therefore I'm pretty sure no seeds in their poo other than grass seeds from species I want there anyway.

If you read the egg count test instructions I suspect worm eggs are a lot more fragile than we give them credit otherwise we wouldn't need to rush to post the samples off or worry about second class post not getting them into the fridge quick enough!

 

[ChiffChaff]

Well I can see the point if you leave it to rot down for a long while say a year but unless I have it wrong OP was intending to spread to poo she has picked up this summer on the paddock.
We do spread the muckheap on one field it's mainly well rotted bedding plus the muck of course from the stables the heap will be between one and two years old when its spread it's done in spring and the field is rested for six months after so the grazing is not soured by the muck when the horses go back on to it.

She said the muck hadn't been touched since Feb