Hardee bushhog bird duster

[bearclaw]

Does anybody have any first hand experience with one? How well does it do compared to a chipper?

[CreekGeek]

Simple design. Works well enough. Developed by a guy from Columbia.

[Johnny Reb]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JOHNSON]

I have seen it first hand and it does exactly what you want it to.

[CUduckreeper]

What the price on this new contraption?

[Model12]

What does it do that a regular bush hog doesn't? Today I bush hogged 2 rows of corn and 2 rows of SF on each of my strips. Did it slow at a high RPM. second pass over each spot produced LOTS of shattered corn and SF seeds........What does this machine do that's special?




After watching the vid.........A bush hog pulled slow & low at a high RPM will do the same thing...........Think they re-invented the wheel.

[2thDoc]

i thought with the name model12 you'd have some old school charm....

bluff roads' finest developed that. it certainly does better than a normal bushhog but its not a necessity for anyone.

[Grey_Bird_Killa]

If you’re serious about birds get a 1 row silage chopper.

[Highstrung]

it's like watching children playing

[Kirk]

I will preface this by saying that the inventor of the Bird Duster is a good friend of mine and works with me, so I'm admittedly biased. The inventor and patent holder makes very little on the sale of each unit but has been planting and working on dove fields for years and has a true passion for those little gray birds. If you want more info, shoot me a PM and I will put him in touch with you. I have no financial interest in these machines but I purchased one for myself at the normal retail cost (no discount) and would buy it again. I needed a 6' cutter anyway, so this purchase accomplished that as well as being a good dove field tool. Hardee is made in SC and I bought mine through Blanchard Machinery (New Holland store).

The design is very simple. It is Hardee's 1072 cutter with modifications to the deck (back right corner) and the patented blades. You can adjust it so the blades are actually skimming the dirt and hitting every head. We have learned that it does better the more level/flatter your field is, so if you have a field cultivator (perfecta) you would be well served to used it pre-plant. I really like it because it is very portable. I can put a small set of discs on the front of my trailer and tractor with bird duster behind it, so if I'm going to another field I can disc then cut in one trip.

I have cut corn and sunflowers with any method you can think of - silage cutter, rotary cutter on a skid steer, manual feed brush chipper, bush hog, and the Bird Duster. Here are my thoughts on each, for what they are worth.

The silage cutter does an awesome job. Pros: excellent job of busting up heads/cobs and distributing single/cracked seeds a long distance and is directional. Cons: a lot of moving parts, +/- 40 grease fittings, gearbox, etc. (I kept a spare unit for parts); you have to cut fairly slow and make sure you stay in your row; it is also difficult to move over the road and takes up a lot of real estate under the shed; hard to turn around at the end of the row (especially if field is fenced).

Rotary cutter on a skid steer is amazing if you have access to it. Pros: You can hold the cutter at a 45 degree angle at eye level and you have four blades hitting the heads directly; blade is also reversible so you can throw left or right; can also be used to clean up weeds, etc around field edges; excellent visibility and control; fast. Cons: Cost, doesn't shred stalks as fine as silage cutter.

Limb chipper: does a great job but too labor intensive for a large field. Not possible to run from a cab with AC like other options. Worked great when my kids were younger and had more time to drive it around while I walked and dropped corn cobs in.

Bush hog - Pros: very portable, most people have one already, can operate from AC cab. Cons: tractor pushes over stalks and you don't break up every head. Also, most of the seed goes directly behind the cutter so you don't get as much on your freshly plowed dirt next to your row.

Bird Duster - Pros: very portable; can also swap blades and bolt cover in deck to use as regular 6' bush hog; back right corner of deck is cut out so it does a great job of throwing seed to the right of where you are cutting; scatters individual seeds more evenly and further than a bush hog. Cons: costs more than a bush hog

I'm happy to share more info. I will not lend it, but would be happy to bring it to your field and demo/cut for you in exchange for an invitation to shoot birds! This is provided that you have water access to clean it off so I don't bring your pigweed seed back to my farm.

[Highstrung]

my joke is about the members in here, everyone just likes to make things a little harder than they need to be

[bearclaw]

I will preface this by saying that the inventor of the Bird Duster is a good friend of mine and works with me, so I'm admittedly biased. The inventor and patent holder makes very little on the sale of each unit but has been planting and working on dove fields for years and has a true passion for those little gray birds. If you want more info, shoot me a PM and I will put him in touch with you. I have no financial interest in these machines but I purchased one for myself at the normal retail cost (no discount) and would buy it again. I needed a 6' cutter anyway, so this purchase accomplished that as well as being a good dove field tool. Hardee is made in SC and I bought mine through Blanchard Machinery (New Holland store).

The design is very simple. It is Hardee's 1072 cutter with modifications to the deck (back right corner) and the patented blades. You can adjust it so the blades are actually skimming the dirt and hitting every head. We have learned that it does better the more level/flatter your field is, so if you have a field cultivator (perfecta) you would be well served to used it pre-plant. I really like it because it is very portable. I can put a small set of discs on the front of my trailer and tractor with bird duster behind it, so if I'm going to another field I can disc then cut in one trip.

I have cut corn and sunflowers with any method you can think of - silage cutter, rotary cutter on a skid steer, manual feed brush chipper, bush hog, and the Bird Duster. Here are my thoughts on each, for what they are worth.

The silage cutter does an awesome job. Pros: excellent job of busting up heads/cobs and distributing single/cracked seeds a long distance and is directional. Cons: a lot of moving parts, +/- 40 grease fittings, gearbox, etc. (I kept a spare unit for parts); you have to cut fairly slow and make sure you stay in your row; it is also difficult to move over the road and takes up a lot of real estate under the shed; hard to turn around at the end of the row (especially if field is fenced).

Rotary cutter on a skid steer is amazing if you have access to it. Pros: You can hold the cutter at a 45 degree angle at eye level and you have four blades hitting the heads directly; blade is also reversible so you can throw left or right; can also be used to clean up weeds, etc around field edges; excellent visibility and control; fast. Cons: Cost, doesn't shred stalks as fine as silage cutter.

Limb chipper: does a great job but too labor intensive for a large field. Not possible to run from a cab with AC like other options. Worked great when my kids were younger and had more time to drive it around while I walked and dropped corn cobs in.

Bush hog - Pros: very portable, most people have one already, can operate from AC cab. Cons: tractor pushes over stalks and you don't break up every head. Also, most of the seed goes directly behind the cutter so you don't get as much on your freshly plowed dirt next to your row.

Bird Duster - Pros: very portable; can also swap blades and bolt cover in deck to use as regular 6' bush hog; back right corner of deck is cut out so it does a great job of throwing seed to the right of where you are cutting; scatters individual seeds more evenly and further than a bush hog. Cons: costs more than a bush hog

I'm happy to share more info. I will not lend it, but would be happy to bring it to your field and demo/cut for you in exchange for an invitation to shoot birds! This is provided that you have water access to clean it off so I don't bring your pigweed seed back to my farm.

Thanks will pm you when I have more time. Thanks