# Wood chipper for straw and hay?



## sagecreek (Sep 3, 2004)

Has anyone ever used a back yard type wood chipper for hay or straw? I have a bunch of limbs that I need to chip, and I'd like to get more use out of it then just chipping limbs.


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

Most of the smaller chippers have a place to put leaves. If you run it through the place for limbs it will gum up and not do a good job on them.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I would be a little afraid of straw catching it on fire......


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## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

I have used our Mighty Mac to shred Indian Grass straw with no problem. I have had fires with leaves, but that was because I wasn't paying attention. Hay wouldn't be any different. No matter what you shred, when it hits the muffler, it'll burn. Get at least 7 hp.


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## redneck steve (Jan 2, 2005)

use one all the time to chop up hay and straw for mulch


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

We used ours to chop bedding one year. I don't think I'd run hay through it unlkess it was for bedding or mulching.


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

I've use mine many times to chop straw and it worked great. However, the bag that came with mine is a very heavy woven thing, and the straw sticks to the inside of the bag like crazy...just something to consider in case that would be a problem for you.

I also used my shredder last year to shred all of my cornstalks at the end of the season. I used the shredded stuff for bedding for the goats and chickens and they loved it.


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## taylorlambert (Jul 4, 2010)

Most of the small older IHC and Deere Feed mills were hammer mills like the leaf side of a chipper shredder. I have a friend that mixes feild corn and cobs and straw and hay and stalks together to make cow and goat feed.


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## lemonthyme7 (Jul 8, 2010)

we used ours to shred up old bales of straw that had sat outside for a year with no problem. There wasn't much left when we were done but that is because it had started to break down already. We mixed it with newspaper and when shredding we were blowing it directly into the garden (no bag) because I was using it for mulch in my veggie garden. It worked great - no fires because I made sure it didn't build up on muffler. We have also used it for leaves, corn stalks and of course sticks. We got ours at TSC and it was called Earthquake. It has preformed well for us so far.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

I use the lawn mower to chop up the straw and such from the chicken lodge. I also use this small Stilh home tiller on the straw that is placed on a compost bed I have just for this purpose.


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## barnardb01 (Sep 5, 2010)

I have sheep and they typically waste a lot when I feed them hay the way it is baled. So I got a troy build tomahawk chipper shredder and I shred about 12 bales of hay every two weeks. Problem is the discharge. You have to constantly clear the area to prevent clogging. I put the machine on my garden trailer to elevate it some. Keeps you going a little longer but you still have to clear the shredded hay away from the discharge. I add corn and spay the shredded hay with diluted molasses. Dusty and time consuming process but it gets the job done. The sheep loves the final product and waste nothing. I would have liked to have a machine I could stand a bale of hay in rather than tearing the bale apart and feed it a little at a time. though. No fires or any related issues ever. The muffler is high off the ground with no chance of build up.


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