# Cow manure pickup in pasture



## Kentucky mom (May 17, 2018)

How do I pickup manure from grassy areas?
I would do by hand. Do you wait til pat is dry or what?
I tried scraping it up with shovel and hoe .
Is there any easier way by hand?
Thank you


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Five tine pitch fork.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Feed your livestock a small amount of grain each day and they will leave patties closer to home.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Why pick them up?


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

I was going to ask the same thing - why would you pick them up? 

I pick up some for the garden but leave the rest to go back to where it came from and encourage worms.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

That is what children are for. Go pick up the sh..t


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

When we move cattle from one pasture to another, we simply use a drag harrow to break up the poop in the first pasture. Never pick any up.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

If you have chickens, turn them loose in the pastures and they will scratch the patties apart. 
Otherwise you need to wait for them to completely dry and harden into Frisbees.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 29, 2015)

Our chickens scratch through ours, that way there is no need to pick it up, it just goes back in to the ground naturally


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

I collected poop in Texas dry added to my flowerbeds


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## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

I keep about 6 Muscovy ducks for each cow. They follow the cows around, waiting for them to drop manure, then they muddle through it. That scatters it so it dries out, doesn't stink, and won't hatch flies.

I haven't had to drag my pastures and the only patties you will see in the pasture are those that the ducks haven't gotten to yet.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I suspect a troll dropped the patties.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I have lived on farms and ranches most of my life, both here and overseas. I have used cow chips to boil water for my morning coffee, in a Yurt in Kyrgyzstan. So unless you need the chips for fuel to cook or make heat, why in the world would you pick it up?

Muleskinner1


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## DJ in WA (Jan 28, 2005)

I normally have just a cow or two, and I pick up manure for composting in the garden. Side benefits are cleaner pastures for visitors to see the cows, and lower parasite loads.

Cows pass worm eggs in the manure, which hatch into larvae which crawl up the grass to be consumed again by cows to re-infect them and keep the life cycle going. Worse in wet, warm, humid climate and conditions. So spreading out patties to dry helps.

I don't get it all, but if I get the biggest pies that don't dry out soon, it should help.

Cows also avoid grazing where patties are, so get very uneven pasture height.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Shouldn't need to pick up manure from pasture. Pens, yes, pasture, no. Pasture should be rotated as part of overall management and some kind of drag will break up patties and help them biodegrade.


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## M5farm (Jan 14, 2014)

do the visitors not know that cows Shyt ????


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

genebo said:


> I keep about 6 Muscovy ducks for each cow. They follow the cows around, waiting for them to drop manure, then they muddle through it. That scatters it so it dries out, doesn't stink, and won't hatch flies.
> 
> I haven't had to drag my pastures and the only patties you will see in the pasture are those that the ducks haven't gotten to yet.
> View attachment 66086


How do the ducks not become coyote poop?


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## Seth (Dec 3, 2012)

Walk through the pastures after your wife cleans, most of it will end up on the kitchen floor. Trust me. Seth


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## M5farm (Jan 14, 2014)

Seth said:


> Walk through the pastures after your wife cleans, most of it will end up on the kitchen floor. Trust me. Seth


I take my boots off on the back porch.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Invite the church youth or the 4-H club out for softball before the meeting. They'll make quick work of it.

geo


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## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

Male muscovy ducks weigh 15 pounds and up. Females about 12 pounds. They both have wicked claws that they use when they roost on limbs. They can inflict enough damage to make a fox or smaller predator go somewhere else for its supper.

My Dexter cattle are all horned and are pretty good at intimidating most predators.

I still lose Muscovies every once in a while. That is why I hatch replacements all the time.

I had a visitor here today that talked a lot about ways to control flies. He said that they were terrible around his place. Then he exclaimed that there are no flies on my cattle at all! That led to a discussion of the benefits of the ducks. He left here planning on buying some as soon as he got home. He was convinced!


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