“Bucket Scoop”, Tiller Save Bedding In Poultry Barns

“Bucket Scoop” Tiller Save Bedding In Poultry Barns LIVESTOCK Poultry Howard Popp Rice Minn recently contacted FARM SHOW about 2 skid steer-mounted attachments he built to save poultry producers time and money when handling manure “Used in combination these attachments are a very cost-effective and efficient way to remove the top layer of caked manure in a poultry barn while keeping the dry layer of bedding underneath it in place ” says Popp “This 2-attachment system is far less wasteful than hauling out all the bedding with the manure as most producers do now ” The first attachment is a 5-ft deep bucket or “scoop” without a floor Instead it has a series of 4-in high thin steel rails curved slightly upward set on 3-in spacings As the operator drives forward the rails skim off the top 2 in or so of caked manure leaving the bedding underneath in place The bucket rides on a pair of depth gauge skids that keep it from going too deep “The curved rails keep the manure from bunching up underneath as the operator drives forward Once the bucket is full the operator tilts the bucket back and shakes it to release litter Caked manure stays in the bucket ” says Popp The second attachment is a Litter Tiller that operates off the skid loader’s hydraulics tilling and leveling the bedding while also releasing moisture and ammonia “It’s important to reduce ammonia levels because ammonia can cause blindness in newly hatched baby chicks that will be coming into the barn for the next flock to be raised ” says Popp “The tilling and leveling action also allows chicks to move about easily to find water and feed ” The bucket scoop is available in widths from 4 to 10 ft and sells for $2 700 to $3 800 The Litter Tiller is available in 8 and 10-ft widths and sells for $5 000 to $5 200 Popp also makes smaller bucket scoops and Litter Tillers for garden tractors You can watch the Bucket Scoop in action on Facebook by typing in: HC Popp Welding Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Howard Popp 13980 45th Ave N E Rice Minn 56367 cell ph 320 260-0226; hcpoppwelding@gmail com

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