Chickens do not require much attention, are unpretentious in food, adapt to the selected conditions, etc. However, there is an important point that many beginners overlook: grass is very important for chickens. But picking it up with your hands and putting it in a cage is completely wrong. Therefore, today we will talk about grass grinders for chickens.
Do you need a chopper?
Undoubtedly, because grass for chickens is the basis of the diet, no matter how strange it sounds. For owls, for example, it is important to eat rodents whole, although they will regurgitate wool and bones. This is their digestive system. The same goes for chickens: they can be fed with special feed, grain, etc., but nothing can replace them with those nutrients that are in fresh living grass.
However, compared to those owls, chickens need to eat the grass they need every day. How human will it be to cut plants by hand every day? Hardly a lot. That is why a grass shredder is needed. Moreover, chopped plants are much more pleasant for chicks: it’s easier to peck the finished food than to try to pick leaves from a long stem.
Also, a grass chopper for chickens will be useful if there are a lot of chickens themselves. The daily cutting of plants is depressing, and if you need to do this on an especially large scale (after all, chickens eat a lot), then you cannot do without a suitable tool.
Device and principle of operation
Any device for chopping grass works like a food processor: it cuts the entire contents into small pieces using sharp knives. There are different variations among the models of grass cutters, but their essence is always the same: the grass is put in the container, the rotating blades grind the contents, and the finished product is removed (due to centrifugal force) through a special opening on the side.
Any chicken herb grinder consists of several key details:
1 Tank for storing raw materials
It is in it that the unprocessed plants necessary for chickens go. The amount of original material that can be placed in the container depends on the technical characteristics of each individual model.
Although, often, for feeding a small number of chickens, skilled poultry farmers create such devices themselves. In this case, the most ordinary bucket of 12-15 liters is used as a container for laying grass. It can also be replaced with a plastic barrel or other more suitable containers.
2Knives
Knives are installed in the lower part of the said container for raw materials. Some models can use cords (trimmer lines). For feeding chickens, this method of cutting grass is even preferable: pieces of plants will be larger, and it will be more convenient for birds to peck them.
And when using models with sharpened knives, there is a high probability of obtaining mulch at the output (for gardening) or even porridge from the grass. Neither one nor the other is suitable for feeding chickens - they will refuse to eat it.
3 Engine
Grass cutters can be either automatic (most often) or manual. Purchased models have a variety of engines, depending on the objectives pursued. This also affects the power of the device. Particularly efficient shredders, in addition to cutting the grass too finely, can also generate a lot of dust.
To avoid this, manufacturers install different filters on grass cutters, but what if grass is cut into chicken feed? A high-performance and powerful engine is not required here, which means that it will not really create dust.
In home-made models, even drills or angle grinders (angle grinders) can be used, at the end of which blades will be located for chopping grass. In some special cases, chicken herb grinders are also made from old, unnecessary washing machines.
Their main principle of operation ideally meets the requirements of grass cutters: blades are installed in the drum, an additional hole is created for the output of the cut grass, after which the device begins to work for its intended purpose.
4 other details
In addition to the raw material container, blades and motor, a wide variety of accessories can be installed:
- protective cover;
- wheels (allow the chopper to move freely around the territory);
- cable for connecting the unit to the mains;
- sieve;
- filters;
- blowing the finished product, etc.
DIY grass shredders
For your own creation of the unit, you can use any devices and parts that will well perform the role of grinding grass.
To build you need the following materials:
- a cultivator device that will act as a drive for grinding grass;
- sharpened steel knife (s);
- self-tapping screws;
- capacity for grinding;
- table top and legs.
Other materials may be needed, depending on the desired machine that needs to be assembled. But these are purely individual characteristics of the process.
This video presents the simplest homemade chopper. It is made of a metal bucket, an engine with knives and a plastic container (for collecting the finished material):
Chopper from a bucket and an old construction tool
To create such a device, it is enough to take a countertop, fix a bucket on it, and make a hole in the bottom and place a drill. A knife is installed on the core of the drill and placed on the bottom of the bucket immediately under the countertop.
On the side of the bucket, you need to make a hole and cover it with metal plates (due to centrifugal force, crushed grass will pass through it). After the final assembly, you get something like this unit:
If you wish (or lack thereof) you can not install the drill in place, but simply fix the knives on the rod and lower the drill into a bucket in which there is already grass.
For the especially lazy, you can, in principle, not make any holes in the bucket and each time pour the chopped grass out of the container by hand, at the same time wielding an improvised grass cutter drill yourself.
How to make a chopper from a bucket and a grinder is shown in the video below:
Shredder from an old vacuum cleaner
Most often, for such a home-made device, it is advised to use a Soviet Typhoon vacuum cleaner. It has an ideally shaped top hole where the grass is laid, as well as an identical size outlet (where the suction hose was). Thanks to this, the crushed grass will not remain inside, but will be thrown out of the hull during operation.
The scheme for creating such an aggregate can be found in these images:
1 - the shutter is closed; 2 - the damper is open.
3 - bushing; 4 - working knife; 5 - broom knife; 6 - knives with a sleeve assembly.
Washing machine shredder
This type of unit is almost completely identical to that made from a vacuum cleaner. The only difference is in size. The body of the washing machine will be used as a container (which can be cut off, this is optional), and the sleeve should be more than 5 cm.
It is best to use a top-loading washing machine. Thus, it will be easier to lay the material. A machine with a standard load will have to be put to one side, although this point cannot be called a disadvantage. Rather, it is a slight difficulty in installing a ready-made shredder.
You can see the process of creating a grass chopper from a washing machine from the video. Here, the craftsman talks in detail about the process of creating his own unit and tests it:
Shredder types and popular models
Exist 3 main classes, into which grass cutters are divided:
1 amateur
This category includes units with power consumption up to 2,200 watts. Such devices easily cope with a small amount of processed raw materials (for grass - 150 kg / h), perfectly chop the grass and can even cope with grains, vegetables, volunteer fruits, rotten wood and small branches.
IKB-002, which is simultaneously a grass chopper and a grain grinder, can be considered a wonderful example of a high-quality grass grinder of this type.
As for the technical characteristics of the device, then:
- power - 1,150 W;
- chopping grass - 150 kg / h;
- blade rotation speed - 1,200 rpm;
- can work without interruption up to 6 hours;
- compact size;
- easy transportation;
- savings in energy consumption.
The price of this device is 4,500 rubles. Of the minuses, only the external flimsy of the unit stands out, but with careful handling and careful care, it will last a very long time. For its value, it perfectly copes with chopping grass.
2 semi-professional
The power of such devices is equal to or slightly more than amateur models (up to 2 800 W). Their key difference lies in their higher productivity: the speed of rotation of the cutting elements is higher, as is the quality of the material from which they are made. They also have more types of blades, that is, they can not only cut the grass, but also split it into mulch.
Kubanets-300T3M is rightfully considered a good example of a semi-professional shredder:
- power - 2 200 W;
- chopping grass - 300 kg / h;
- blade rotation speed - 2 850 rpm;
- operating mode - long (without interruptions, while the cooling system is working properly);
- high availability of spare parts and consumables.
Of the minuses, the size of the unit stands out. It may not be so large, but it is delivered exclusively assembled, so you will have to spend more effort and money on transporting the device than on analogues. Another disadvantage is the high “dustiness”: the device is equipped with no special filters, which is why a lot of dust formation occurs during operation.
Nevertheless, this model has proven itself remarkably among customers, and you can buy it for 19,000 rubles.
3Professional
Shredders of this type are created not only for grass, but also for branches, and quite large ones (up to 80 mm). Moreover, they ideally grind needles, cones, etc. Such models work at a power of 5-7 kW and are not electric - only on gasoline engines. Devices of a professional type are better than their predecessors, and it is better in absolutely everything.
VIKING GB 460 is considered an excellent example and a quality model among such units:
- 4-stroke engine with a power of 5.8 kW;
- rotation of the blades - 3,000 rpm;
- the operating mode is constant, but it is recommended to take breaks of 10-15 minutes every hour;
- service life - 20 thousand hours;
- 12 crushing and 3 crushing knives;
- automatic feed of raw materials;
- maximum productivity.
The disadvantages are weight (72 kg), unit noise (about 100 dB) and its price - 140-145 thousand rubles. But when you take into account the characteristics, thanks to which you can easily provide a small poultry farm with chopped grass, its incomparable benefits become obvious.
It is better not to let children into the grinders, and adults need to be extremely careful. The grass chopper may seem like a harmless device, but the blades inside are so sharp that they can critically injure anyone. If used correctly, the device will last for many years, providing chickens with quality food.