Made By Alpaca People For Alpaca People
Manure Vacuum
We bought a Greystone Manure Vacuum and LOVE it. We can vacuum the barn, pastures, goat stall AND the chicken coops!
It was pricey, but it is a huge timesaver and anything we can do to cut down the spread of parasites is worth it, to us!
If anyone is interested, my friend/mentor is considering becoming a Dealer, located in VA. There are not many dealers in the US and the closer the dealer the less freight costs.
Laura
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Maryann Marsh on -
I have heard mixed revues. The one thing that i heard was it was hard to clean and when picking up wet poop, it got stuck a lot. Can you let us know how you clean it and if you have any of these issues? Thank you so much for posted, have always wanted to REALLY know how people like it!
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Permalink Reply by Laura Roberts on -
The only problems I have had is trying to suck up matted hay and chicken manure........the clumps come up really large- too large, so the vac may get blocked. That is one reason we are not using hay or straw as bedding in the chicken coop!
It picks up the wet poop and wet litter easily. Loses some of it's suction when getting closer and closer to full, but that is normal. Still has enough power to do the job.
At one of Marty McGee's seminars, a group of us got into a discussion and apparently there are several mfrs of these vacuums. The one I heard the best reviews about was the Greystone. (they also seem to be the most expensive)
After hearing the nightmares and aguish people and alpacas have endured over parasites.....the real bad ones, we decided this was worth the investment. The manure isn't spread around (the way I did with a rake and pan) it is sucked up in one fell swoop! I would rate it an 8 for 10.......ten being perfect! One thing I want to add to it is a handle that you can pull it like a wagon without hooking it up something. The hose is a little short for reaching inside the chicken coop, but it is fine for the barn and pastures.
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Permalink Reply by Maryann Marsh on
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Thanks for all the info and the honesty on the machine......ok, i'm sitting down, what is the "investment cost?"
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Permalink Reply by Laura Roberts on
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They run from around $3000 to $3500........give or take. Shipping depends on how far you live from the dealer or manufacturer. I heard they are moving from Washington state to Texas. Dealers have the flexibility to sell them higher or lower, of course. I paid about $3200 for ours and that incl the shipping. It IS expensive, but after my friend lost an alpaca to parasites, we decided this could possibly pay for itself by helping us keep the critters healthier. (not to mention it takes us less time to clean) Plus, no spreading the parasites around by raking them into a pan or whatever.
I am not a dealer and have nothing to lose or gain, just wanted to share our experience. It is a simple engine (per husband) and should last a good long while.
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Permalink Reply by Sherm and Cindy Whitlock on -
Has anyone out there tried any of the other vacuums? I'd like one where you can just drive over and suck up the piles. Anyone tried the DR vacuum equipped with the mulching feature??
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Permalink Reply by Laura Roberts on
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I attended a CamelyDynamics seminar last May and the manure vacs became a topic of discussion amongst us. The Greystone was really talked up by many due to the suction and ability to vacuum up wet and nasty.
We took ours to a friends yesterday and of course, with all the rain we have had, everything was soaked. The barn had lots of wet hay to vac and it did the job. It WILL become clogged if too much is sucked up at a time-- then we spray water up the hose and it usually dislodges. My dh very elequently related it to "giving an elephant an enema". We all had a chuckle.
Now that I see vacs that blow the manure right into a spreader, I wonder if I jumped the gun by not trying others, but I am satisfied with ours. If I had it to do over, I might get the larger model to avoid having to empty as often. A one hundred gallon canister sounds big enough until lots of wet nasty hay is involved and the hay fills it up pretty quickly.
If my dh hears that DR has a product that might work, he will probably want it. That man is a D R Horton fool for gadgets. We ordered the snow blower attachment last month. Of course, that was for preventative measures. As long as we have a snow blower, we probably won't see snow the way we did this year, ever again! (small price to pay, imo)
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Permalink Reply by Sherm and Cindy Whitlock on
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Hi Laura,
I spoke with a DR rep about using any of their lawn and leaf vacuums for alpaca manure, and they told me that it's not built for manure clean up and they would not honor the warranty if it was used for that. Sooo, on with the hunt for a manure vacuum.
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