Very unusual old hay machine

WIZZO · Jun 26, 2015

Years ago the farmers used to sweep their loose hay up and build "hay cocks" in the fields. Later these would be loaded up onto a wagon & taken to the farm yard where it was built into a large hay rick.

A friend in Ireland sent me these photos of a very unusual device for gathering hay into hay cocks. I've never seen these before.

The hay is elevated into this wheeled basket, where a man tramples it down to make it firm.

Transporting back to the farm yard

The basket is inverted and the hay deposited in the hard in a hay cock.

Ken Macfarlane · Jun 26, 2015

The hay loaders are common in rock piles over here but I've never seen a haycock basket!

Traditional Farmer · Jun 26, 2015

Instant hayrick pretty interesting idea.

Spook · Jun 26, 2015

(quoted from post at 03:41:15 06/26/15) Years ago the farmers used to sweep their loose hay up and build "hay cocks" in the fields. Later these would be loaded up onto a wagon & taken to the farm yard where it was built into a large hay rick.

A friend in Ireland sent me these photos of a very unusual device for gathering hay into hay cocks. I've never seen these before.

The hay is elevated into this wheeled basket, where a man tramples it down to make it firm.

Transporting back to the farm yard

The basket is inverted and the hay deposited in the hard in a hay cock.

A neighbor had a old hay loader out by his barn for years. But I've never seen a basket. Here, they would load it onto a wagon, take it to the barn, and then a giant claw thing would pick up the hay, and drop it in the haw mow, the upper level of the barn.

MJ in the UK · Jun 26, 2015

Hi WIZZO this machine is owned by a man from Wigtown Cumbria and he brought it to the Carrington rally in Lincolnshire. A friend of mine towed it around the ring while I did the commentry. MJ

Hendrik · Jun 26, 2015

I'd like to avoid doing the trampling while loading :-(
I, too, have only seen hayloaders being towed behind a trailer/wagon.
In our country all hay was stored inside anyway.
Hendrik, from The Netherlands

ericlb · Jun 26, 2015

never seen the basket either but the pile looks like the ones you hollow out so you can see the farmers daughter when the farmer dont like ya at least in the movies lol

ohiojim · Jun 26, 2015

spent many days behind a hay loader stomping hay,....then to the barn to stomp it into the mow,..don't think there were any baskets like that in the states

WIZZO · Jun 26, 2015

(quoted from post at 04:58:27 06/26/15) Hi WIZZO this machine is owned by a man from Wigtown Cumbria and he brought it to the Carrington rally in Lincolnshire. A friend of mine towed it around the ring while I did the commentry. MJ

Thank you for the info, nice to know more about such an unusual machine. Any idea who made it, were many sold?

GVSII · Jun 26, 2015

I've never seen the basket but loaders were very common in NNY through the '50s and were still used into the '60s.The Amish still use them today.
I was driving the tractor while my brother and the farmer were on the wagon pulling the hay off the loader.Either a wasps nest was in the windrow or in a tree and the loader caught it in a turn.The boys were making some moves John Travolta would've been proud of!

Goose · Jun 26, 2015

The loaders were common in the States years ago, and might still be in use in certain areas. I always saw them loading a regular hay rack, though.

MJ in the UK · Jun 26, 2015

Hi WIZZO, try and get you some more infomation but could take some time. Watching TV the other night and looking at Griff Reys Jones in Pembrokeshire, very intresting. Only been to Pembrokeshire once and that was in Febuary 1967 to take a secondhand milking parlour to Clarbeston Road. MJ

Dave H (MI) · Jun 26, 2015

I'll just join in with those who have never seen the basket. A loader similar to that one has been sitting on the side of the road a few miles from here for sale. Been there for at least 10 years, don't know what he wants for it. The last picture is priceless. They look like they are having a good time.

WIZZO · Jun 26, 2015

(quoted from post at 07:06:22 06/26/15) Hi WIZZO, try and get you some more infomation but could take some time. Watching TV the other night and looking at Griff Reys Jones in Pembrokeshire, very intresting. Only been to Pembrokeshire once and that was in Febuary 1967 to take a secondhand milking parlour to Clarbeston Road. MJ

Did you You Tube videos I posted the other day? Shows what south Pembrokeshire farm land is like.

INCase · Jun 26, 2015

Ya, for a "romp in the hay"!!

2510Paul · Jun 26, 2015

Looks like an early form of a round bale. Paul

rusty6 · Jun 26, 2015

Cockshutt made a hay stacker (minus the basket seen in this post). Although I don't recall seeing any work around here I have
seen the ads for the stackers back in the 1940s.

495man · Jun 26, 2015

Neat!

lots of old hayloaders around here, have two on the farm now. Always loaded hay racks and used a pitching machine to load mow of the barn.

60 acre hillside · Jun 26, 2015

And just think what the cows think of the boys and girls playing with their food

coonie minnie · Jun 26, 2015

Like everyone else has said, the loader was VERY common in the US prior to balers. The majority of farmers doing hay in the midwest probably had a hay loader prior to balers coming on the scene after (and a
few before) WWII. Most of the major farm equipment manufacturers had one, and some several designs. Deere had at least 3 designs, all offered at one time.

The basket, though, is something not seen here. In the US midwest, a lot (if not all) hay was stored inside and so the basket would have not have been much use. Usual procedure was to load the hay on a flat
wagon with the loader, and then unload at the barn, often with an overhead hoist in the barn. Wagon and loader could be pulled by horses or tractor. My grandfather's brother used to pull the loader with a
flatbed truck, load the truck, and then dump it on the barn floor where someone else hoisted it into the mow.

flying belgian · Jun 26, 2015

Anyone know how it is inverted? The first photo kinda looks like there are hinge pins half way up the basket so I suspect they just manually flip it over.

2x4 · Jun 26, 2015

in the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern US we called those piles of hay 'shocks' of hay. Never knew why they were called shocks. The hay was windrowed with a buck rake, then piled into shocks. Two poles were slid under the shock & the tractor drawbar raised the shock & it was skidded to the haystack.

Dr. Walt · Jun 27, 2015

As a matter of fact, back in 1954 (when I was 8) my family was invited to a large party (western style barbecue) at the Spahn Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California (yes, the same ranch that Charles Manson & his gang lived at when they committed all those murders in the late 1960's). They had a huge hay stack by the Livery Stable and all of us kids were playing on & in it. We were making tunnels through the hay stack. LOL. Still remember it after all these years; even got to help turn the crank on the Ice Cream churn.

Doc :>)

Very unusual old hay machine

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads