best tractor powered mowing device ? Pro's Con's

What is the best tractor powered mowing device for clearing old grass and small coniferous trees from a hay field?

I.E. Sickle mower,flail mower,Bush hog etc and the pros and cons of each

Anything to do with small trees would probably be best done with a bush hog(or rough cut rotary mower for those who prefer non-brand-name terminology). I have accidentally cut a couple of maple saplings with a sicklebar at the edge of a field but I do not think it was the best thing for the mower in the long run.
Zach

Defiantly a brush hog. I cleared about 10 acres with one and was taking saplings about an 1 or a little bigger with it. Worked my tractor but i got it all cleared

I personally would not use a sickle mower, would think you would be looking for problems that type of mixed brush. For brush hog and frail mower, I have used a brush hog, be prepared for alot of junk pelting you in the back, and be sure to raise the back high enough to clear out the mess. Also need to be sure you have one with that will not bust a blade or your shaft if you hit something. (Neighbor blew out a transmission once hitting a stump.) I have not used a frail mower but like the idea of the hammers compared to a spinning blade, and hopefull lack of items being flung out from underneath. The question is what size trees are you talking about and will a frail mower handle them. Just my thoughts.

Bush hog that is what there made to do the other types of mowers are not .

Bush hog with the tractor in reverse, your neck may get crampy but at least the tractor paint and sheet metal doesn't get skinned up as much.

Before I found a chiper I would trim trees, and lay the branches in a row, and mulch them, with my Woods rotery mower. So if you want my opinion I think a rotery mower with large heavy blades will do the job. Stan

37 Chief,

Fifty years ago when I worked in an apple orchard in Minnesota we did the same thing you did. When we finished pruning the apple trees we would windrow all of the branches in a row and some of them were large. I used a TO-35 Ferguson and would chop it all up with a heavy duty rotary mower driving along with my head down to keep from getting hit by flying pieces. ) That would really bang and throw pieces.

I would go for a flail mower. Much better job of mowing then a brush hog and ALOT safer too !!!
There are different types of blades/flails for them some are made to chop up heavier stuff then grass. If you have any trees pull them out with a chain first.

Thanks guys,the trees, I will be dealing with are new shoots none over 12"

hi use a brush hog it will do a better job, go over it twice you will never know there were any trees. been there done that ,i mow what we call here filth heavy filth , trees up to 2 1/2 -3 inch sometimes bigger every year. you can see the remains of the bigger trees ,but you cant tell where the small were at all brush hog defenitely.

I'm doing the same thing after I clear the larger trees and get the stumps below my bush hog's mower depth. I'm using a ford 641 and pulling a JD 6 foot mower with no problems. Small trees are right at that 1" mark.

Well, their has to be one different vote.LOL!If your trees were small enough like you say,I prefer 10-1 a good sycle mower.faster ,less hp,does a good job mowing,and looks better in my opinion.Trade off is more up keep.Just out of curiosity,how do you cut your hay?if your just getting started you'll need a sycle mower or swather of some type anyway.why not just use it?bale those small trees right with your hay,cows or horses will eat around them,and if you cut them below the last limb they generally wont come back.Ive seen people take a old combine,hook a trailer on where straw discharge is,take trailer to a safe location when it was full,and dump and burn trash to get rid of weeds.then they would dump grain bin on combine and burn any seed that threshed out. kind of a round about way of doing it,but it works.I really dont like the way a brush hog cuts grass personally,and if blade is not really sharp it puts undue stress on pto and drive lines in my opinion.Another thing i dont like is that most of them tend to kind of windrow grass and shades out grass below it in strips.But a brushog is quite a bit less maintenence to keep up, so its a trade off.In my opinion, if you could have just one go with a sycle mower or swather,that you need anyway.You can bale behind a rotary mower, but the best part of your hay will be lost. Around here most folks I know have been turned off flail mowers also.upkeep on them ,sharpening blades and all can be a chore.Disc mower does a really good job ,and is what a most folks are going to if they buy new, but if you have trash or big rocks you can tear them up in a hurry.