Best fork for straw bedding?

[diceuf]

What’s your favorite pitchfork for stalls bedded with straw. Five tines is too wide for manure and my Durafork picks up too much straw.

[ASB_Stars]

I have a six tine that I used for years, when I bedded on straw. It has been relegated to use for mulch, at this point. It has a good feel, weight, and you can get hold of the straw, with the pile on top, and dump it off into your wheelbarrow easily. It’s also great for moving bedding off the walls, and around the stall.

[sascha]

Durafork is what I found to be best. Pick up poo by picking up the straw underneath it too. Then angle your fork over your wheelbarrow so the poo rolls/flops off and leaves the straw on your fork. Replace the straw in your cleanish pile and repeat. Use you cleanish pile to replenish the wet areas and add fresh bedding over top.

I found it much easier to rake and roll wet spots for picking up ALL the grunge and rake/distribute clean straw with a durafork than anything else. It just takes a lot of practice.

[clanter]

we have one horse on shredded straw, use a regular manure fork

[goodhors]

I use a 10 tine steel fork on straw. Tines are close enough together to hold the poops, many tines hold the wet straw well. I had no luck using any kind of plastic fork on straw. The metal tines handle wet straw well, able to move the load without losing the load. It was good on both long straw and chopped straw. I found these forks at TSC.

[Texarkana]

I use a 4 tine fork with no issues.

But I use a rake to scoop the finer stuff up.

I know this wasn’t the OP’s question. I’m sure they have a good method. But I often find people who are more comfortable with sawdust/shavings stalls don’t like wide tine straw forks.

I think it’s a technique thing: I can’t stand using anything with more tines because too much straw gets caught in the fork. I lift the manure with straw underneath and deposit it into the wheelbarrow or a pile of muck I’ve created in the dirtiest spot. Next I toss the remaining clean straw that was underneath back with the clean straw piled along the walls. Everything from the muck pile gets scooped into the wheelbarrow at the end (unless I put it straight in already. Last I rake the floor well, using the side of my boot to push the pile of remaining fine stuff onto the rake like a scoop.