Has anyone ever used a flail mower for their pastures? If so, pros? Cons?
I currently pull a 6’ rotary mower – which always leaves wind rows. Not so great of course if the grass gets a bit high. The wind rows just lay there and rot if I don’t come back through in a couple of days and stir them up by re-mowing.
Anyway-- I heard that flail mowers don’t leave wind rows. So I am considering getting one. Thoughts???
If you are looking to mow paddocks, fields to keep horses on I don’t think a flail mower is the way to go. They are more suitable for managing, cutting the “marginal” areas around the farm, excellent for cutting trails through wood, bridle paths etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwXVUvwhz7M
That being said I have limited experience with one. I have an 8’ rotary and a 16’ rotary. If I let the grass get to long and thick and take it down to 6-8 inches I get the same result as you have described. In stead for better results and less to no die-back from the thick “wind-rows” left in the tire tracks of big mower I “top” the long stuff left it dry and settle and come back the following week and take it down lower or to the desired height.
Once down to the the desired height I try and keep on top of mowing before it gets too long again. Easier said then done at times.
I think you will get better results with a finish mower which are usually a lot less expensive, used or new than a flail. But they do not cut long, thick stuff very well. But once the paddocks, field are under control they give a very good “golf course” results. They cut the top of the grass much “cleaner” which IMO help, encourages the grass to grow better. Not sure if there is a real “science” behind this.
I’ve been using an older but refurbished Mott ‘88’ flail mower on our acreage for the past several years.
There are rough cut and finish cut style flail blades. My mower is setup for rough cut. Having said that, it leaves a fantastic looking cut on our pasture areas with no windrows whatsoever. Even very tall grass (3 feet or higher) can be reduced to mulchings and evenly distributed with two mowing sessions spread a day or two apart.
A flail mower will do just as much to encourage grass growth as any finish mower. No organic material is removed, everything stays natively in place.
A flail mower will not turn sticks or foreign objects into missiles either. We have extensive PVC fencing on our property and several horses belonging to borders. I didn’t want to risk launching rocks or anything at the horses or fences while mowing.
My flail mower cost about $300 when i bought it, and i probably have a day or two of welding/fab work for repairs and a few dollars for a replacement belt at tractor supply.
I wish i had a hydraulic top-link so i could change height without getting out of the tractor — maybe i will get that done this season 
How fast can you mow and get a good cut?
The only negative I’ve heard of with flail mowers is that if you have any areas that have stones, your flails will get zapped. The rotary makes a whole bunch of noise, but is more apt to survive. I am not talking about BIG old rocks here, that couldn’t be in the fields, anyway, but the ones that get pushed up through the soil from the winters.
[QUOTE=ASB Stars;8720359]
The only negative I’ve heard of with flail mowers is that if you have any areas that have stones, your flails will get zapped. The rotary makes a whole bunch of noise, but is more apt to survive. I am not talking about BIG old rocks here, that couldn’t be in the fields, anyway, but the ones that get pushed up through the soil from the winters.[/QUOTE]
Yup and there are a lot of “blades” to replace. They can be replaced individually when needed at a couple of $$ a piece. Depending on the mower it can cost well over $200 and a lot of labor time to replace them all. Depending on wear and tear it may require a blade and repair kit which cost over $400.
For the reasons you gave it is not IMO a good idea to use a flail mower with horses in the paddock/field. Or anything, people or animals behind and or around the mower.
They definitely have their place in one’s equipment shed depending on the size and scope of one’s operation. I would like to have one.
IMO the average farm owner would be better served with a swing/impact mower because it does not have a “discharge shoot” to throw stuff around. Well it does but it operates differently and that’s what the chains are for to keep things from shooting out Assuming it has chains. Mine do.
A finish mower has a side discharge so you pretty much always know what direction things will be going. They don’t “shoot out” as fast nor “flail” all over the place. 3 blades that can easily be removed/installed sharpened with a hand grinder, bench grinder or sent out and or bought new for a reasonable price.
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