Victor Sych, PhD, director of «KUHN-Ukraine»

This article certainly should begin with preparation technology of full mixed ration (FMR) and then talk about a technique that allows to mix feed. However, ferm managers now have an increasing number of practical questions about the criteria of selecting the feedmixers. They ask, which one to choose? Therefore, we decided to focus on the analysis of different types of mixers and the criteria for selecting a specific model for those who already know that he needed a mixer. And next time we’ll consider the features of the cattle physiology and the need to feed the FMR.

Mixers are made by over a hundred of plants worldwide. Each model has its own technical solutions, but all of them can be divided into several groups depending on the main design features.

Mixers with vertical mixing augers

Auger can be one, two or even three (photo 1). Total world production of such mixers is 80%. They owe their popularity to high quality and mixing speed, reliability, flexibility to feed and its storage (for example, you can load the whole roll or square bales of straw and hay). The disadvantages are lack of effective grinding feed and large headroom of single-auger models. The determining factors in the quality and reliability of vertical mixers are the design of the pressing reducing valve, auger and the tanker, the functions of the control unit and the indicator.

Photo 1. Mixer with two vertical mixing augers.

Mixers with horizontal mixing augers

Typically, these mixers have one or two horizontal augers. They account for 10% of trailer units. Horizontal single- auger mixers have fundamentally asymmetrical cross-sectional design, which affects the quality of mixing. Double-auger mixers work both with transport augers (especially in high-capacity tankers) and without. The advantages of horizontal mixers are large number of sharp knives, which are crushed long-staple feed and root vegetables, compact oblong shape. But the disadvantages are much bigger. First, you must unpack the bales of hay and straw, because the horizontal augers can not do that. In addition, there is a danger that they can be deformed if to load large bales.

More information read in the magazine «Milk and Farm» № 5 (12), October 2012.