Hand Threshing Oats

I have what I think looks like a good crop of oats, about 1/3 acre. Assuming even a poor yield I figure I might get 8-10 bushels, too much to disc in for a fall planting. I know they will winter-kill but that's okay. I'd like to try to thresh out some by hand. I have a few questions.

1. Can I let them stand for a couple of weeks and then cut small bundles and beat them out by hand--not using a flail? Do I have to shock them to dry?

2. Are they hard to do if I make a flail?

3. Has anyone done them by hand that could offer some advice?

Larry

If you had a binder you could cut them now, put the bundles in small 6 bundle shocks in the field, let them dry a couple of weeks then thresh. Some grain will shatter out. If you try to cut them by hand with a cradle, then bundle them up using several twisted together stalks of oats, it will be a huge job. The impact of cutting them with a cradle will make some seed fall out.

Then you have the issue of threshing them. Beating them with a flail gets the seed separated, leaving you with a pile of seed, chaff and straw all mixed up. Theory is you do this on a fairly windy day. Taking a pitchfork, you throw the stuff up in the air and the wind blows the lighter straw and chaff away, while the clean seed falls to the ground.

Another way is to take the bundles and hit them over a barrel in such a way that the seed and chaff falls into the barrel, then do the wind cleaning routine.

I haven't done either of those things. Last year daughter had some wheat in her garden, thinking she would harvest it and I could grind her some flour in my hand mill. I spent one afternoon at her house beating on the heads of wheat she had cut and doing the wind routine. She got enough for a couple of loaves of very tasty bread.
She hasen't planted any more wheat.

KEH

Okay, I cut some heads off with a pair of scissors and put them in a 10-quart pail. It was about half full. I put the heads in a bag and flailed with a piece of rubber hose. I got about a quarter of a pail. It was fun and would be great fun if you had a lot of rambunctious kids to do the work. Made me realize how tough the pioneers had life. I'll let the patch stand--feed the birds and let the rabbits use it for cover. A pack of beagles in hot pursuit is well worth the cost of another bag of seed oats.

Larry