Drum mower options?

I've been poking around here and it seems drum mowers get a lot of discussion, but they are not something I've ever seen here in Eastern Canada. Does anyone know what the options are in terms of brands, and who might distribute in Canada.

Thanks for any help,

Kari

Does the drum mower clump it up more than a scycle bar would? It is sounding to me like I need to either go with a drum mower and tedder or a moco.

when u say in the welding shop too much - what is actually breaking or happening - do u really have to be rewelding it all the time or are you just minor little details like a bent or broken rock guard or one bad sickle section every so often?

i liked the idea of drum mowers as in inexpensive reliable durable replacement for a sickle but they have drawbacks also - they typically won't cut over 6' (i have a 9' sickle) and they tend to leave the material in 2 windrows beside each drum - not aiding drying any....

i think u would be happiest just upgrading to a better sickle type mower - especially if your ahy mowing aren't severe - like down and tangled or real short, wet stoff that is thicker than hair on a dog's back.....

You can mow any time of the day with a drum mower or a disc mower. When the dew is on the crop in the morning or in the evening that doesn't stop a drum mower. You can not mow with a single action sicklebar mower with dew on the hay. You can start mowing in the morning with a drum mower and you will be finished mowing while you would be waiting for the hay to dry down just so you can mow it with a sicklebar mower. You lose a day's drying time with a sicklebar mower because you have to cut during the major hay curing time of the day.
CCM drum mowers start at $2,300. You can take a T-165 drum mower with a 65" cut and out mow a 7' sickle bar mower. The heavier the hay the greater the difference in the capacity between the 2 mowers.

Eventually I have found that there are a few disc mowers, almost all are used for pasture clipping, I don't know any used for hay making.

Eastern Canada for the most part is humid and wet in the summer, most people want the added dry down from the conditioner on a haybine. I've found old haybines for 1000$ or so in good shape are available so I've limited my search for drum mowers.

What part of the country are you in? All the old timers around here claim the conditioner reduced the quality, but this was likely just an excuse not to try something 'new'. You are right - around here any of the big guys are using nower conditioners.

We had some problems with our conditioning rolls and the unconditioned hay was taking 3 days with 2 teddings.

This is for heavy cuttings of mixed hay.

We had some problems with our conditioning rolls and the unconditioned hay was taking 3 days with 2 teddings.

This is for heavy cuttings of mixed hay.