Teagle’s popular mounted 7100 and trailed 8100 Tomahawk bale processors are to be superseded by a new-look two-model range.

The simplest 8200s use a combination of bed chains and crossbeater to break up silage and straw before ejecting it through a swivelling chute to bed cattle or distribute feed.

As before, there’s also a Dual Chop version, the 8250, that adds a further processing element.

It carries a bank of 22 knives to butcher the material into shorter 25-60mm lengths for either adding to a mixed ration or firing into dairy cubicles.

See also: Bale choppers and blowers for bedding and feeding livestock

Both are built around a monocoque chassis and are available in trailed and tractor-mounted format.

Bales can be dropped straight into the chamber using a materials handler or self-loaded by dropping the tailgate.

There is capacity for one 2m or two 1.5m rounds, or squares up to 2.8m in length, which are retained by a rigid beam at the rear.

The highlight among a raft of improvements is the new “synchro” system, which matches bed chain speed to the position of the bale restraint.

Using Teagle’s wireless Bluetooth controls, it’s also possible to pause the flow of material momentarily while the machine passes a water trough or moves to a different pen.

This facility is provided by hydraulic rams that alter the position of the bale restraint, allowing operators to leave the chain-driven crossbeater running while they reposition.

© Teagle

It can also be set in a “loading” position during start-up, holding the bale clear of the beater until both it and the fan have wound up to full chat to eliminate the risk of blockage.

Bigger beater

Elsewhere, the designers have upped the diameter of the beater to provide quicker, smoother bale processing, and increased the speed of the chopping system on the 8250 by 40% to deliver more consistent lengths of straw for mixing in a ration.

Blowing distance is claimed to top 20m thanks to wider fan paddles, and Hardox is now standard fitment on the chute components to minimise wear.

List prices of the 8200 are £24,975 (mounted) and £26,475 (trailed), while 8250 Dual Chop versions are £29,675 and £31,175.