THE FINAL WORD…
Both the auto-sifting Shake’n Fork and the manual Flex’n Fork are seriously tough. These manure forks get ‘worked hard’ and just don’t break. Again, we didn’t spend our time on wavy tines and spindly handles, we built industrial tough tools that are built to last.
Call 541 826-8301
You can save time and steps with a self cleaning fork. At our Andalusian Ranch research facility we have 12 to 16 horses to pick up after, several times a day. Experience has shown us that by using the motorized Shake’n Fork we spend HALF the time per stall that we did with a conventional fork. Just as important, we found our shavings use also dropped by about half, requiring far fewer trips to the store to purchase more. Additionally, the resulting manure pile was much smaller and the quality of the compost far improved. More efficient cleaning means fewer trips with the wheelbarrow and less wear and tear to your body as well. We were surprised at the physical aches and pains that seemed to disappear once we used this fork. The resulting cleaner stalls made for healthier, happier horses, and more time to spend enjoying them too!
Picking up after horses is hard work. One or two horses can be maintained pretty easily, but by time you have three or more, you are going to be dedicating some serious effort to cleaning. Some folks use a manure fork (pickers), while others use a shovel and a rake (scoopers). The Shake’n Fork powered manure fork is for barn stall cleaning where the bedding shavings need to be separated from the manure. When cleaning stalls bedded with shavings, the common technique was to pick up the combination of shavings and manure and then by manually bouncing the fork, attempt to separate the manure balls and shavings. Cleaning a stall takes many repetitive actions, especially towards the end, where there were many shavings and only a few bits of manure remaining. Cleaning stalls in this fashion was especially frustrating because the road apples, being round, tended to roll out of the fork, requiring another scoop to collect it all. To make our job easier we tried many different products, from bigger forks to stall bedding sifters. In the end, none of them could beat the light weight and simplicity of using a multi tined shavings fork. We chose to improve on this system, resulting in the development of the patented, motorized Berto Shake’n Fork.
On the other hand, there are times where manure must be collected, such as turnouts or pastures, but it is not mixed with shavings and does not need to be agitated. This is what the Flex’n Fork was designed for.
“Just when you think you have lived long enough that you have seen it all, they come up with something new.” Horse expo visitor
Since cleaning manure was such a difficult chore for us, imagine the total effort it must take for the entire industry to pick clean yup after the horses in their care. This is what we found.
In the USA there are 1 to 2 million horses that are stabled in stalls where shavings or sawdust are used as bedding. A horse produces approximately 30 pounds of manure each day. Each pile of horse manure consists of 35 to 50 manure “balls” that get mixed up with the bedding. Nationwide, the picking up of over 1.4 BILLION manure balls a day is a time intensive endeavor. In addition to the labor involved, the volume of the manure is another factor to consider. The quantity of manure produced per horse per day is about 1 cubic foot. If the bedding is not carefully separated from the manure, however, it results in a volume of over three times as much! Disposing of a combination of shavings and manure can also be difficult. An entire industry has formed around composting to reduce volume, with companies making special bins to help. In some areas it is a requirement for manure to be completely hauled away in dumpsters. Since cleaning horse stalls is expensive in time and labor, most facilities try to find a balance between sifting and the volume of manure to dispose of. Since disposal costs are often based on quantity, specialized “boutique” bagged shavings are now produced that are smaller or pelletized and therefore easier to sift. Pellets, rice hull bedding or smaller shavings are an excellent alternative for reducing volume, but to get the best results considerable time is still spent manually agitating the fork. From an environmental perspective, the manure itself is an excellent soil amendment. The shavings, however, are not and will literally make the manure inert, rather than a healthy compost. Therefore, it is of great benefit to horse owners and the environment that the manure is separated from the bedding. The Berto Shake’n Fork is the answer to more efficient manure disposal.
How Does It Work?
The operator holds the fork handle normally and by depressing a variable speed trigger switch, moves the electrically powered basket. Only the tines “shake” and though they agitate 10 times faster than by hand, there is no vibration into the hand pole, making the operation smooth and effortless for the user.
Options for Baskets and Tines?
Equi-Tee Shaken forks are available with a full-size basket in Standard-Tine spacing or 5/16 Mini-Tine (fine-tine) spacing, which is perfect for animals with smaller droppings or for use with pellets, sawdust, cob or rice hull bedding. Equi-Tee forks are shaped higher on the sides to keep manure from falling off the edges. They hold more than competitors forks so you have fewer trips to the cart.
Tired of buying forks that break tines? Our patented technology makes that a thing of the past. Up to 13 month warranty against tine breakage!
What’s the Product Life and Warranty Like?
Equi-Tee Shake’n Forks® and Flex’n Forks® give the long life that only a premium quality fork can offer. Industrial strength, Equi-Tee manure forks with distinctive yellow tines last for years, not days like budget brands. We offer up to a 13 month no-defect warranty on the tines to back it up. Available in standard 5/8″ and fine-tine 5/16″ width to sift everything form planer shavings to sawdust. Provide a cleaner, healthier environment for your horse with a manure fork that is built to last. More warranty info at Equi-tee Mfg.com “They last frickin’ forever!” Glenn Hebert- Horses in the Morning Radio Show
Careful attention to balance and designed for long product life, the Equi-Tee bedding fork outperforms any other!
I find that using the Shake’n Fork helps immensely, especially when I’m on the second round of stall cleaning during a day. It saves time, most certainly, but it also saves me effort and makes stall cleaning easier on me while helping to preserve my energy for water bucket carrying (it’s winter…the hose freezes).
Q. Will they help if I have medical issues?
A. We cannot make medical claims but users report that the Shake’n Fork has allowed them to keep their beloved horses far longer by allowing them to clean the stable without needing hired help. The variable speed Shake’n fork seems to reduce repetitive stress pain. It appears that because you can clean without needing to manually sift, it dramatically helps reduce back issues, arthritis, carpal tunnel, tendonitis and other painful agitation related stress in elbows, hips and other joints.
Q. Is it only for people with medical problems?
A. The auto-sifting Shake’n Fork is not just for people with a physical limitation (although they are very helpful at this), they are for anyone that has a limitation of their time and finances. They are built tough to handle the big piles and versatile enough to scoop out mashed down pee spots or selectively pick out individual road apples hiding in the corners! Unlike manual forks, this powered picker eliminates the tedious job of manually separating the individual manure balls that are scattered or stirred into the bedding. The difference in the effort needed to clean a stall is amazing. In addition, there is no other product in the world that separates manure for disposal, while simultaneously aerating and distributing the clean bedding. Shake’n Fork powered sifting saves time, bedding and disposal issues, and doesn’t require wheeling a machine or dumping an additional bucket. For around $220.00 it is 1/10th the cost of other powered sifters.
Q. It seems so expensive, I’m hesitant to spend over $200.00 for a stall fork…
A. Horses owners try to provide the best for our horses care, food, supplements, tack, shoeing etc, sometimes we need to also take care of ourselves. So often people wear out their joints to save a dollars worth of shavings. The potential for long term physical damage is real. Why make stable cleaning harder then it needs to be? You can spend less time cleaning and still have spotless stalls, while also saving money on shavings and walking fewer trips to the manure pile.
Compared to a manual fork a powered fork does cost more. However, only the Shake’n Fork saves you money every time you use it. Users figure they save up to $1.00 per stall, per day, in time and bedding. If you have 4 or more horses, powered cleaning will pay for itself in a little over a month. No other fork offers any return on the investment! By comparison a larger stall unit can cost 10X as much and by that measure ours are relatively inexpensive.
Q. How long do they last?
A. The high quality components of the Shake’n Fork are designed to last for years of cleaning, in fact some users have had them for over 5 years and they are still going strong. There are quite a few moving parts to wear, but we offer a repair program to replace and rebuild them as needed. /span>
Q. Are the batteries rechargeable? How does it operate?
A. The Shake’n Fork has rechargeable batteries and can clean from 20 to 40 stalls (*1500mAh batteries) on a charge, depending how many horses you have and how deeply you bed. There is a variable speed trigger that you depress to activate the “shaking” of the basket. It does not vibrate, rather it mimics the motion that you would do, only it does it without any manual shaking on your part. Usually a short burst is all it takes to clean.
Q. Is it heavier than a regular fork ?
A. Not much. Of course with a motor and batteries it is going to have some additional weight, but careful attention to components and balance has made its weight an issue that we rarely hear about. Our lightest version, (Carbon Fiber) weighs less than some of the manual forks that are out there! Since you aren’t trying to manually shake the fork, and spend far less time cleaning, the effort you spend generally is significantly less.
Q. Does it work in the cold?
A. Of Course! We make a non-powered (Flex’n Fork) version that is used in the worst possible conditions, hacking frozen manure and pee spots in sub-zero outdoor weather. Inside stalls are rarely that extreme, and since the Shake’n Forks share many of the same components of the Flex’n forks, they are built to stand up to cold.
Q. Do you ship overseas?
A. Yes, but some countries have restrictions that prevent shipping. Contact us for your specific needs.
Q. Do you make a smaller cat version?
A. We did make one some years ago, but need a marketing partner to build it inexpensively enough to make it a viable option.
Reviews
