Due to the increasing cost of wood shavings/ saw dust I have been toying with the idea of chopped straw for bedding cubicles. I am looking for info on any machines which will give a short chop length so as not to clog up the slats. Has anyone any experince of a suitable machine ?

Several years ago on a heifer rearing unit I worked on, I used a tub grinder to chop straw and hay to go into a mixer wagon. I'm afraid I can't remember the brand, but it was yellow, and I think of Scandinavian origin! The chop was far superior to any other conventional mobile chopper/blower I've seen on farms, but it was slow, sucked every ounce of power from a 140hp tractor, and I gather was an expensive purchase in the first place.

I believe teagle make a mounted one for straw only, which chops the straw quite short. A friend had one, not sure if he still has it. If I recall correctly you had to load it with a grab unless you had round bales.

http://www.teagle.co.uk/Products/Tomahawks/mountstraw.asp