Hay tedders and rakes

A tedder spreads and fluffs freshly cut grass so it dries quickly and evenly. A rake then gathers the dry crop into neat rows, called windrows or swaths, ready for a baler, forage harvester or loader wagon.

How they work

A modern tedder has several small rotors, each carrying a ring of spring tines. The rotors spin in pairs and are angled so the tines lift the crop off the ground and toss it back down loosely. That opens the swath to air and sun and turns the wetter underside to the top. Many farmers ted once or twice in the days after mowing.

A rotary rake uses larger rotors fitted with tine arms. As each rotor turns, a cam track inside the rotor head swings the arms down to sweep the crop sideways and then lifts them clear, so the crop is dropped against a curtain or into the middle and builds into a continuous row. Rakes are also used to fluff hay in the evening into rows that shed dew before being spread again next day.

Main types

Rotary tedder: Four to a dozen or more small rotors on a folding frame. Wider models fold hydraulically for transport and often run on flotation tyres.
Single-rotor rake: One large rotor that pushes the crop to one side. A good fit for smaller tractors and small fields.
Twin-rotor rake: Two rotors that deliver either to the side or into a central swath. Central swaths suit high-capacity balers, foragers and self-loading wagons.
Four-rotor rake: Very wide machines for big silage teams, gathering many metres of mown crop into one row.
Wheel (star) rake: Free-turning spring-tooth wheels driven by contact with the ground. Simple and needing no PTO, but it can pick up more stones and soil.
Belt rake or merger: A pick-up reel throws the crop onto a cross belt that carries it to the side, which keeps the crop clean and moves it gently.

Hooking it up to a tractor

Smaller tedders and single-rotor rakes mount on the three-point linkage and run from the 540 rpm PTO. Larger twin and four-rotor rakes and wide tedders are trailed and use hydraulics to fold, lift rotors on headlands and set working width. Power demand is modest; the limit is usually the tractor's lift capacity for mounted machines and the hydraulic services needed to fold and lift trailed ones.

A short history

The earliest rakes were tree branches and wooden hand rakes. Horse-drawn dump rakes with curved steel teeth arrived in the nineteenth century, followed by side-delivery reel rakes that could work along a row and produced the spiral windrows of mid-twentieth-century hayfields, and then wheel rakes. The tedder appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century: an Edinburgh-built example was described in 1852, and American makers such as Ezekiel Bullard and the Ames Plow Company sold horse-drawn tedders in the 1860s. Rotary rakes are now the usual choice in Europe.

Buying and care tips

Set tine height carefully: Tines that touch the soil drag earth and stones into the crop, which spoils silage and wears balers. Set them just clear of the ground.
Match width to the mower: A tedder should cover the full mown width, and a rake should make a row your baler or forager can pick up in one pass.
Look at the tine arms: On a used rake check for bent arms, broken tines and play in the cam track and rotor bearings.
Think about ground: On uneven fields, choose articulated frames and flotation tyres so every rotor follows the contour.
Check transport width: Wide machines must fold to a legal road width, so confirm this if you move between fields on the road.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between a hay tedder and a hay rake?

A tedder spreads and fluffs cut grass to help it dry. A rake gathers the dry crop into rows ready to be baled or picked up.

Can a rotary rake be used for tedding?

Some rotary machines can turn hay as well as row it up, but a dedicated tedder spreads the crop more evenly and dries it faster.

Why does my rake leave soil in the hay?

The tines are usually set too low or the rotors are not following the ground. Raise the tines and check tyre pressures and rotor tilt.

What is a central-delivery rake?

A twin-rotor rake whose rotors throw the crop towards each other, forming one row in the middle. It makes a tidy swath for balers and forage harvesters.

Related equipment

Mowers and mower-conditioners Round baler Square balers Forage harvester Power take-off (PTO)

Sources

Last checked 2026-11-01

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