The Chicken Trackers work really well. Helped a lot in sticky conditions and allows us to plant a little faster in good conditions. Pretty much eliminated the air pocket in the seed trench we were seeing.
Archives: testimonials
Post Type Description
J.S.
If you don’t want to plug your press wheels, try Chicken Trackers. They really help if you are putting down fertilizer with your planter and greatly reduce soil crusting for better emergence.
E.M., Canada
We purchased 4″ chicken trackers in the spring of 2018 for our 12 row 30″ front fold Case IH 1250 planter. Right away I noticed they did not build up with moist soil like the original rubber press wheels. I like how they mulch the soil over the seed bed and are very well built.
We are a no-till operation and are always planting into moist soils. This new addition to our planter has helped with even uniform seed bed finishing and better emergance.
We also purchased gauge wheel scrapers for the 12 rows. I’m extremely happy with Schaffert Mfg’s products and would highly recommend them to anyone.
J.V., Iowa
We used 4″ Chicken Trackers and were pleased with the soil contact that they produce and believe it helped prevent washing down the row in hilly ground after a hard rain.
We were also very pleased with the stand and spacing with the Rebounders–had 98% accurate spacing.
J.A., Nebraska
“We have clay soils, planting conditions not always ideal; but the Chicken Tracker really helps to make sure that trench is closed. A lot of times it looks good right after you plant, but a day or two later it doesn’t look how you thought it should. With the Chicken Tracker you get a lot more pounds per square inch, on the Case planter it’s so easy to take on and off. They’re just awesome.”
P.R., IL
I have used the Mohawk closing wheels, and more recently added some Zipper wheels, for several seasons now in both no-till and tilled ground, and have planted corn, soybeans, and milo with good results. I like how the wheels still maintain the same depth of penetration even if I’m a little too heavy on the down pressure. No flipping chunks of soil and seed out.
In watching the planter run this spring, it seems like the Zipper wheel might have a little faster “sewing” action than the Mohawk, meaning when the soil was a little heavy or no tilling into fall killed sod, the Zipper rows seemed to have a little more fluff to them.
In normal no tilling situations, both wheels performed great.
An advantage for the Mohawk is if your planter closing wheels are in good shape, you swap the rubber tire for the Mohawk and you’re ready to go at an attractive cost.
I don’t see how anybody can go wrong with either wheel.
Ed Yanos, IN
Last year we ran our Kinze 3600 16/32 planter with Mohawk closing wheels over nearly 2000 acres of no-till soybeans. We saw a real improvement over cast iron wheels in performance – closing the seed trench, preventing the slot from opening when the soil dried out, and in seed emergence.
We used my Kinze 3800 corn planter for some trials on tilled and no-till fields; rubber tires, Mohawks, Zippers, Thompson wheels, and Martin spike closers.
While the Martin spikes have always performed fairly well in no-till, and still performed the best in planting no-till corn into a dry June hayfield, the Mohawks and Zippers performed best overall. They handled tilled soil, they handled no-till, they firmed the seed while leaving loose soil above it, and they didn’t tip out seed in the most challenging conditions. The Zippers also did fairly well in the hard dry hay field in June.
The Mohawks and Zippers still look almost new, they should last many years more than the plastic spikes some companies sell. We will be all Mohawks and Zippers this year.
R.N., Ohio
On a mid-March day in northern Ohio when conditions were far from perfect, we took the planter to the field. 12 rows with smooth closing wheels, 2 rows with Schaffert Zippers, and 2 rows with a competitor’s wheel.
The smooth closing wheels closed about 40% of the seed furrow. The competitor’s wheel closed about 70% of the seed furrow. The Zippers closed 100%.
It was beautiful. Never seen anything like it. We ordered 14 more rows of Zippers. We had the evenest emergence we have ever had this year. Several neighbors ordered them and had the same results.
J.Y., Indiana
We have three John Deere DB- 60 planters with the Zipper closing wheel on one side of the units. We like the condition of the sidewall behind the Zipper when we first start planting. When the ground is a little more heavy we see that the Zipper closes better. The furrow is closed better on top and eliminates air pockets around the seed.
We have used spike closing wheels in the past but they seemed to move the seed in the furrow, not allowing for proper seed placement. The Zipper won’t do that. We believe we are getting better seed placement and better emergence behind the Zipper.
B.M., South Dakota
I was having problems with rocks in the spiked closing wheels last year and was getting mad… Called Schaffert Mfg to get some more Rebounders and fertilizer tubes.
They asked if I would try the “Zipper” closing wheel. I was impressed with the Zippers and they didn’t pick any rocks up. Problem solved.
