Another haylage question ...

Nickijem

Nickijem

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Some of the bales of haylage I have had this year appear to be much 'wetter' than others. Does this make any difference to the quality of the haylage? Jerry appears to prefer the drier haylage - which is better for him?
Can anyone help?
Thank you
 
I always thought you shouldnt feed silage to horses because of botulism? The haylage may be sweating, but could also have got water into it, which means it will be going mouldy. If your horse prefers the dry stuff then hes probably right, I chuck all the wet manky stuff away. You should be able to tell by the smell whether its ok for them to eat too.
 
lol Ted clears up by the silage tankers everyday as he enjoys a nibble on it. He is fed on hay most of the time. I have to say though.. he has never looked so well! He has never had a upset from it but he is only having a kilo a day or so.
Lou x
 
I have checked the haylage carefully for mould and it doesn't appear to have any.
I haven't got a very good sense of smell but the 'wetter' haylage has a stronger smell - not a mouldy smell, but a more 'fermented' smell.
I did wonder whether to chuck it but it seemed a waste if its not going to do him any harm.
 
This year our crop of haylage is slightly wetter than last year due to the weather conditions when we baled. Last year was such a dry summer, this year not so! Most of our horses much prefer the smellier, wetter stuff.

If it has white on it, that is just yeast and wont harm them if they choose to eat it. If it has black/slimy stuff, that is mould and needs to be chucked!

A tip for anyone not being able to get stench of haylage of their hands ... rub them in soaked sugar beet and it gets rid of the smell
grin.gif
 
Thanks for these answers.
I have been feeding the wetter stuff and it doesn't seem to do any harm -I will check it carefully for any black or slimy stuff though thank you Llwyncwn!
 
Top tip ! My hands stink all day if I make the nets up before going to work!

Our haylage is dryer than last years - and stalkier - as it was way too lngbefre it got bailed. It also smells more cidery...whereas last years smells somewhere between cheesy vomit and chewinggum!! LOL!!

The "off" stuff smells like dogs mess so its easy to avoid...
 
Thank you mrussell for telling me what 'off' stuff smells like! I have a hopeless sense of smell but even I can identify with that!
 
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