Big bale haylage - How do you open yours?

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davisn

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Sorry Guys,

Just a very quick question. I have switched from small to big bale haylage this week. We have managed to get the bale into a spare stable so that it is protected from the elements.

The question I have is what's the best way to open & use it? I'm tempted to remove all the plastic & unroll the haylage it as I need it (like I would a big bale of hay), however I have heard that it is best to leave as much of the wrapping on as possible to stop the air getting to it. Someone else has told me that it is best to spread it all out to allow it to dry out.

With the small bales I rewrapped what was left over & that worked really well, but obviously it's not as easy to do that with the big bales.

So many conflicting views!
 
You must take off all the plastic as when it is inside it will cause the haylage to ferment and go off. I have been using large rolls for around 15 years and we keep ours undercover and remove all packaging and the ones we use last up to 5 weeks, mine only last 2 weeks as I am feeding 3 large horses. I fill up all my haynets for the week on a saturday so all I have to do is grab haynets every day rather than fill them up. If you do get a hot day leave the doors open so air can circulate. We have metal containers to keep our feed/bedding in. Hope tihs makes sense.
 
How long will it take you to use it?

I open mine fully because we go through one every 2 days (12 horse on the yard). I think you can open the large square ones in sections but i think if you tried that with the round ones you would struggle to get the haylage out of the wrappers because of the way it was bales.
 
If it is square cut the end which is as you would with a sliced loaf and pull slices out ( you can cut the corners a little to make it easier. Try to avoid letting in too much air or it will spoil.
If it is round the centre will keep fresh if you are careful.
 
From trial and error I've found it best to take all wrapping off if it's under cover so it doesn't ferment. If you have to leave it outside, then just open the one end but leave one side fastened so you can drop it down like a flap to protect it (I used an old rug to cover the open end completely) If you have it outside, you really must use it up as quickly as possible as the last bits are likely to heat but if inside, take all wrapping off except for what it stands on and even though the last bits might dry out to be more like hay, it's better than losing some to fermentation I feel.
 
Take all the wrap off when you open it, and this prevents it fermenting too quickly. I've done this for years on the advice of my BIL who makes it for a living.

From a practical point of view if you use the big square bales (not sure you do, but might be useful for others) turn it on one end and it stops the bale from falling away, also the strings are less likely to get wrapped up if you cant get them off with the wrap.

Haylage = horsey chocolate sundae!
 
Thanks for the replies.

I have 2 15.2hh horses which are out during the day (weather allowing), in between about 16:00 & 07:00, but as they & I are at home & we live in the mountains by Snowdon, it really depends on what the weather is doing.

I know that it will be touch & go as to whether they will eat it before it starts to ferment, so I'll see how we manage with the first one & take it from there. I have some sheep, so I'm planning to use the 'spare' for them once I know how much that's likely to be. Even if some of it ends up wasted & thrown on the muck heap I still think it will work out cheaper than using small bales.

From the replies I had, I think I'll unwrap it & unroll it as I use it as we have round bales & it will be a nightmare to try & rewrap it without letting much air in.

Thanks again. I know it wasn't a very important question, but sometimes these little tips can make life that much easier!
 
I must admit, the round bales drive me so mad, that I happily pay more for the square ones now as it saves me soooo much time to just lift it out in sections
grin.gif
 
If it is under cover, stick it on a pallet then undo the plastic like an egg - slice right around the top and remove, then slice vertically through the plastic and draw the strips down to the floor. It can stand on the plastic at the bottom without any problems.
 
I feed 2 horses out of a big square bale and never quite get through the whole thing before some white flecks appear and it goes a bit damp on top but exactly as the others say. Pallet if you can and unwrap whole thing.

I am also seriously considering trying to find some kind of very sharp implement so I can chop off the bits with white flecks in as what is below is perfect but as you pull it apart it mixes up!!

Great idea about standing it on small end if it's a square one... just never occurred to me but makes so much sense! Maizy you are a genius!!
 
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