Big bale haylage stored outside

digitalangel

digitalangel

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Hey people !

In the summer i rented a field and had it cut for haylage - so ive got 32 of the nicest smelling big bales of haylage which im really happy with - and i opened my first bale last night and it smelled heavenly and the horses loved it!
however it is stored outside! as the weather isnt good ive kept the wrapping on the bale - it doesnt seem to be warm or hot in any way but i dont want it to be ruined with being rained on, on the other hand i dont want to start a fire either!

Is this a big nono? what is the best way to keep it outside and not rained on? Im not normally a big feeder of haylage, normally i use hay and when ive used haylage its been small bales.
 
I cover open bales with a tarpaulin and weight it down with bricks in case it's windy.
Rarely have a problem with heating up but if it does I just separate the slices ( mine are square bales). Not sure what to do with round ones if they heat up though.
 
Yep. I usually open them right up then loosely cover with a tarpaulin with a few bricks on it to stop it from blowing away. Works fine
 
hmm i guess i could do that but its with the rest of the bales so would be hard to wrap with tarpaulin. is it really necessary to unwrap the entire bale when using?
 
I stand them on end, cut a flap slit down the sides as far as I need to go take out what I need, put the flaps back and then put a one tonne / cubic metre dumpy bag over them. Can't blow away, is sufficiently water tight and fits perfectly. If you have two of them you can put the haylage into the spare one and use it to haul the haylage across the field without spilling any.
 
ive taken one end off, snd taken out what ive used then was going to cut the sides/top back as required to get to the haylage if that makes sense - i cant wrap or move them theyre too big and too close next to eachother.
 
Are they rectangular or round bales? With the big rectangular bales I cut along the bottom of the bale wrapper at one end (close to the ground) and then up both sides at the corners to form a flap. This keeps the haylage protected from the rain and it is easy to pull it out a section at a time.
 
The liveries in the farm next door to me put them on wooden pallets then cover in tarpaulin and old turnout rugs, and secure with those rubber bungee type things works pretty well.
 
It is fine like this for me in autumn, winter and spring. Only sometimes in the summer months when it is really warm and humid does it heat up when kept wrapped so then I tend to go onto small bale.
 
digitalangel said:
theyre rectangular and yes i have done similar but just at one end! so it doesnt catch on fire/heat up like this?
Click to expand...

That's how I do mine but had to put a tarp over as well because we seem to get so much torrential rain that the water was getting in.
I only open the bale up if it starts heating up, then I separate the slices and cover or take out as much as I can into a dumpy bag.
Haven't caught fire yet.
 
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