Can you turn haylage back into hay??

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1987rider

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Hello
I really hope this dosnt sound too stupid but is it possible to turn haylage back into hay? Im having huge problems trying to get hold of hay as i expect many other people are but i have been offered some haylage which was baled approx 2 weeks ago. I have had 1 delivered and unwrapped it a week ago to see what happens to it and it now looks like hay? If i was to unwrap them all now would they turn back to hay or will they always be haylage?
Thanks
 
Really the answer is no. Haylage should be discarded once it has been open a certain number of days because it goes "off" and then is dangerous for consumption.

However if the quality if the haylage is bad (as in it was very dry, I've had a few batches like that) then you might get away with it.

I'd be very careful. Make sure there is no heat in it or it or signs of mould. Is there a reason you can't just feed it as haylage?
 
I can feed it as haylage im just a little anxious as my mare gets very excitable if she is fed too much energy although i havnt tried her on haylage before i assume she will go crazy does any one have any experience feeding it to lively horses?
 
Although I have never personally done it, a few friends of mine regularly "dry out" their haylage and use it as hay with no ill effects. I have witnesses this myself over the last few seasons. Will watch this thread with interest! x
 
I have fed it to all sorts and never had any problems.

it prob only lasts 4/5 days. I've found it would take at least 3 horses to finish a bale,
 
I'm dragging out knowledge from mental cupboard here so please correct me if I'm wrong - but I believe the smaller bales will go 4-5 days and larger round ones up to 10. It should be sealed very well - inspect it on purchase and don't open them til you need to use it. Problems (e.g. increased risk of colic) occur with mould and when the sugars begin to ferment (again, shame on my name if wrong... I'll get the duster for that cupboard...).

My old boy had it for the first time last year and there was no change in his behaviour - he was absolutely fine bar looser output (not at any concern level) from the back end (and on grey legs - lovely!).
 
I have, with round bales. Round bale used to last us about a week for 5 large horses and one pony. I's pull off layers and lay them out to be dried for the pony. Never had any problems. I've also soaked silage and used that when we could not get hay for love nor money.
 
Depending on how you store it it can last upto 2 weeks without going off, it really depends i think on the quality of the haylage, if its quite dry then you shouldnt have any problems at all with it. Never tried drying it & using it as hay though.
 
As long as it does actually dry, and not just sit and fester, it should be fine. Why would you want to turn it all into hay though? Why not just feed as haylage? In the colder weather, I've had big (square) bales last two weeks with no issues. Normally my three get through a bale a week. I think the round bales last less well because you have to completely unwrap them, where the square bales you can open one end and leave the rest wrapped.
 
Id rather it was hay as i know my mare wont go crazy on it where as i think she may with haylage as she is soo sensitive to what i feed her.
I really appreciate all your advice :)
 
haylage should be used up within 3 to 5 days in warm weather like now, maybe ok for up to 7 days in cold winter weather. botulism and salmoneela i think are the big risks. haylage that was made 2 weeks ago is not ready to feed for 6 weeks after wrapping.
the benefits of feeding haylage is generally you can reduce the quantity of bucket food and still maintain condition and function of horse.
No you cant turn haylage into hay as it is baled several days before hay would be, thus keeping a higher moisture content and an increased overall feed value. please do not open bales before you need them as they will go off, and could be dangerous to feed.
 
I've opened out haylegde to dry and fed it as hay with no problems. It was dry hayledge to begin with though.

HOWEVER, it will never become actual hay - it's been part fermented and it's no undoable. It will still feed like hayledge, just very dry hayledge. If hayledge make your horse loopy then drying it out won't help.
 
I have dried wet haylage into hay. You need heat, sunshine, and to shake the whole lot very loose and turn it regularly, otherwise it goes mouldy. I guess the alcohol evaporates and you end up with a reduced-sugar hay but it feeds well. I think you are out of luck now weather wise now, surely? Or are you hanging it on the radiators :) ?

On a similar note does anyone understand why haylage is supposed to have a higher feed value than hay? You can't add calories once the grass is cut, and the big difference is that some sugar in haylage ferments and turns to alcohol. You don't lose sugar/protein/carbs/fat while hay is drying, you lose water, not calories. So surely by the laws of physics the same quantity of grass dried and baled as hay will have the same calories in it as if it is not dried as much and wrapped as haylage?

Any chemists/physicists/food technologists out there who can explain??

My own guess is that weight for weight of the original grass, they are the same, but because it is so tasty and packed so densely and they wolf it so quickly if they can, that people inadvertently feed more. I've never had any problem feeding ad lib haylage myself, but I adjust the hard food down and my horses are never allowed to be at all overweight. I've even fed laminitics on it perfectly happily. It's a mystery!
 
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