Cost efficient ways of feeding haylage please!

Cazza525

Cazza525

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Currently feeding big round bale hay to my mare and small pony. She 's only in at night and its lasting me between 3 and 4 weeks. Cost is £45 delivered.

Actually would like to put her on haylage to beef her out a bit but how on earth do people manage with the cost of small bales? It would cost a fortune! Im struggling to see how a large haylage bale would last for just the 2 of them and i hate the thought of waste!

Has anyone any ideas?
 
I don't completely unwrap mine, in fact I keep it well covered from the weather and it lasts a good 10 days to 2 weeks, however my haylage tends to be on the dry side. The key is the temp and area you keep it in.
 
My current bale of hay is stored outside on a pallet with a bale tidy on it.

Am i right in thinking that haylage would be more conditioning than hay? Im currently buying wrapped hay. Its lovely quality!
 
My large bale haylage is £30 delivered and one bale lasts me a week per four horses.

In cooler temperatures a bale should be ok for a couple of weeks, more if dry-ish, unwrapped and in a barn.

I guess the only way to find out how long it will last you in your particular circumstances is to try a bale out.
 
Haylage contains more moisture than hay so more must be fed by weight to provide the necessary levels of fibre. Having said that, haylage will typically provide higher levels of fibre, energy and protein.
 
I buy big bale haylage for £30 and it lasts my two horses two weeks. Agree with unwrapping it all and it should last fine, especially if the haylage is nice and dry.
 
£30 delivered lasts 4 weeks for 2 fed twice a day, open one end, get your haylage push flap back down take a tarp and wrap around with twine if kept outside, or kept inside put where there is a breeze not in the warmest place. There are more than 10 bales of hay in a bale of haylage so if you had to throw some away it is still economical seeing hay can be anything up to £5 a bale. Remember to feed more due to water content, do not go by weight. Your horse will love it.
 
The haylage on the farm I am on is £25 for a mahoosive bale. It would last me about two weeks if they were having two decent sized nets a day. However I've had to move them onto hay for a while as they are both too fat, not getting enough turnout due to the weather and the TB gets hyper very easily. The hay is costing me a fortune at £4.50 per bale!
 
Once haylage is open to the air it will begin to deteriorate. Leaving it partly wrapped will encourage bacteria which can cause botulism. If opened completely and loosened to prevent warmth building up it should be fine for 7 to 10 days at this time of year.
 
I have never had a bale go off at this time of year because it is so cold, when opened up to the elements it then goes off, maybe it is just where i keep it outside where it is coldest, in summer it starts to go off within 7 days, so i go for small bales in summer but then they only come in at night so is cost effective. But OP try it, only then can you decide, as i said find the coldest place for it not tucked away in a warm barn.
 
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