Costs of making haylage v hay

[poiuytrewq]

I currently with work and own horses, if they are ridden am pretty much doing 12 hours solid horses at the moment.
Trying to think how I can cut that time down or at least better use it so I fit other stuff in. The only way I can see that I can cut corners is by using haylage rather than hay.
Filling, soaking, draining haynets for 5 who are on it 24/7 is probably my most time consuming job. Everything else I think I have pretty fine tuned.
The amount of forage I use over a winter would literally bankrupt me if I had to pay but we are lucky enough to be able to make hay. Not off our land but someone asked o/h to cut and get rid of grass from his fields so we bale it and it's become a yearly thing.
The farm he works for has a quadrant baler so I get 6 string hay bales for free other than string and time. I use about 15 a year.
I'm wondering what it would cost me to wrap and bale as haylage instead?
Also I'm worried we might get it wrong and end up with mouldy rubbish. 😫

 

[soloequestrian]

We've been making our own haylage for a few years now. It's a bit less nerve-wracking than hay because the drying period is shorter, and we've found that the stuff slightly on the wetter side seems to make better. It's also much easier to store - just sits outside! I get enough to feed three horses for the whole winter and it costs in the region of £300. We don't pay for cutting or turning (do that ourselves), just the baling and wrapping. We don't use any additives and touch wood have had really nice stuff every year.

 

[TheMule]

Last year I paid around £5 per round bale for wrapping. It was a small job so that would probably go down a little for bulk

 

[Charlie007]

Just make sure whoever you get to wrap it knows what they are doing. We had 30 odd bales done last year and can't use any as it wasnt wrapped properly and has all gone mouldy. Farmer who wrapped it supposedly had done loads before ��

 

[rabatsa]

We find getting it stacked in the yard quickly reduces wastage as the local rooks seem attracted to the bales and they make pin holes with their claws/beaks, this lets air in and they mould.

 

[tda]

We find getting it stacked in the yard quickly reduces wastage as the local rooks seem attracted to the bales and they make pin holes with their claws/beaks, this lets air in and they mould.

This !

Also be careful where you stack them, ours are in a paddock, on the ground, opened two today and they have some bad areas, presumably where they have been sat. Hope the rest aren't as bad ��

 

[popsdosh]

Haylage for horses is more commonly bales in four string bales so you wont be able to use the quadrant anymore To Just bale and wrap budget for £12 bale . Have you the equipment to handle the bales without damaging them as that is so important .
As for the damage aspects im afraid the smaller number you make the more exposed to damage they are as said crows or anybird for that matter need keeping off the bales rodents also love chewing holes in them. round bale would most likely be a better option . Make them about a metre in diameter and put on 8 layers of wrap (four complete revolutions of the wrapper) For baling and wrapping approx £5.50/bale and you wont be far short of the same amount in a square one.

 

[Abduc]

We have 4 ponies at home and 6 acres of grass. We keep two acres for Haylage and cut it usually end of June, we had 26 big square bales double wrapped last year. We bale it 3 days before it would make good hay and have next to know waste.
The local contractor cuts, turns, rows up, bales and stacks it £300
Really worth the money