Devon Haylage help please

[paddy555]

anyone use this please?
wanted to try it for a problem horse. Really really struggling getting into it.
(Timothy)

have cut the bag along the "cut" lines, tried to take that section out and whilst the front (of the hh wad) is cut the back isn't and it just hinges.

Thought it was just that one bag but exactly the same with the 2nd bag. Really hard work to separate the bale.

Is there a knack to this I am missing?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Is this the small Marksway type of bag?

There’s two pink cords tied round the unwrapped haylage keeping the wedges tightly bound together, they sink into the bale during making so you might not have spotted them?

ETA Just realised that Devon Haylage is a distinct brand so my comments are quite possibly no help at all.

 

[w1bbler]

I gave up buying Devon haylage as it was such hard work separating it. Unwrapping the whole thing helps a bit

 

[Zoeypxo]

cut lower than the line or just take the wrap off is what i do, the line is rubbish its too high up and it gets jammed

 

[paddy555]

I gave up buying Devon haylage as it was such hard work separating it. Unwrapping the whole thing helps a bit

ah, seems like I'm not the only one. Real struggle. I will try the unwrapping technique next.

the line is rubbish its too high up and it gets jammed

thanks, hadn't tried that.

It seemed so simple on the video, make the appropriate cuts each night and, lo and behold, the correct amount lifts off. Then there is real life.

 

[Landcruiser]

Yes, used it in the past and had exactly this - nice product but poor "design." There is no easy way but fully unwrapping helps.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would just unwrap it completely .

 

[mavandkaz]

Yep, another one who just had to unwrap the whole thing. Stopped buying it as just too much work

 

[Highmileagereindeer]

Have you got a larger empty feed bag you can drop the fully opened haylage into? That way you can push the air out and wrap it again to keep it from going stale. Have to say, the Marksway packing is far easier to manage.

 

[paddy555]

Yes, used it in the past and had exactly this - nice product but poor "design." There is no easy way but fully unwrapping helps.

nice design on the drawing board but sadly it didn't make it IRL.

tried unwrapping and it is a lot easier. Now just need to rewrap.

glad to know I wasn't the only one having this problem.

 

[Highmileagereindeer]

Graze On bags are big enough for rewrapping a whole bagged bale......

 

[paddy555]

Graze On bags are big enough for rewrapping a whole bagged bale......

thanks. Going to have to get organised.

 

[PurBee]

Its been a while since i used devons haylage, but your post has reminded me of that issue of the chunks not being cut all the way through - that was a headache! I did resort to cutting the whole plastic bag open and just grappling like a wrestler with the chunks. I was getting through a bag in 1–2 days so didnt need to be fussy to rewrap as it would be eaten before any change to it happens.

It was rare for their stuff to spoil as it wasnt made too wet. It could be exposed for 3-5 days and not really change as all the fermentation had happened - all it was prone to was drying out more during warmer months. The really wet haylage sometimes made elsewhere is at risk of experiencing manky smells after opening, as its bordering on silage and can heat up once oxygen gets to it, to begin the composting rotting-down process. Well made haylage shouldnt be that wet. Haylage makers have got better with moisture levels over the past 1.5 decades.

I didnt use their just timothy bales - i got the timothy ryegrass mix, which was made really well and properly fermented, smelled glorious - the best quality duo mix ive ever come across - my 2 thrived on it - and those bales have the wedge cut problem too.

Nice folks at DH - any questions were quickly answered - i never mentioned the bale chunk cutting issue, but many might have and its likely something the packing machinery can’t overcome as im sure they’d rectify it if they could. It must be a mighty blade that slices their bales into those chunks, and when it reaches the bottom it evidently doesnt slam down hard enough to really cut through those bottom strands. If it was coarser drier brittle hay it would likely achieve a clean cut-through, but i think because the haylage is moist, soft, thick silky strands, it just doesnt make it all the way through.

 

[suestowford]

I have used this for a while now and it is a pain. I just open the whole bag as it's the only way to separate the chunks. I have ponies so they don't get a lot of it, and a bale can last a week if there is also grass to be had, the bale still smells good after being open a week.

 

[Spot the Merry Risk]

DH changed how they made and baled a few years ago. We used to sell a lot of White House Farms haulage (there are various different types), it was good, and a proper wrapped bale.

 

[paddy555]

DH changed how they made and baled a few years ago. We used to sell a lot of White House Farms haulage (there are various different types), it was good, and a proper wrapped bale.

thanks, I'm new to HH, trying it for a month with a problem horse to see if it makes a difference. WH seems to be stocked at Red Post so will bear that in mind.

 

[SilverLinings]

I gave up buying Devon haylage as it was such hard work separating it. Unwrapping the whole thing helps a bit

I'm another who gave up. It's lovely haylage but I stopped using it a few years ago when it seemed to become much harder to break up the bales. I found the whole bale could be lifted off the ground just by taking hold of a handful, and the handful still didn't come away from the bale (a friend did this when I moaned about it to him and he said I was just not doing it right )!

If they stopped packing it so densely/double-baling it then I would go back to using it as it is some of the nicest halyage I've used, and the quality is more consistent than some other suppliers.