tristar
Well-Known Member
always use seasoned hay, there is a a chemical change in new hay takes about about 8 weeks
Do you use hay straight away?
- Thread starter poiuytrewq
- Start date
Tiddlypom
Carries on creakily
From the Dengie website:-
When can I feed this year’s hay or haylage?
A common question to the Dengie Feedline is how soon can I feed this year’s hay or haylage? When it comes to this year’s hay once it is baled and stored the answer is you can introduce it straight away as long as there is no heating in the bales. Do bear in mind that the nutritional value of the hay will be greatest just after harvest, nutrients such as vitamins will decline over time. When it comes to haylage it is a bit longer – usually around 6 weeks or longer. This is because it takes time for the fermentation process to take place which then ensures it is properly conserved. Whichever forage you use and whenever you choose to introduce it the key advice is to remember that any change between batches of forage constitutes a dietary change and should be done gradually over the period of a couple of weeks by ideally mixing old and new forage together.
Whilst the advice about making gradual changes between batches of forage is sound, that will be tricky to implement for those who can only buy and store a few bales at a time from a feed merchant who will have bought hay in from many different farms.
I will stick to my guns that I believe that well made hay should not heat up, up to now ours never has. However, this year has been a nightmare and our crop that was baled yesterday is greener than I’d like, and I will be checking it for heating and will not be feeding it for months yet.
When can I feed this year’s hay or haylage?
A common question to the Dengie Feedline is how soon can I feed this year’s hay or haylage? When it comes to this year’s hay once it is baled and stored the answer is you can introduce it straight away as long as there is no heating in the bales. Do bear in mind that the nutritional value of the hay will be greatest just after harvest, nutrients such as vitamins will decline over time. When it comes to haylage it is a bit longer – usually around 6 weeks or longer. This is because it takes time for the fermentation process to take place which then ensures it is properly conserved. Whichever forage you use and whenever you choose to introduce it the key advice is to remember that any change between batches of forage constitutes a dietary change and should be done gradually over the period of a couple of weeks by ideally mixing old and new forage together.
Whilst the advice about making gradual changes between batches of forage is sound, that will be tricky to implement for those who can only buy and store a few bales at a time from a feed merchant who will have bought hay in from many different farms.
I will stick to my guns that I believe that well made hay should not heat up, up to now ours never has. However, this year has been a nightmare and our crop that was baled yesterday is greener than I’d like, and I will be checking it for heating and will not be feeding it for months yet.
Last edited:
teddypops
Well-Known Member
What chemical change?