Feediing haylage in field?

[MagicMelon]

My usual supplier of round bales of hay hasn't made good hay this year so I'm going to have to source a different winter supplier (easier said than done as we cant store it other than 4 bales or so with tarpolin over them - my usual supplier was just down the road so would bring up as required).

I'm considering haylage as I could buy a heap in one go and easy to store outside, but can't figure out how to easily feed it. I have a round bale holder/feeder in both fields and this has always been ideal as the horses can just help themselves as needed and I change the bale every 10 days generally. I dont think I can risk getting big round haylage bales though as it would be wasted if they didnt eat it all within the usual 10 day cut off (when it goes off) especially if they eat it slower than hay... but if I get small bales, I cant use the feeders and would have to go down the pain of haynets! I really dont fancy refilling 4 haynets 3 times a day (they eat a lot of it as we dont have much grass).

Can anyone advise how they feed haylage in the field? Are there special holders for the medium sized square type haylage bales? How long do they generally last your horse?

 

[be positive]

I don't think they will eat it slower than hay, if anything they may eat it faster, it will last 10 days, possibly longer if the weather is cold, so I would use it the same way as hay, if there is a small amount wasted it would still be better value than small bales.

 

[Gsmith]

I agree with be positive, they might eat it quicker than hay, my greedy lot certainly do!

I often have had the big square bales last for two weeks, especially if it is cold and the haylage is drier to start with. I was told to totally unwrap it so the air gets to it and it doesn't sweat in the plastic, could be wrong but it always worked for me when I just had one big horse eating it.

 

[Dry Rot]

I am north of Inverness and there's been a lot of late hay made, some of it really excellent during that fine spell. If I were you, I'd shop around. I have fed haylage but it was a painful experience even though I have a tractor with a foreloader. I actually had a bumper harvest here.

 

[Clodagh]

We made big bale haylage one year, when the forecast was so dire we would have lost the hay, it was great. It was very dry, so nearly hay, but smelt lovely, I only had two on it the second year and they still got through the bales while it was OK, it dries outside so didn't seem to rot.

 

[Selkie]

I feed mine this way, it doesn't go off.

 

[MagicMelon]

So is haylage still ok if given outside in a round bale feeder - so it'll get wet, snowed on etc. or will that reduce its lifespan? Just a bit paranoid in case it goes off before they've eaten a bale then I have to faff around getting rid of whats left (and the wasted cost).

 

[Jingley]

After years of faffing over how to feed hay and haylage in the field, tried piles, haynets and buckets, my partner created the ultimate feeder. Love it. He basically got two 4x4 tryres (ours off a truck) and bolted one on top of the other then bolted them onto a plywood base. They are really heavy so horses cant move them. They dont flick the haylage out as you can stuff it all around the inside of the tyres and they can be rolled around the field to move from place to place.

Edited to add: sorry this is for individual horses you couldnt fit a whole bale in !