Haybars and haylage

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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Has anyone got a Haybar and feed their horse haylage? Does it work for you? Now that winter is beginning to bite and the grass is going down, I fill my Haybar to the top every day. Any uneaten haylage I clean out every day. I put fresh in the bottom and any edible from the day before goes back on the top. But I'm finding that even after 12 hours or so the haylage at the bottom starts to ferment and it gets hot and mould starts to grow so that the bottom stuff is often inedible. It defeats the object really of helping a dust allergy horse stay healthy (vet's advice). I've e-mailed the mfrs to ask for help but does anyone else experience this with haylage in a Haybar?

Would add that I don't know whether Sunny leaves the last foot or 2 because he's full or because the haylage is hot, mould growing and inedible. He's stabled overnight for the winter so that's about 4pm to 8.30am. He's on ad lib haylage.
 
You must have quite damp haylage this year? We had a couple of batches like that and it too went hot and yukky overnight. In fact the whole bale went off within 3 days! The years stuff is lovely and keeps for a good 2 weeks, it's so dry.

I have homemade haybars and I've left a gap of about 8" at the bottom when fitting them to the wall. It makes it easier to clean out but I'd image it's help with damp haylage going off.

Could you refit your haybars a big higher and leave a gap at the bottm? (not inspected a real HayBar so not sure their exact design).
 
All our ponies have Haybars fitted in their stables and we are feeding haylage at the moment although this is only because we can't get any hay until December :-(

Our Haybars are fitted about 4" off the floor so that we can sweep out underneath them and once a week we sponge them out with warm water.

When we put haylage or hay in the bar we make sure it's not put in as a lump but shaken out "fluffy". I think this is what you're doing too.

We have fairly greedy ponies so most days all the hay or haylage is finished however if it's not we tend to mix the old in with the new and so far the only times we've had the "heating" problem was when we brought back some haylage from a show rather than using our normal stuff, it was rather damp and starting moulding at the bottom of the bar in the same way yours has. We ditched it and sponged the Hay Bars out with diluted disinfectent. This seemed to prevent the spors moving into the next lot put in.
 
Thanks guys. No - haylage is fine and I always fluff it up rather than drop a compacted lump in. I suspect that the weight of the haylage compresses the bottom stuff so no air gets in and lo and behold, the fermentation process starts all over again. I'm very disappointed but have e-mailed the company. They advertise it as suitable for hay or haylage and it's just a fact of life that some haylage is wetter than others. I'm going to try only part filling it but by January, Sunny will need a full one every night. It has been suggested that I drill holes in it to let the air in but you don't pay £70 (or whatever it was) for soemthing and then have to start drilling holes in it.
 
On the odd occasion my two have had haylage, I have not had the problem but I have the really big horse ones so only half fill them so it is enough for the night and all gone by the morning. Only time I fill them up is with hay as they take nearly a small bale, and then only if I have had to feed and go early as I find mine like to drag out some of the hay and play with it if they are given too much at one time.

When they are in for a full day, (which they are three days a week in winter) I prefer to put in 4 slices for the night and then a couple of slices in the morning, another slice about 4 so they get at least 1/2 - 3/4 bale a day but it does not sit around and is all eaten.

I do brush the bars out every few days and clear out the bottom of the haybar if anything is left and this is normally more seeds and short bits than actual hay. My bars are about 4" clear at the bottom so I can get under them with a small brush to clear out any debris.

I am pleased with my bars, would rather be able to fill them right up once a day, but accept that I have to pesty beasts that like to play with their hay when they are full.
 
Hay bar doesnt work with my horse, he pulls all the haylage out onto the floor and then eats it.

I would imagine that the haylage is heating up in the bottom and going off.
 
Both my horses have haylage in the large haybars and must admit I haven't had this problem but my haylage is quite dry so this may be why.
 
My haybar ges to the floor couldnt drill through concrete walls so I put trug tub in bottom.My mare eats everything but haylage isnt that damp.
 
Thanks guys - loads of info there and I'm beginning to get the picture. Haybar is 4" off the floor as instruction sheet said. I think I can see now that I'm putting too much haylage in. So Sunny eats the top half but the bottom half just never gets touched so just compresses on itself all night. Long discussion with YO tonight and I'm going to fill 1.5 haynets as I would normally have done and then empty them into the Haybar to see where it comes up to. I've also had an e-mail back from the company asking for a phone number to ring me to discuss, and that's really good customer care.

PS: I have this image in my mind of Sunny having to stretch right down to the bottom of the Haybar to get the last few strands of haylage at 4am and YO finding him stuck upside down in it as she walks the dogs at 7.30am! Aaaaaagh!!!
 
Ive had my Haybars 4 years now & have always fed haylage, ive never had any problems like you describe even in the height of summer. Ive always filled them to the top in winter.

All i can think is your haylage is very wet, & any compression of this type of stuff would start fermentation. The only way around this is to not fill to the top or fluff the haylage up as your filling the Haybar then there will be natural air gaps.

Im using Haybar & haynets this year as my lot are like big fat piggy's atm.
 
I think haybars are the best thing since sliced bread!

How about drilling a series of holes in the plastic so heat can escape and air can get in?
 
I bought my haybars second hand and didnt realise they had to be 4" off the ground,my greedy pony ate right down to the bottom and ate all the warm silage and was severely ill with botulism ,I thought I would lose her ,after 4 weeks of intensive nursing she pulled through but I am sticking to hay from now on .
 
Oh blimey breezing - what a nightmare story! I'd never ever feed silage because of the possible side effects but poor quality haylage can be just as dangerous. Thank god your ned pulled through. I can't use hay in case it aggravates Sunny's dust allergy. I spoke with the Haybar manufacturers today and they said: don't overfill, use good quality haylage, and fluff it all out loosely on the floor to get rid of any dust while you muck out, then pile back loosely into the Haybar.
 
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