Haylage or Chaff?

[wellsat]

I like Gerry to have plenty to eat over night but he doesn't have a huge appetite and is quite picky so its a case of tricking him into eating enough.

He goes crazy for a manger of Readygrass but I don't really want him filling up on that as my guess would be it has less calories than haylage. He won't eat plain Alfa A if I leave that for him to snack on over night.

Any tips for a chaff mix that is tasty and high in calories that I can leave a big bucket of for him to snack on through the night?

 

[Equinimity]

I'm using Mollichaff Veteran at the moment as a hay replacer. Has the same calories as good quality hay and includes mint and nettle so smells (and I assume tastes) lovely. My old mare loves it.

 

[TGM]

Readigrass is one of the most calorific chaffs with a DE of between 12 and 13 MJDE/kg, so definitely a good option for your horse!

The calorie count of haylage obviously varies a lot, depending on the type of grass it is made from, but just to give you a comparison, Marksway's highest calorie Horsehage is the ryegrass one which has a calorie count of between 9 and 11.5 MJDE/kg, so less than the Readigrass.

I presume you are intending to feed the Readigrass alongside the haylage, rather than instead of it, as otherwise would work out very costly!

 

[tallyho!]

Hi fi lite has less calories than grass and is more fibrous as is mixed with straw and can be fed as a forage replacer.

 

[Wagtail]

I would think that ready grass is more fattening than haylage. However, I would definitely feed haylage rather than too much chaff as I'd be worried about choke when I wasn't about. I only feed chaff in the hard feeds.

 

[wellsat]

Readigrass is one of the most calorific chaffs with a DE of between 12 and 13 MJDE/kg, so definitely a good option for your horse!

Thanks TGM, you never cease to amaze me with your feed knowledge! Had assumed that Readygrass was low calorie as it doesn't "look" rich. Goes to show what I know...

Yes, he's fed adlib haylage as well as a manger of Readygrass. He just goes crazy for the Readygrass so if its high calorie I may as well keep feeding it. Was only giving it to him as had it left over from Lil.

Will stick to the Readygrass then