Haylage question

Cazza525

Cazza525

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 July 2009
Messages
1,188
Location
south west devon
Visit site
Right peeps, had a large bale of haylage delivered today from local farmer...........long story but i'm getting it free throughout the winter.

Only thing is , I thought haylage was wrapped !!

This is basically a large round bale which has got netting round it??

I wasn't there when it was being delivered but I'm kinda flummoxed!! Is this normal?

It smells lovely btw.........!

Anyone shed any light on it??
 
he may have unwrapped it before delivery as some farmers prefer to dispose of wrapping themselves you say it smells good which is a good sign also if it is moist it will have been wrapped its normal for it to be netted under wrapping
 
If he has unwrapped it for you and removed the wrapper you are lucky, they are a devil to get rid of - some councils charge for tipping them as they do not have to take stable refuse free.

The advice is usually to remove the wrapper completely. (I never did and my friends don't but that's the advice.)

Free too!!!! You lucky devil, how did you wangle that one?
 
Friend of mine is keeping her horse at mine for free in exchange for helping out with my horses. Basically she's getting it for us.......

Never fed it before, on;y used hay, so I'm a bit clueless!!
 
Sounds like a great deal. Around here it's a minimum of £25 for 150kilos.

Haylage is lovely stuff. White mould is fine, that's just yeast. Blue mould is suspicious, pull it off. Brown and black mould is a total no-no, throw the bale away.

I feed ad lib haylage overnight and whatever hard food they need on top to keep their weight up.
 
Our 4 live out, but due to ailments and age etc, we're giving them hay for overnight in the field (they come in every morning and have a feed and a haynet too).

Am I right to mix half hay half haylage for a day or 2 to get them used to it?? And what do you think the shelf life of a big bale is?? I don't want too much waste!!
 
Half and half to start with is a good idea.

Shelf life they will tell you is a week. But everyone I know keeps it for 2 weeks with no problems at all, especially if it's unwrapped completely (it can sweat in the wrapper once its open). You'll know if it starts to go off, the smell will change to less sweet and more musty and it will go slimy feeling.

I woold think that 4 horses should get through a big round bale in 2 weeks before it goes off. I get through 1 big square bale (about half as much I think) in less than that with 2 horses. Depends on the bale size of course :-)

I'll bet you love it within a day or two!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top