Hot haylege?

[Darkly_Dreaming_Dex]

I am feeding big bale haylege and have noticed its becoming very hot
Should i keep it wrapped and use up ASAP or should i unwrap it

 

[cellie]

I unwrap and use asap.it just doesnt keep this time of year and plastic makes it sweat even more.

 

[f_s_]

I've just thrown away a full round bale due to this. TBH I was worried about it as when it was unwrapped there was steam coming off it, and very hot to handle!

I separated the whole bale out so it could cool off and then threw it away! Very wasteful I know, but couldn't feed it to the neddies, and was scared it would catch fire!!!

 

[Super_starz]

I would unwrap it and spread around the shed, if it cools down it should be okay to feed other wise i would throw it away.

 

[wonkey_donkey]

If it's getting hot then it's going sour.
Be very careful about feeding hot haylage it can cause colic.
You would be better off buying smaller bales to keep it fresh and use it up quicker.

 

[emma69]

If it is hot, it really shouldn't be fed to horses, as it is already turning bad, and decomposing. The advice we were given was if a bale was hot, to unwrap it, unravel it, and dispose of it - there is a danger of spontaneous combusition if the bale is left intact, although rare!

 

[teddyt]

If its hot it means it is fermenting. This is part of the normal process if its just been made but if its last years haylage you should not feed it. Fermenting now means contamination, maybe from a puncture. For the sake of the cost of a bale it is not worth the risk.

 

[Tnavas]

Hot Haylage is rotting and dangerous to feed. May contain Listeria or Botulism both a disaster for your horse.

 

[phantomhorse]

Hate to say it, but if it's warm it's going off and needs to be disposed of. I wouldn't want to risk feeding it to mine. Sorry, a bummer to have to waste it, but better to be safe than sorry. Maybe it was just an off-bale. Know we had a couple like that last year. We use the giant rectangular bales during the winter and one or two were warm inside, as soon as they were opened. Something wasn't right with those ones, so we didn't use them for the horses.

 

[Darkly_Dreaming_Dex]

Thanks for the advice- i would rather get rid it of than risk my boy! Just wanted to be sure i wasnt being paranoid over nothing!

 

[K_T]

I thought haylage went through a secondary fermentation when exposed to air which causes it to heat and was not harmful although I've never heard of a bale being "hot".