how long do you have to wait after hay's baled before you can feed it?

[sophiebailey]

As title, I've just had 30 bales delivered and was told it was cut a fortnight ago, it lay for a week then was baled, and its been in a shed for a week.

How long ideally should I wait before I feed this 2 week old hay? Bearing in mind Bailey's recovering from a bout of colic so I don't want to feed him anything that could potentially upset his tum.

Any answers appreciated

 

[foraday]

rule of thumb

3+months

And if prone to colic I would wait a little longer!

 

[Freddie19]

As title, I've just had 30 bales delivered and was told it was cut a fortnight ago, it lay for a week then was baled, and its been in a shed for a week.

How long ideally should I wait before I feed this 2 week old hay? Bearing in mind Bailey's recovering from a bout of colic so I don't want to feed him anything that could potentially upset his tum.

Any answers appreciated

Is it hay or haylage, it used to be that in the "old days" you never fed "new" hat until it was at least 6 months baled. In fact we used to refer to "new hay" or "old hay". I am sure that it has probably changed, but I still never feed new hay . But then I just have two old ponies, both inclined towards colic and laminitis. Hope someone can answer your query better than I!

 

[dominobrown]

If anyone knows where I can find old hay in cumbria I would be very much grateful! Its like hen's teeth at the mo!

 

[sophiebailey]

Oh dear, I am up s**t creek then as I'm almost out of 'old' hay and brought this 'new' hay completley ignorant of the fact I couldn't feed it straight away ( what an idiot!

 

[sophiebailey]

So annoyed with myself I've just paid £80 for all that hay I can't even use!! Feel like punching myself grrrrr !!!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

If anyone knows where I can find old hay in cumbria I would be very much grateful! Its like hen's teeth at the mo!

shed loads (or barn lots!) at the farm next to me, but thats a bit far for you methinks!
Have just taken in 100 of last years 2nd cut, which is ideal for my monsters this winter. Its clean, not dusty & still has a good colour to it. I know where is came from (6 large fields away) so thats a bonus too
Farmer is moving it on at £5 delivered & stacked but a local feed merchant is trying to get hold of the last 800 bales.
Farmer was few up with weather so most of this years cut has been silaged for the cattle so far.

OP - try not to use for around 3 months if you can, my rule of thumb is storage till xmas if possible

 

[dominobrown]

Whereabouts? I am willing to pick it up. Only need about 30 bales at the mo. I have ordered 5 bales of this years hayledge, and if my field is ever cut I will have that as well!

 

[Honey08]

Still quite a lot available in the Manchester area - might be worth coming down with a horsebox if there really is none around in Cumbria... Not a stupidly far distance.

 

[sophiebailey]

So I can use these bales around November time do you think? X

 

[Miss L Toe]

Oh dear, I am up s**t creek then as I'm almost out of 'old' hay and brought this 'new' hay completley ignorant of the fact I couldn't feed it straight away ( what an idiot!

Take some hay, lay it out in the sun and spray with water, it will lose its fermentation and sugars and will be fine to feed.
r

 

[tallyho!]

You can feed new hay as long as its dry and not mouldy. Just use it. What's going to change it between now and November? How silly.

 

[Shanny_mare]

For the last three years I've fed my girl (EMS/Cushings) new hay/haylage from early September, which would be about 6 weeks after cutting. She's had no problems.

 

[sophiebailey]

I have no idea tallyho someone said something about sugar content and richness being bad for horses tummies?

 

[tallyho!]

Well, the sugar in hay does not evaporate. It is preserved which is why we make hay. Once dry, it is then based and is regarded as preserved or ensiled forage. The sugar can only be removed by leaching it out with water or leaving it out in the rain. Then, it will sour and go bad.

The only reason I would wait to use hay is if I think it is damp. I will wait to see if it grows mould or its smell changes.

If I am confident it was baled nice and dry, I would open one immediately. The act of bailing is so it can be transported to a barn safely and intact.

 

[tallyho!]

Why do phones think they are better than you?

Based is baled

Bailing is baling

Sorry about that.

 

[BabyA]

I was told that as the hay has been cut quite late this year it's ok to feed straight away.

 

[ester]

We are using ours that was baled very dry, last week. I would prefer to leave it a bit but no space for any more old stuff so tough! (they think its scrummy!)

 

[Carlosmum]

I'm using 'new' meadow hay baled 2 weeks ago. Soaking for one horse ( lami risk) feeding straight to other. I believe traditionally one waited to see if the hay would heat following baling which would be a sign it had not been dried properly before baling & moulds would grow.
By waiting a couple of months the user could see if it had stored correctly & so not feed mouldy hay... hope that makes sense.

 

[hayinamanger]

I will start using my new hay in a few days, it was cut 2 weeks ago and made/baled in ideal conditions, so it is very good quality. I expect that, like me, you are only feeding small quantities at a time, so it will be fine. I have been buying and feeding some sub-standard hay, priced at £5.90 for a small bale and I've just got half a bale of it left.

 

[sophiebailey]

Thanks guys a great help. Baileys currently only allowed out for 8 hours a day due to recently having colic, vets recommendedlimited grass intake to help his tummy.

I was worried feeding newly cut hay would irritate his tummy - is my reasoning wrong? Am I safe to feed it? (It is going to be soaked for 2hrs before I feed it if this has any bearing!) Xx

 

[FVT23]

If you do have to use it try and mix it gradually in with the old hay you still have left. Less shock to the system!

If it is dry and quite cool to touch you should be fine. We are having to use new hay already as we are completely out of old but it is bone dry and smells lovely.

 

[horsemadelsie]

We have fed ours hay straight off the field in previous years with no problems (and one of them has a sensitive tummy). It depends on the hay. If it is completely dry then it should be fine, but the hay we've got from this years cut is a bit damp and looks more like grass than hay in places because it was baled quickly in the one bit of good weather we had, so I'll be waiting a while before feeding that to them!
If you are worried then soak it for longer- if I was in your position I would probably soak it for the 8 hours your horse is allowed out, just to be on the safe side

 

[sophiebailey]

It was bone dry until the heavens opened as we were tranporting it to the yard on the flat trailer ...... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr x

 

[coss]

I thought it was to do with the mites that live in the hay for a while after its made. They eventually "move out" and leave very nice hay.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I would never feed hay fresh off the field till minimum of 3 months, usually closer to 5 months

 

[ester]

Leviathan..why?

sophiebailey, I might be a little more reluctant if mine had coliced so recently, I'd rather not be feeding it now but it is a needs must and is only for a couple of hours a day. But! I don't know why I'd rather not be feeding it apart from habit/learned behaviour!

I suspect an increasing number of people use hay earlier than they used to due to storage problems. our barn is only allowed to be garage sized so have to make do.

 

[Honey08]

Thanks guys a great help. Baileys currently only allowed out for 8 hours a day due to recently having colic, vets recommendedlimited grass intake to help his tummy.

I was worried feeding newly cut hay would irritate his tummy - is my reasoning wrong? Am I safe to feed it? (It is going to be soaked for 2hrs before I feed it if this has any bearing!) Xx

Why don't you ring your vet and just ask them? They know the situation better than any of us....

 

[sophiebailey]

The vet that came to see him isn't on call today she's going to give me a call tomorrow afternoon sometime. Thought i'd just get some opinions in the mean time.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Leviathan..why?

sophiebailey, I might be a little more reluctant if mine had coliced so recently, I'd rather not be feeding it now but it is a needs must and is only for a couple of hours a day. But! I don't know why I'd rather not be feeding it apart from habit/learned behaviour!

I suspect an increasing number of people use hay earlier than they used to due to storage problems. our barn is only allowed to be garage sized so have to make do.

Its never a good idea to use off the field hay, for many reasons.

Too rich for one thing colic is a higher risk too. Always leave mine time b 4 using