My boy is eating his hay too fast!

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sue_ellen

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Been stabling at night this week as it is so wet and our land is clay so it is horrible when its rainy. So - overweight cobby boy comes in at half 4 and has half a bale of hay in his haybar. The next morning yo tells me he had nothing left to eat by half 7!? So the next evening he gets the same amount in a small hole haynet - its still all gone by 9! I have watched him - he just stands absolutely glued to the spot and just eats till its all gone! So - any ideas to slow him down a bit? Ive tried adding straw but he's very clever and some how manages to miss all the straw, and I haven't been able to get hold of any oat straw, I believe thats the best sort to use. The sad thing is I was so thrilled to get my haybar and now it looks like I cant even use it, and - I was hoping he'd lose weight this winter - that's not looking very likely at the moment!! Thanks for reading this
 
Have you tried putting it in a haylege net - or even 2 haylege nets (one inside the other)? This is what I do with my NF as she is a piglet too and these have smaller holes and take more work!

Also, I put stable toys- homemade = suedes and carrots and parsnips on a bit of rope hanging in her stable - sometimes gives her something else to do!
 
We have to put our younger two's hay in in two lots. They get the 'small half' when they come in at about 7:30 pm, then the bigger half at 11:30 to midnight. They are both fed from hay bars and have the hay rinsed through. They also have about 1/2 a bale each, as they are both good doers.
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If he has only just started coming in, you might find that he paces himself after a few days. My mare did this to start with, but after a few days she would have a much, then snooze, then munch again and now often when I arrive in the morning there are still a few mouthfuls of hay left in her net. I think perhaps she had worked out that no one would take it away from her overnight!!

Or... perhaps there isn't much grass in the field so he is just hungry
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Some people use 2 haynets, one inside the other to make it more difficult to pull out big mouthfuls of hay - you could try that?

ETA too slow to reply, as usual... lots of people use 2 haynets, obviously!!
 
How good is the grass he is on? George is pretty much the same, but Lanky always has some left. Lanky, however, is getting 2 large fibre-feeds a day, as he needs it for his weight. George just gets wet hay, very very poor grazing for limited time and a handful of hifi with vits and mins. He's very hungry when he comes in at night. I make sure his haybar is jam-packed with stuff, and unless I am really late getting there he will have some left. If I restrict him to say a few wedges, then he will get through it all.

You could give him a feed of speedibeet before tucking him in, and that way he may not gorge so much.
 
Haylage net, and try steaming the hay. It swells up considerably and does not remove nutrition.
Just pour a kettle of boiling water over in, in a poly dustbin, and allow it to cool.
 
Double up nets so he has to work harder to get it. And definitely soak his hay - minimum of an hour, longer if possible, to lose some of the calories from it.

If your YO knows he eats it too quickly, could you give him a net at tea time and then your YO put another double netted one in later on at night. At least he won't be standing for so many hours without anything that way.
 
Thanks for your replies everyone - whats weldmesh Lcobby? He's on almost no grazing at all, has to have hay in field now, because its so wet we have to use little paddocks with no grass because the grass gets destroyed otherwise.
 
How about using the ideas to slow him down in his hay bar and then put up 2 or 3 other hay nets so he has to move around to get his food (I am not sure if this will slow him down or not but it might break that possible, boredom, tunnel vision eating fest?

Another idea, how about putting one haylage net inside another haylage net to make the holes smaller again?

How about some kind of stable toy? Not that I think this will help but tis a thought.

Ummmm, now i am stuck!
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My boy will do this but I think I have finally cracked it. Firstly his hay is soaked for 8 to 10 hours (while I am at work). He has about 10lbs in his hay bay and about 5 lb in a haylege net tied above his hay bar. He eats the loose hay first but by then his hunger is satisfied and he will eat the remaining hay in the hay net at a much slower pace. This also means he isn't yanking the hay net really hard building up the wrong muscles.

The other thing I find works BRILLIANTLY is a nut ball. Half a scoop of hi fibre nuts and then stuff with a scoop of chaff - I use Good Doer. The chaff stops the nuts falling out so fast and will keep my boy occupied for a good hour!
 
I had this same problem with my cob. I put her hay in a small holed net within another small holed net. Wet it thoroughly with hose...she also has a nut ball and a decahedron that I chop carrots into, they all help to keep her occupied. She used to have a large likit, that should be renamed, bite in half and eat within 30 seconds....so now she has the little likit ball hanging up (she has 2 per week) and also a salt lick.... I found that as she realised she would get these things she no longer scoffs her hay in one go
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