New cut hay

TheCurlyPony

TheCurlyPony

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Hi,

Can anyone tell me how long you need to wait to feed newly cut hay, and why you need to wait that long.

Thanks
 
At least 6 weeks - you should feel inside bale as far as you can and not be able to feel any warmth inside bale before feeding to horses
 
Anytime you like as long as it's dry - HAY of course, not HAYLAGE.

I fed some to mine baled yesterday today... he's still alive.

Hay is hay when it's dried out in the field. You can't bale damp hay so it would never be baled in the first place. It's a myth.

Colic occurs when fed damp or mouldy hay.
 
haylage needs to wait 2 months before feeding. new hay can be fed if no other hay is available, tho i tend to feed less. can make them a little loose. ideally wait a couple of months if you can. horsesforever1 if it finishes 'drying out in the bale' you will have a barn full of mouldy cr{@ p that is not fit to feed. hay has to be very dry (preferably by sun) before baling. if you have some of last years hay, and this yrs hay i would suggest you give a mix of both til the old hay runs out.
 
We have always fed it from being newly baled without problem. I have seen before that you should mix it if you can so it doesn't give them the runs but we never have and it has never bothered them.
 
Poo Picker said:
At least 6 weeks - you should feel inside bale as far as you can and not be able to feel any warmth inside bale before feeding to horses
Click to expand...

I always go for 6 weeks just to be sure unless we have had a blooming boiler of a summer and can guarantee its bone dry, my farmer is very good he will come and check to make sure its not heated up. If it has got even damp overnight etc it can ferment and cause colic. Even though once cut its put into a very dry airy barn.
 
[QUO horsesforever1 if it finishes 'drying out in the bale' you will have a barn full of mouldy cr{@ p that is not fit to feed.[/QUOTE]
. I've been making hay for 40 years ,thousands of bales. I am not talking about baling wet hay as in rained on or not dried enough in the field. Dried grass is not,never 100% dry, when baled. It might feel bone dry and smell lovely but the fact is it isnt quite bone dry. that is what happens when the bales are stacked in a sizeable number. the whole thing heats up somewhat and the last tiny bits of moisture are evaporated. The process takes about 6 weeks.Interestingly this is why June cut hay can [relatively] easily catch fire,its sappier than July hay,it heats up readily and hotter and can spontaniously combust. People can feed new cut hay if want to,theres no law againt it,but I wont risk my horses life from colic with it, I think too much of my horses for that.
 
Last edited:
Horsesforever1 said:
[QUO horsesforever1 if it finishes 'drying out in the bale' you will have a barn full of mouldy cr{@ p that is not fit to feed.
Click to expand...
. I've been making hay for 40 years ,thousands of bales. I am not talking about baling wet hay as in rained on or not dried enough in the field. Dried grass is not,never 100% dry, when baled. It might feel bone dry and smell lovely but the fact is it isnt quite bone dry. that is what happens when the bales are stacked in a sizeable number. the whole thing heats up somewhat and the last tiny bits of moisture are evaporated. The process takes about 6 weeks.Interestingly this is why June cut hay can [relatively] easily catch fire,its sappier than July hay,it heats up readily and hotter and can spontaniously combust. People can feed new cut hay if want to,theres no law againt it,but I wont risk my horses life from colic with it, I think too much of my horses for that.[/QUOTE]

Eactly what I would said if I could have worded it like that!
 
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