The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: tobytoby on April 18, 2012, 10:20:05 am

Title: making small bagged silage for sheep
Post by: tobytoby on April 18, 2012, 10:20:05 am

Hi all,
I have read something previously about this, but cannot find the post.I like to plan ahead and not waste a resource - i have a large grassed area in the garden and would like to bag up the grass cuttings into heavy duty black bin bags and offer to the sheep in the winter :

Good idea?
Sheep won't eat it?
More trouble than its worth?
Can i cut & bag straight away or do i let it dry out for a day?

Any other tthoughts or suggestions welcome?

Title: Re: making small bagged silage for sheep
Post by: Moleskins on April 18, 2012, 10:55:31 am

Google it for info, they do it a lot in Nepal and use supermarket carriers if I remember right.
The general opinion on the forum was that you'd get mixed results. Excluding air is all important.

Title: Re: making small bagged silage for sheep
Post by: OhLaLa on April 18, 2012, 03:31:57 pm

Silage is usually made in the same way as hay, then wrapped. It is very important that air doesn't get in as mould spores and fungus will grow rendering it inedible. Expect mixed results if doing it at home, most likely with a low success rate.

This link gives info on larger baling, but is a good guide:

http://www.dardni.gov.uk/ruralni/index/publications/information_booklets/big_bale_silage/principles_of_making_big_bale_silage.htm (http://www.dardni.gov.uk/ruralni/index/publications/information_booklets/big_bale_silage/principles_of_making_big_bale_silage.htm)

 :farmer:

Title: Re: making small bagged silage for sheep
Post by: woollyval on April 18, 2012, 04:12:52 pm

http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5415370_make-silage-plastic-barrel.html (http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5415370_make-silage-plastic-barrel.html)

This works well, have friends who have done this for 30 years!!!

Title: Re: making small bagged silage for sheep
Post by: SallyintNorth on April 18, 2012, 04:39:38 pm

The previous thread is here:
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=21028.msg199549#msg199549 (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=21028.msg199549#msg199549)  (I had it bookmarked!)

Title: Re: making small bagged silage for sheep
Post by: robert waddell on April 18, 2012, 05:34:28 pm

sheep will eat it if it is good
proper silage (in a pit )is wilted for 24 hours before it is chopped    big bale silage or bin bag silage  is wilted for a bit longer but not left to the hay stage     the exclusion of air is the very important part as this determines if you have good silage /haylage   or just rotting shite :farmer:

Title: Re: making small bagged silage for sheep
Post by: SallyintNorth on April 18, 2012, 05:42:23 pm

Quote from: robert waddell on April 18, 2012, 05:34:28 pm

proper silage (in a pit )is wilted for 24 hours before it is chopped     

Not always these days - we see them cutting, harvesting and putting in the pit all in one these days, literally the conditioning mower followed by the forage harvester with just a few hundred metres between the two.  The 'conditioning' mower is supposed to give the same effect as the 24-hour wilt, they say.  Certainly our neighbours do it like this and their beautiful silage is the colour of marmalade and smells so good you want to eat it yourself. :D