[Nelson International]

How long will haylage last once it’s unwrapped, and can you tell when it’s gone bad?

I have had to shift from hay to haylage for a little while as I wanted to keep the last of my hay back for the ewes lambing indoors. I only have 6 sheep so rather than put a whole big bale out, I’ve had it unwrapped on a pallet in a dry stable, taking leaves of it out to the sheep. I want to make sure I know when it’ll be no good. Cheers.

[shep53]

Could last a week or 2wks  depends how dry it is , if nearly hay then might   stretch to 3 wks . When you say unwrapped   ,have you removed all the plastic and net ?  it would last longer if you leave the wrap on and just open a side  and slowly peel back as you use the haylage .   If it starts to get warm  or starts to get dry ,then its at its limit

[SallyintNorth]

It’s risky beyond four days, so try to keep it mostly well covered and only pull out of one place so the rest stays tight and air is pretty much excluded.

We can get small bales of haylage where we are - absolute godsend. 

[Nelson International]

Thanks, the advice I had was to keep it undercover but unwrap it completely to stop it sweating. It seems completely the same as when I unwrapped it, but I've been using it a couple of weeks now, so I think I'll quit while I still seem to be ahead. I have enough hay to last me I think.

[Penninehillbilly]

I get some quite dry, almost hay, used it for up to 3 weeks, for goats and sheep. Only one started to sweat a bit, I unwoun and loosened all that was left and it was fine.

[bj_cardiff]

How long it will last depends on the haylage, if its very wet, or very dry it won't heat up as much. I find that if I keep it outside and leave uncovered (when its dry weather) it keeps it cooler. I used to keep in a barn and it used to sweat. If it starts to sweat, pull the whole bale apart and let it cool down

[landroverroy]

You'll know when it's off as it will no longer smell appetising and they will be loathe to eat it.

[SallyintNorth]

I’m not certain that every kind of ‘off’ makes it smell different and be unappetising. Some kinds of ‘off’ can poison the stock who eat it (and eat it they do) but all I can tell you is ex-BH used to be anal about not leaving silage that had been opened longer than a couple of days where the cattle could get at it.

I know there’s a risk of listeria if soil had got into the bale. But whether that risk is there no matter how the bale is treated, once it had soil in it, I’m not sure.  I think it might be that listeria needs air to breed, so if there are some there that are kept dormant by the anaerobic conditions, then once the silage is open to the air, the bacteria can start to breed. Perhaps it takes a few days for them to reach levels that can cause illness.

Anyway, I’m nervous about feeding haylage - especially if it’s at the wetter end of the scale - more than four days after opening. 

[shep53]

Listeria is primarily soil borne and is incorporated  during silage making ,then if bales  poorly sealed  or plastic is damaged then fermentation is incomplete and then any punctures from animals /birds can allow it to multiply .     Pit or clamp silage  lasts  2-3 days  after feeding  as it is loose  , bales  can last up to 7 days  ( according to some advice )  as they are  a solid lump , Haylage is higher dm  with some being  hay that was not quite ready for hay  so should last a lot longer  .  Horsehage  suggest  5-7 days as  a max on its site .   The worst that can happen is secondary fermentation and the silage / haylage  starting to cook is the first sign