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Author Topic: Resealing haylage  (Read 3461 times)

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Resealing haylage
« on: November 07, 2018, 02:46:41 am »
Just wondering if it can be done? Or once opened all has to be used?
Bought some of the big rectangular bales. I'm hoping they are in slices like small haybale, but not currently going through enough hay to be sure I could use a haylage bale before it goes off.
So could I slice one end, take maybe half out then seal it tightly?
TIA

Rupert the bear

  • Joined Jun 2015
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2018, 06:22:13 am »
This time of year as its not too hot , maybe , but the seal would have to be very good . Big bale haylage is often rewraped when made into  smaller bales but are either vacum packed or rewrapped on the mini baler , but as to re sealing the big bale its worth having a go, just make sure its really airtight

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2018, 12:23:39 pm »
Thanks both of you,
If it was later into winter I wouldn't have bothered, they would go through it, but they are still going out on grass during the day, and on some fantastic hay, which they wolf down too fast for the amount I could get, so at the moment I'm bulking out with some very good straw, most are quite happy to eat that, i put straw on top of the hay in the racks, so about 3 haybales a week, but I need to hold some hay back for emergencies/next summer. Also haylage is from a different source to previous, so just hoping it's suitable, need to find out beforevwinter sets in..
It already has patches of gaffa tape on, from loading holes and damage
If only the idiots didn't waste so much  :(

honeyend

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2018, 05:33:47 pm »
I used to get the big round bales of haylage. If it was warm and was heating because they were not eating it fast enough I would unroll it, fluff it, leave it in the sun, turn it and feed it dry. I now buy square bales and I can not see how that could not be done if needed.
  Small puncture holes from handling a bale, I just gaffer tape.

adamhfc

  • Joined Sep 2010
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2018, 11:36:21 pm »
I'll start by saying I don't use silage myself as my risk appetite in terms of feeding potentially toxic substances to my animals is at a lower level. 

I have had involvement with both making it (hay barn was full and I needed to cut so silage was made for selling on) and seeing it fed to dairy livestock in the past where both big bale and clamp silage was used. 

We didn't have the need to re-seal bales once opened for feeding as the stock cleared it quickly.  However, we did test the silage for quality and for that you needed to puncture the bale for a sample and then re-seal it until it would be used.  We also occasionally got punctures when handling bales and again that would need to be re-sealed prior to use.  Gaffer tape was the preferred method for sealing the relatively small holes for sampling whilst larger holes were done with either some wrap or a black plastic bag gaffer taped in place.

In terms of clamp silage - we cut across the face in rotation so that the face was never more than a few days old before being fed - but this was obviously not sealed.

If you're talking big square Hesston type bales (1/4 - 1/2 tonne apiece), yes they're the same as small bales in terms of the compression mechanism so they are made in "slices" but silage tends not to "slice" the way hay does due to the way it ferments so it won't necessarily fall apart that way after it's cured.  If you're going to try it, it'd be tempted to take an "end" off then dig out the amount you'll use before tightly using the wrap you've opened back over the "hole" end and resealing it.  You will have let air in so it will start going off, but if you restrict the amount of air that's getting in, it slows down the aerobic process for fungal/bacterial growth - a bit like putting a lid on a tupperware pot will slow down the degeneration over food left in an open bowl.

Hope this helps?


Haylage and silage are not the same thing I thought

Buttermilk

  • Joined Jul 2014
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2018, 07:22:39 am »
Haylage can be anything from hay to silage but is usually more towards hay on the scale, especially if baled for horses.

harmony

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2018, 09:07:03 am »

Your question was about resealing and I don't really think once you have opened a Heston bale you will able to reseal it ton the same standard it was. I don't know how many goats you have but once opened it would need to be eaten in a week I would say and be pretty dry stuff to start with. Once opened it needs to be kept dry. If it gets wet it wont last as long.

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #7 on: November 08, 2018, 10:37:34 am »
So grade 1 is the stuff my goats won't touch, the dark wetter stuff? What I know as silage.
Farm where I helped as a teenager used to clamp it. Still love the smell and brings back memories :-).
I opened a bale, bit damp on the edges, it does come away in wedges, and goats love it. Doubt I'll use it in a week though. Bit difficult to try and reseal. Might have to try and dry some  ???

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Resealing haylage
« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2018, 02:25:54 pm »

I have done the drying bit after opening in the past when I had to use large bales for both the sheep and goats. That was during later winter.


Have started to use some small-bale haylage on my older goats (less risk wrt listeriosis) and the 5 of them eat it within three days. Will also get some Mycosorb, though that's just for fungal stuff as far as I know and doesn't help with bacterial issues like listeriosis.


I haven't tried to re-seal ever.

 

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