Author Topic: Haylage (Read 6586 times)

sabrina · « **on:** May 14, 2011, 10:27:42 am »

Due to hay being rubbish last year I had to burn a lot so instead of the 20 round bales lasting the year I am now having to buy haylage for Pitstop who cannot go out for any more than a couple of hours. Cost £17.40 for 2 bales which will only feed him 10 days. Its OK for ponies who are prone to lamintis. I have tried him with a grazing mask but he just hates it and gets depressed. This year I will be more carefull and not buy my hay unless i am 100 per cent sure it is worth having. Buying from the same person for years and paying cash I did not think they would sell me rubbish but they did and have now lost my custom.One of the local farmers plans to make and will sell me round bales if it is good stuff.

marie · « **Reply #1 on:** May 14, 2011, 07:57:07 pm »

We have had to buy from different people until we found someone who we can trust to sell us good stuff. It,s realy annoying when you think you are getting a good deal and then they sell you rubbish.

daddymatty82 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 14, 2011, 08:39:04 pm »

maybe not the farmers fault due to the whole country having a bad year for hay. how much was you buying a round bale for?

piggy · « **Reply #3 on:** May 14, 2011, 08:56:13 pm »

I normally feed mine haylage but as last winter we had sheep to feed i bought in hay,first 50 bales i had was lovely horses and sheep loved it,then the next lot was awful but they still stuffed there faces with it at the time i had broke my foot and couldnt go out to collect any more,the minute i could drive again i managed to fine some lovely stuff at a very good price snapped up 100 bales and i still have about 75 bales left as the little monkeys wont touch it,even my most greadist horse who will polish of a net in 40 mins didnt like it and the sheep wouldnt touch it either.
This winter i will be back to haylage.

sabrina · « **Reply #4 on:** May 16, 2011, 11:09:02 pm »

I paid £14 per bale of the field. At the time I did ask if they were sure it was ok as I have asthma. I have been buying their hay for years but they no longer get someone in to make it as their son has started contrating. Trouble was he made theirs last. It was not fit to be fed to horses, moldy and very dusty. They could not change it as all the bales were the same. I only got a small amount from each bale the rest I burnt as my friend Mike said he would not even feed it to his cattle. The normal price has always been £12 as long as it was picked up from the field. Hay made up here in June and August was good, my friends bought from people around Aberdeenshire but I had already ordered mine per usual will not be doing that again.

Fi · « **Reply #5 on:** May 17, 2011, 07:57:43 am »

Quote from: daddymatty82 on May 14, 2011, 08:39:04 pm

maybe not the farmers fault due to the whole country having a bad year for hay. how much was you buying a round bale for?

We made our own hay last year for the first time. For beginners we chose the wrong year for sure. It was an awful year for making hay! We had to get someone in to bale it and when the weather was good his baler broke down so our hay wasn't baled at the opportune time. We cut another park later and that turned into great stuff. So Perhaps the farmer sold you his best stuff and did you not check it yourself first?
We sold some of ours and let the best stuff go because we have a conscience . We ended up burning some as we didn't feel it was good enough to sell and it didn't keep. We won't be making so much this year, only enough for ourselves. To be honest for the hassle value and what you get for it, it's not worth the bother.
$:-\$ $:-\$

sabrina · « **Reply #6 on:** May 17, 2011, 09:46:18 am »

Its hard to check it once its made into round bales. As I have bought from them for years and they know that I have asthma I trusted them when told it was fine. I opened the first bale in December as I had been using the years before up until then. Phoned right away only to be told it was all the same and I could use it for bedding. Their own horses were eating it but they had no grass so not much choice. I would have to get someone in to make hay off my paddocks but it would not be enough and not worth the hassle plus quite stressful so I always buy in. At least you burnt the hay you made that was not good enough to sell rather than flog it to some poor person. Nice to know there are still honest people about.

Fi · « **Reply #7 on:** May 18, 2011, 07:42:00 am »

Oh didn't realise it was big round bales. It is harder to tell what the inside ofnthese are like. Ours were wee square bales. I agree making the hay is so stressful, but having our own did save money. Can anyone out there advise how to make haylage when to wrap it etc?

Thought we might try that this year possibly less stressful to make

robert waddell · « **Reply #8 on:** May 18, 2011, 09:20:22 am »

haylage is what would be a crop of hay but baled with some moisture left and wrapped as quick as possible
if you were intending to make hay and the crop cut and worked but still requires a few extra days of good weather and the forecast was for rain rather than leave it to get spoiled and useless(for any stock)bale it and wrap it job done crop saved go on Holiday
the other way is cut as silage work until nearly dry then same operation the only difference is a silage crop converted to haylage is softer and leafier as opposed to hay cut and baled earlier which is courser and stemier
THE BIG THING WITH ANY CROP IS MOULD BALE WITH MOISTURE YOU GET MOULD BALE WITH MOISTURE AND WRAP (DONT APPLY ENOUGH WRAP OR MISSHANDLE THE WRAPED BALE AFTER)YOU GET MOULD