Can Horses Eat Wet Haylage?

However, if it is dried to a dry matter above 50% then it will be too dry to support the clostridia to multiple. Haylage that is very acidic and wet may upset the hindgut of the horse leading to colic or even laminitis.

Can you feed wet haylage?

If the haylage is wet – this is possibly a sign of secondary fermentation and so another reason it needs to be avoided. If there are white mould patches this is a sure sign of fermented and poisonous feed.

How wet can you bale haylage?

Considering all factors, the optimum whole-plant moisture for baled silage is 50-60%. Baling at the proper moisture content is a key to success in producing baleage. Forage containing less than 40% or more than 65% moisture should not be baled for silage in order to avoid excessive molding or spoilage.

Can you feed haylage straight away?

Haylage needs to ferment, so it should not be fed straight after being baled and wrapped. The amount of time it takes to ‘cure’ is variable depending on the moisture and WSC content of the grass when it was wrapped, but a good guide is 6 weeks.

Does soaking haylage reduce calories?

For horses whose calorie intake needs controlling, it is recommended that hay is soaked for 8 to 9 hours, which will leach out nutrients and calories, leaving just the fibre element.

What happens if you soak haylage?

Haylage should never be soaked as this may cause it to ferment.

How long does haylage need to dry?

For haylage: if drying conditions are good, rake multiple swaths into a windrow just before chopping (usually takes 5 to 7 hours after mowing). For hay: if drying conditions are good, merge/rake multiple swaths into windrow 12 to 24 hours after mowing (when forage is 40 to 60% moisture to avoid leaf loss).

Can you wrap wet bales?

When it’s wetter during early summer, it’s challenging to harvest and preserve quality forage from the first cutting. Under these conditions, wrapping wet hay for bale silage is another option to preserve forage quality.

What moisture should haylage be?

60 to 65%
When forage is cut, it has 75 to 80 percent moisture that must be dried down to 60 to 65% moisture content for haylage and down to 14 to 18% moisture content for hay (lower figures for larger bales).

What happens if you bale hay wet?

If wet hay is baled while it is too wet, microbe populations will flourish and intensify the heating process. This results in hay that is lower in nutritive value and dry matter availability. Allowing cut hay to dry (or cure) will slow down the respiration process.

How long do you leave haylage before feeding to horses?

To be safe, wait at least 8 weeks after wrapping to begin feeding baleage bales. This time will ensure that the forage is fully ensiled and does not begin to deteriorate or heat when it is fed.

Does haylage put weight on horses?

Haylage can provide horses prone to weight gain or laminitis with an excess of energy provided by their forage.

Will haylage make my horse fizzy?

Will haylage send my horse fizzy?! While haylage is typically lower in sugar in comparison to hay, making sugar itself unlikely to be the cause of fizzy behaviour, an early cut haylage will be more digestible and therefore provide more nutrients and digestible energy (calories) in comparison to most hays.

Can haylage cause laminitis?

One study found a higher insulin response to haylage compared to dry and soaked hay. High circulating levels of insulin in the blood are of concern as it is thought to link to laminitis.

Can haylage cause ulcers?

This means that, even a horse fed its entire daily requirement of forage, can suffer from stronger stomach acid if their forage is only fed over a short period of time, which can lead to ulcers. The three main forms of forage for horses are grass, hay/haylage and chaff.

Is haylage better than hay for weight gain?

Haylage is more digestible than hay, giving it a higher digestible energy (or DE) content. Because of this, horses tend to do better on haylage – making it usually less ideal for overweight horses, horses prone to gaining weight, metabolic and laminitic horses.

What causes botulism in haylage?

“Typically, botulism from forage occurs from contamination with soil, animal carcasses or poultry slurry, or from rotting due to poor quality wrapped forages not being preserved thoroughly, or hay not being stored correctly,” she said.

How long does haylage last once opened?

3-7 days
For this reason, the length of time haylage can be fed once opened, is given as a range of 3-7 days. In warmer climates or during the summer months in the UK our haylage products will last for a minimum of 3 days once opened. In colder climates or during the winter months in the UK, this can easily extend to 7 days.

Is haylage better than dry hay?

Properly done, most livestock tend to find haylage more palatable than dry hay. However, when acetic acid levels increase, again due to the contents bring overly wet, feed intake tends to significantly decrease. Nutritional content is also something that can be compromised by improper moisture.

Can haylage cause colic?

WINTER CAUSES
Hay and haylage is only approximately 10-40% moisture compared to the 75% moisture contained in spring and summer grass. With this decrease in moisture intake the processed feed is too dry to move along the digestive tract and problems with impaction can occur.

Can haylage be to dry?

Caution has to be taken with very dry haylage when wrapping as dry, coarse material may result in more air pockets in the bale and a bale that is more difficult to wrap without puncturing the plastic.