Animalscaretips
- What is the difference between hay and haylage?
- Is haylage better than hay?
- What are the benefits of haylage?
- Should horses eat haylage?
- Can you feed haylage and hay together?
- Can horses eat wrapped hay?
- Why is haylage bad for horses?
- Is haylage heating for horses?
- Is haylage the same as silage?
- Can I feed haylage to my pony?
- How much haylage should a horse eat a day?
- How long will haylage last once opened?
- Does haylage make horses fat?
- Is haylage better than hay for cattle?
- What's the difference between Balayage and hay?
What is the difference between hay and haylage?
Hay is cut when grass is mature and left to dry in the field before being baled and stored. ... Haylage tends to be cut earlier in the season and is left to wilt for a shorter period of time in the field before being baled and wrapped in several layers of plastic.
Is haylage better than hay?
Haylage dry matter has about 10% higher nutritional value than hay so if you are feeding the equivalent in terms of dry matter, you can also cut down on supplementary feed as less will be needed to meet the horses energy requirements.
What are the benefits of haylage?
The main benefit of haylage over hay is that it is baled and wrapped damp, so it does not contain the dust and mould spores that UK made hay will inevitably contain. In fact vets recommend that all UK hay is soaked (for 10 minutes) to dampen dust and swell mould spores before being fed to horses.
Should horses eat haylage?
Haylage is great for horses in regular work, young horses with greater energy and protein requirements for growth and older horses who need an easily digestible source of forage. ... Additionally, haylage is dust free so is an excellent choice for horses with a compromised respiratory system.
Can you feed haylage and hay together?
you actually need to feed more haylage than hay weight for weight to get the same calories. it's a myth that you should feed less haylage. haylage has a much higher water content so for the same weight you get more water and less nutrients.
Can horses eat wrapped hay?
Although baleage, haylage and silage can be fed to horses, it should be done with caution. Baleage, haylage and silage can be very nutrient dense and contains microbes and potential probiotics that can affect the gastrointestinal microbe population.
Why is haylage bad for horses?
Haylage is, however, higher in protein, and more digestible than hay giving it a higher DE content. As a result, horses generally tend to do better on haylage, so it's often not ideal for overweight horses and those prone to weight gain, metabolic and laminitic horses, unless it is a high-fibre, lower DE variety.
Is haylage heating for horses?
Many people feed hay 'ad-lib' due to its low energy value and reasonable cost. There is less concern for weight gain or 'heating up' in the horse with hay. Another benefit is that hay is also able to be stored for long periods of time – if stored correctly in a dry environment.
Is haylage the same as silage?
Today the most common definition is that haylage is drier than silage, and some haylage is so dry it is hay wrapped in plastic. In the feeding experiments presented on this website forage with dry matter (DM) concentrations between 50-70% are called haylage and between 35-50% are called silage.
Can I feed haylage to my pony?
Haylage is an ideal replacement for hay and excellent for feeding to horses with dust allergies and equine respiratory problems such as COPD, SPAOD and RAOD. Haylages are made of grass that is cut before it goes to seed. It is semi-wilted grass sealed in a bag but without the dust and spores found in hay.
How much haylage should a horse eat a day?
For example, if a 500kg horse is fed haylage with a dry matter content of 70%, it needs 500 x 15 = 7500g of DM a day. For this horse's haylage, this would mean feeding 7500 x 100 ÷ 70 = 10714 g or 10.7kg of haylage a day.
How long will haylage last once opened?
Once opened, the bales should ideally be used within 6 days, but will last up to 10 days in the winter.
Does haylage make horses fat?
Once it is open, use a bale of haylage within four days or the moulds you have sought to prevent will start to grow again. Haylage contains at least 25% more water than hay, so you cannot make the change on a weight-for-weight basis without causing problems.
Is haylage better than hay for cattle?
Silage makes an excellent feed for ruminant animals. However, feeding silage is much different than feeding hay. Silage, because it is much wetter than hay, is much more susceptible to deterioration. Sealed from oxygen during storage, the forage undergoes fermentation.
What's the difference between Balayage and hay?
Baleage can be confused with traditional dry hay because it is still a square or round bale, but it is simply hay that is too moist to store safely as dry hay so it is wrapped or otherwise sealed in plastic. Baleage can be fermented as individual bales or in a tube/inline.
