Fresh cut & baled hay, how long before feeding to horses?

[Katy_Watts]

Another myth

[QUOTE=Karosel;2286162]
Hay that has been cured properly before drying will not heat up. If it does the hay was not left to dry long enough.

JanWeber, what is happening to the hay as it ‘cures’ after it has been baled that makes it more metabolically appropriate for horses?[/QUOTE]

I want to know this, too. I spent some time looking at the scientific literature regarding this, and there is no basis for thinking that sugar, protein or mineral levels are any lower in aged hay. The only thing that changes in properly stored hay is certain vitamins. It seems to be a common myth that needs busting. I surmised it was a misinterpretation of a study showing that hay high in mold is lower in sugars. Yes, mold will eat sugar, but you wouldn’t feed moldy hay anyway, so it’s a moot point.
Katy

[county]

Four years ago I bought 900 small square bales of hay that was stored in a loft for six years. It had been tested when baled and the lady gave me the test. I retested it and as Katy mentioned min. and via. were virtually non existant but protein and everything else was the same. I feed free choice min. and via. anyway so it just wasn’t an issue. Bought the 900 lbs for .50 a bale because it was " old ". But it was kept high and dry and not a thing wrong with it that wasn’t easily fixed.

[Karosel]

[QUOTE=county;2286292]
I’ve baled 2000 squares a day and stacked them in a loft many many years and never been concerned about a fire. Dry is exacvtly that and doesn’t burn. If its not dry then it just shouldn’t be baled period.[/QUOTE]

Actually its not quite as simple as that. Occasionly you can find a bale that will heat up even though the field was dry and suitable for baling. This usually occurs if there was a thicker spot in the field and didn’t dry as fast as the rest of the hay. When my dad and I check the hay for its dryness to see if its ready to be baled we try to check the thickest spots throughout the field. This does greatly reduce the occurence of a hot bale. Of course if you use squares the handling they require usually means that any bales that may heat up are detected before they go in the barn. Squares are difficult they cannot be left outside, whereas rounds can for a week or so.

Its so hard to get good quality hay off a field. I don’t think anyone can appreciate that until they have grown hay for themselves. My dad loves hay preservatives as do I. Yes its stinky (smells like vinegar), but it makes for a more nutritious hay and reduces necessary drying time. My horses don’t mind at all, but of course it would take some getting used to the smell for other horses that have never had it before.

[ponymom64]

I haven’t read the whole thread - but I would be VERY careful about putting fresh hay in your hayloft. A barn I was at a few years ago had a load come in and you could actually see the heat rising out of it - thankfully, this load was sent back right away but if it had been put right up in the loft, Lord knows what might have happened!!

[SGray]

@barnmonkey;2285291

WE always wait 5-6 weeks. I would not feed," green" uncured hay!!!
http://horsecare.stablemade.com/articles2/hay_uncured.htm

whoever wrote that article has a really crappy hay supplier

[Tamara_in_TN]

[QUOTE=Sentry Chick;2286277]

@Tamara in TN;2286012

I must say, I have never heard of this practice before in my life. Seems to be kinda wasteful IMO. Why on earth would a busy farmer want to bale hay twice???

because a 5x6 round baler can process more tonnage out of a field faster than any square balers short of the 3x3x8’s…a round that is worth $75 a ton processed into sm sqs is instantly worth 2 times as much…and the processors can unroll and bale a big round every 11 min or so…so for 11 min of work you have added $75 in value to the product

  Tamara in TN

[Tamara_in_TN]

also on traditional lofts…these circulate hot air around stored hay thru the year and many times fight off the “dewpoint” of the evenings by retaining the dry heat longer after dark

  Tamara in TN

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Sentry Chick;2286277]

I must say, I have never heard of this practice before in my life. Seems to be kinda wasteful IMO. Why on earth would a busy farmer want to bale hay twice???[/QUOTE]

Our local Agway is selling “recently rebaled” hay right now. I wasn’t sure how it was done but assumed it had to do with getting it out of the field faster and selling the more marketable small squares later. We had a very wet summer so many farmers lost a lot of good hay before they could bale it – it would seem that if they could round bale it faster, get it in before the rain and store it dry, then rebaling it into small squares would be a great idea!

Storage is probably the biggest limiting factor. For me as well!

[Hilary]

Karosel I SO agree with you about people not really understanding what it takes to get a bale of hay into a barn. Science, art and a good dose of luck.

We also do our own hay, and I always take it’s temperature for a week or 2 after it’s in the loft, but we do grass hay (a bit of clover in spots) and in July, when the grass is perhaps a bit drier on the stalk already. I’m not trying to make alfalfa on Memorial day. It heats a few degrees, but not anywhere near the danger point.

I think that if you have to bale a HAIR early - as in you might have left it to dry for another 45 minutes but couldn’t that as the bale “cures” any residual moisture is absorbed via the heating. I did a bunch of tests one summer (while waiting for it to dry, what else to do!?) and realized that we don’t bale until the moisture level is 10 or less. I know people bale at much higher than that.

We also feed right away - whatever falls on the floor gets fed right out, but it’s mixed in with their regular ration anyway.

In the last 3 years we’ve had one section that ended up being dusty when we fed it out in January, and that was the one I had to get in a bit too soon or lose it to a week of rain.

I think the rule about gradual feed changes is more important here than not feeding fresh hay.

[Sentry_Chick]

In my area, the farmers have very limited time for haying, planting, harvesting, plowing, ect. ect. Up here in the north east, we would not be in the position to rebale hay. They have more cash crops that are way more important to take care of. Hay is on the bottom of the list here. And with fuel prices going higher and higher, they are not gonna rebale hay when they have other things to take care of first.

I guess I can see the reason down south though. They have alot better weather longer. And money talks so if they can get more money, the better for the.

[Atypical]

I have never heard of letting hay sit in order to cure it. It should be dried out in the field and dry when baled. If you live in a place where attaining a sufficient dryness is difficult then hay should be baled with a preservative.

I’m with those that say dry is dry and you can go ahead and feed it.

[Tamara_in_TN]

@Sentry Chick;2286711

I guess I can see the reason down south though. They have alot better weather longer. And money talks so if they can get more money, the better for the.

the rebaling works better for those in a short growing window...the hay is rebaled inside barns once winter really hits...

 Tamara in TN

[chemteach]

[QUOTE=Tamara in TN;2286793]
the rebaling works better for those in a short growing window…the hay is rebaled inside barns once winter really hits…

 Tamara in TN[/QUOTE]

I forgot about the rebaling of round bales. Actually, I bought some this summer and it was great. Because of impending rain, the farmer did round bales and got the hay up. Later he rebaled it into square bales.

[Tamara_in_TN]

@chemteach;2286967

I forgot about the rebaling of round bales. Actually, I bought some this summer and it was great. Because of impending rain, the farmer did round bales and got the hay up. Later he rebaled it into square bales.

 it is a practice since the late 1980's,however it is not really practical on alfalfa hays due to shatter and leaf loss... now since grass hay commands as much as alfalfa the need to rebale has increased dramatically...

           there are a few small small farmers that have formed coop partnerships in the rebaling equipment and only bale rounds thru the year...and then winter comes and they rebale...

    one of the plus sides to this is the repackaging creates a denser sm sq that easier to ship with a shorter chop length...the downside is that the hay must be [B]super good quality[/B] to run thru the rebaler or you just get densely packed junk ;) 

 Tamara in TN

[Lieslot]

Wow, interesting all of this.

Well, when my supplier comes next week I will ask where precisely the hay comes from and when it was cut rather then baled ;).
I looked around driving the car today and yes, everybody is very correct in saying that there’s absolutely nothing growing in New Jersey at this moment :winkgrin: .

For right now, the boys are nibbling away at Jan Weber’s orchard grass .
Thanks Jan!!!
So great the helpful people you meet through COTH!!! :yes:

[Tom_King]

“whoever wrote that article has a really crappy hay supplier”

exactly my thoughts.

Tamara, Do you let your hay “sweat out”?

[Chief2]

Our hay supplier has a habit of cutting corners when letting the hay dry out before baling it, so I like to wait a week or two to make sure the bale has dried out before we feed it. I also like mixing it with the older hay if possible, but be aware that when presented with the same old stuff and the new hay, horses will almost always go for the most recent cut and leave the rest on the floor.

[2DogsFarm]

The first wagonload I bought from my current hayguy had some bales that felt like freshly-mown lawn. They were baled tight and made me nervous about combustion from decomposing hay.
He agreed to let the wagon stand in my yard for a week and at the end of that time all was nicely dry and lasted through the Winter.
I think I tossed one bale that had mold at the center and that may very well have been a bale stored nearest the floor (up on pallets).

[Karosel]

Once hay is baled it will not dry. Or at least not properly. After awhile its risk of combustion will go down as the mold forming has reached its peak and no more will grow and fermentation by microganims stops. The heat that is produced is from fermentation of the sugars in the moist hay by microoganisms.

After we bag our haylage bales they heat up and gases expand the bags somewhat. I don’t know why the haylage bales do not combust as they undergo (desired) fermention. Maybe because its an anaerobic environment? Or maybe because the haylage is wet to begin with so the heat produced will not cause anything to catch fire, unlike the dry (ish) hay that is baled too wet.?

[Tamara_in_TN]

@Tom King;2287319

“whoever wrote that article has a really crappy hay supplier”

exactly my thoughts.

Tamara, Do you let your hay “sweat out”?

 we have very computerized gadgets in our tractors and balers...intergrated onto the proprionic acid system...every 3 secs get a readout for moisture that adjusts the chemical...when we have had nozzle problems of have run out of time we mark them that are higher in moisture than they should be and we do watch those...others baled below  <x> moisture (and X will vary from one batch to another) are stashed right away in the barns and not looked again til we sell it...

     so I don't know how you mean "sweat out" insofar as a procedural thing...not trying to be evasive or anything ;) the first few thousand bales each year are test bales for the computer systems and nozzels and such...

                   and there are acids out there that [B]SUCK[/B] and have caused us to lose tens of thousands of bales a years...so the first few we wait and watch and test every day simply for calibration sakes for the machines...and then we roll along and do about 3000 sm sqs a day once everything clicks :yes: 

    Tamara in TN