Just got a new load of hay from my usual supplier, 1st cut orchard grass. I’ve opened two bales now and have found that it’s nearly impossible to pull off just a flake, they all seem to be stuck together. The horses are eating it just fine, so I’m not super concerned but it is kind of a pain (and messy) to feed. What causes this? Something to do with the baling machinery?
My experience with hay that won’t separate, its usually moldy hay.
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are you just here to make things up in as many threads as possible?
anyway, I don’t think there is necessariy anything wrong with the hay. There might be something wrong with the baler’s stroke. But if the hay looks good and smells good, it is fine. There’s no magic to separating the flakes, though – it’s just messy!
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I’ve definitely had this before, and the hay was fine. Just a pain to separate and feed 
We bale our own hay and I’ve recently had a few bales end up like this… none have been moldy and the horses are pretty much thrill that they are getting massive blobs instead of a nice tidy flake. When I am ninja fighting the bale to try and get a semi reasonable “flake”/ Blob of hay the only thing i have noticed that is different from our other bales, is that the hay in the non-flaking bales seem to have lots of very long stems of grass, like they weren’t cut short enough or didn’t get broken up as much or crimped as well when it was raked or going thru the baler. So the end result is that the hay just sort of is all twisted and didn’t pack into a nice false like it normally does. Hopefully your whole had isn’t like that cuz it is definitely a pain. But the hay isn’t bad… if it was moldy you would know. When trying to break up the hay you would get lots of dust. and if its so tightly clumped you should be able to see the moldy. also in my experience I’ve yet to see a horse dive right into a moldy hay… and true I have a few horses who are most definitely not the sharpest bulbs in the box, and even they wouldn’t eat moldy hay.
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Ok thanks guys! Wanted to be certain nothing was wrong with this load. I definitely don’t see any mold! It looks like nice quality hay, it’s just really hard to break apart! I didn’t know if it had something to do with the way it was baled, or the conditions when it was cut or whatever - just trying to learn more about hay! Thanks again
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I agree with Kottbulle, my experience is that the hay that doesn’t want to separate has longer stems.
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This is my experience as well. Occasionally even shorter stems will get more wadded up in the process, but this often results in chunks falling off the flake more than flakes sticking together.
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I had to get hay from out of state, wherever I could find it, 11 years ago when we had a big drought. I ended up with some variety of Bermuda from TX that had the MOST compacted flakes in every bale, and were the biggest PITA to pull apart (and as a result was the start of some tendonitis I still have :mad: ). And yes, the pieces were long, but not just long, coarse, so things “stuck” together as well as tangled/wrapped a bit.
I have found using a long serrated knife, like a bread knife, can help you carve out flakes from the blobs. I bet a machete or similar blade would work well too. You could also try a handsaw.
I hate messy feeding. I feel like I’m always feeding too much and wasting spill on the ground.
Good idea! I do have a machete, I’ll see if I can “saw” off some flakes this evening. Yes, it does seem the stems are longer, and they’re all twisted together in one corner of the bale. It’s hard when I’m trying to pull off exactly two small flakes for the fat pony and end up with a giant wad I have to pull apart, although I’m sure he’s thrilled about this situation :lol:
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I know what you mean. I’m dealing with some huge fat flakes of alfalfa right now, with the same twisted stems. It’s also dryer than normal because it’s summer, and we’re in a serious drought. I actually have to soak it for one of the horses. The overweight mares love it, of course. They bellow like lions when I roll out the wheelbarrow!
I have never experienced this. How much experience do you have with horses?
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Would your horses eat moldy hay “just fine”, like the OP’s horses are?
IMHO - both answers can be correct. Moldy hay does indeed “stick together” and it’s the indication that I use if there was a wet clump baled and I check it out w/ the sniff/pull apart test for mold. (we make our own hay and yes, occasionally you get wet clumps baled)
You can also have slabs stick together when the hay is tall when cut. There is a blade that slides across the baler when it makes slabs and that doesn’t always cut cleanly when the hay is mature and tall.
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Harsh responses to Warriorhorse. 
I grew my own hay for many years and have purchased hay for many more. Flakes that stick together that much are “usually” a sign of concern. Hay “should” separate easily and without dust. OP, I would be concerned the hay was baled a bit damp and may not be “showing” mold yet but there’s a reason it’s sticking. Horses will eat hay that’s bad.
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Yep they will eat moldy hay just fine. So just because they eat hay up, when put out isn’t a good indicator of it’s quality.
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Trust me, the responses are not harsh, but you’d have to have knowledge of the poster’s history to understand that. Of course you/we/I am all entitled to an opinion. 
I have had hay stuck together due to mold, but I also have a bale right now that is hard to break apart due to the grass hay stems being so long. It just all becomes so intertwined. I think non moldy and moldy hay can both present this way. So it’s best to break apart and thoroughly inspect.
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CanteringCarrot, quite true I don’t know the history. I think we’re discussing two separate issues here. Flakes of hay that are difficult to separate and hay in flakes that is literally, stuck together. The latter of which, I personally wouldn’t feed.
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I know what you mean about moldy hay sticking together, but this isn’t stuck together like that AT ALL. The hay looks, smells, and feels wonderful and the horses are hoovering it down. I am finding SUPER long stems in the bales with flakes that are tangled together, and I’m now opening bales that are falling apart beautifully when opened too. So I’m pretty positive that @CanteringCarrot and @millerra described the exact issue! Seems like some bales have longer stems that are getting tangled, and other bales are totally normal.
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