Help! Haylage advice needed please.
As we simply can't get any hay at a reasonable price & my asthma gets bad with dusty hay, We're thinking of feeding hayalge this year.
Our ponies are 2 x 14.2hh HW cobs (1 poorer doer & i good doer), 2 x 11hh LW ponies & 2 x 32" Minis (we drive in pairs!)
Feeding haylage, rather than hay would be new to us. There seem to be different types of haylage & different sizes of bales. Would we need different types (ie. low sugar?) for our little guys to our bigger cobs?
How long can we use a bale for when opened?
How do you work out what weight of haylage we need daily? They will have it twice a day, plus a small feed.
Can we simply feed it on the floor (ponies live out 24/7 year round - in 3 fields, so sizes not mixed) or would it need to be in nets?
How manageable would bales of 125kg be, with no machinery to move it?
Any other advice greatfully received! I've kept these ponies for many years, but feel like a total novice feeding them now! We rent our land, so are not on a yard to share bales, or get advice from non-novice-haylage-users!
Thank you.
As we simply can't get any hay at a reasonable price & my asthma gets bad with dusty hay, We're thinking of feeding hayalge this year.
Our ponies are 2 x 14.2hh HW cobs (1 poorer doer & i good doer), 2 x 11hh LW ponies & 2 x 32" Minis (we drive in pairs!)
Feeding haylage, rather than hay would be new to us. There seem to be different types of haylage & different sizes of bales. Would we need different types (ie. low sugar?) for our little guys to our bigger cobs?
How long can we use a bale for when opened?
How do you work out what weight of haylage we need daily? They will have it twice a day, plus a small feed.
Can we simply feed it on the floor (ponies live out 24/7 year round - in 3 fields, so sizes not mixed) or would it need to be in nets?
How manageable would bales of 125kg be, with no machinery to move it?
Any other advice greatfully received! I've kept these ponies for many years, but feel like a total novice feeding them now! We rent our land, so are not on a yard to share bales, or get advice from non-novice-haylage-users!
Thank you.