Crop silage bales while outwintering on forage rape

[MickyMook]

Hi folks,

there’s a bit of a debate going on in the farmhouse at present and I’m hoping that someone here will be able to offer some insight.

Usually we outwinter our cows on forage rape with a dry stalky grass silage in round bales fed alongside for fibre. This year we are making some crop silage which is made up mostly of rye and barley, which will be mowed off the top of a grass reseed, so there will be leafy young grass in there too.

The question is, will this do as a fibre source alongside rape? Obviously the fibre is available in the straw, but I’d be wary of it being too rich for the cows, what with the young leafy grass and the barley/rye whole crop.

has anyone ever tried this or do some clever people know if this is a runner or not? I have some more grass bales to make this year and can easily feed them instead or use a mixture of the two, I will just stick them through the field in separate rows.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Be perfect imo . Starch and Protien . Better balance that using grass, just try and wilt it a bit ti get the water out of it

 

[Limcrazy]

Would crows not wreck the bales to get at the barley if they're sitting out?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Should be excellent. Beware of holes in the wrap after you lay them out, if it's stalkier stuff.

Pays to get it fairly dry and well wilted, as birds tend to hammer the bales if they can sense slugs and the like under the wrap, it will be a good source of fibre/oxygen for the rumen while on a forage crop

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Could get some vermin taking a like to them as well . And crows from the top

 

[MickyMook]

Vermin were a concern for me too, especially as the rats love running through forage rape. I might place the crop silage nearest to the end of the field that the cows will start grazing from, so that it will be eaten before the crop gets up too much and won’t be lying as long. From previous years the rats tend to move in when the crop is well grown. If the bales are on their ends I’m hoping that the crows won’t be too problematic. Thanks for the insight folks, I’ll have to concede to the aul fella that he was right on this one.