home haylage analysis fun

[DartmoorEwe]

I want to find out what I can about my haylage. I could send it off and get a printout of numbers but where's the fun in that?

I've weighed and measured one bale (352kg 90cm x 82cm x 175cm) without wrap.
I've currently got a batch drying in the oven to give me an idea of its %ge dry matter. - the house now smells perfect.
I am going through the seed heads in the bale to identify species.

What else can be done in a reasonably equipped kitchen/workshop?

 

[4course]

I want to find out what I can about my haylage. I could send it off and get a printout of numbers but where's the fun in that?

I've weighed and measured one bale (352kg 90cm x 82cm x 175cm) without wrap.
I've currently got a batch drying in the oven to give me an idea of its %ge dry matter. - the house now smells perfect.
I am going through the seed heads in the bale to identify species.

What else can be done in a reasonably equipped kitchen/workshop?

the only thing that I would be allowed to do in the kitchen with haylage would be to put the stamp on the package before posting for analysis .£35 quid well spent to avoid the recrimininations

 

[Agrivator]

353 kg!!!! Did you weigh it bit by bit on the kitchen scales.

Once you have obtained an adequate bone-dry batch of the haylage, you should grind it carefully, and:

1, Put some in small sachets to keep in your underwear draw.

2. Make herbal tea and invite your friends round for a tasting - with no spitting out allowed.

3. Buy clay pipes and large-size Rizla papers for a test smoke - at the same gathering.

4. Take a sample to next year's ORFC to discuss it and even share it, with your sole mates.

 

[An ancient git]

If you have the mowing date and an idea of the seed head levels , you can guess most of the other answers .... The oven will give you the DM figure . Haven't bothered analysing for years here ; watch the stock and look at the sh1t coming out of them . And the drier the bale , the more it will defy any paper analysis .......

 

[Spencer]

Weigh yourself on bathroom scales then consume as much of the haylage as you can over a day. Re weigh yourself the following day to see how it feeds and your daily live weight gain

 

[DartmoorEwe]

I like Spenc's idea for a diet - its bound to work and I need to lose a few kg. I also like Ag's suggestion to confuse burglars if they go through my smalls and thanks ancient for your words of wisdom. It must be time for a graph so here's one I prepared earlier View attachment Haylage percentage weight loss.docx. It seems I have 73% dry matter.

 

[DartmoorEwe]

I can't post graphs. Oh well.

 

[Highland Mule]

I can't post graphs. Oh well.

Happy to help.

What temperature did you dry it at?

 

[DartmoorEwe]

Thanks HM for doing what ever it is you just did, that's what I was trying to do.

I started at 100 but that seemed a bit toasty so went down to 80. My OH tried the same game with a log in the microwave once but it burst into flames hence the slow cook instead.

 

[JD-Kid]

to have 75% it must of been. almost hay when baled
that would be about right for the bale weight. tho used to work on about 225 to 250 ks. dm per. bale. as a rough work out. per bale
higher. dm. tends to be higher in the Ph so sheep eat it a bit better than wet silage cattle dont get as fussy
a few seed heads and if taken a few days to dry down before balling feed value will be down a bit if a lot of stems in it maybe close to maintenance feed or a bit higher but I would guess not quite high eneff to milk on it or fattening with out some other higher feed value product added