Round bale hay sweating time.

[Sir loin]

We have just baled 11 acres of hay into round bales would have preferred another day on it but forecast is not in our favour so we are leaving it out in the field to sweat how long does the curing period take to heat up and then cool down to be safe enough to put it in the shed.

 

[Pistonbroke]

If you can,get them indoors but not stacked and gaps between them. I find if they're left out they draw damp up out of the soil

 

[sheepdogtrail]

What was the DM % of the forage at the beginning of bailing? The curing process is dependent on a few things:

Bale Density, DM%, Ambient Temp, Wind Speed, Humidity and cleanliness of the bales coming out of the chamber. Just to name a few. But I would say in general, it is better to move them sooner than later in the curing process.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I was told to turn them over after a week ,

 

[aangus]

7-10 days

 

[Stw88]

Don’t spike them if possible, that sets the air in and sets them off heating up. we shift all ours with bale handler even if they’ve been left out for a week. We try to put them straight in if weather allows. A neighbour left his out 10 days then spiked them to the shed and stacked them then they started heating up again so he took them all back out

 

[manhill]

Wrap/Bag 'em and they'll be nice haylage. I test borderline ones with a temp probe and seal them if they're heating too much. You can't just leave them.

 

[sticky]

I did a salvage job on a small piece last Saturday (baler broke down took 6 days to get parts) moved them yesterday. I knew it wasn’t fit so I left the bales until yesterday and they are as hot as fire inside.
For just off hay we would leave them out for a fortnight.

 

[bluebell]

ive had all this? over the years, worst year a few years back got all the round bales stacked in the barn, about 150 odd, thought thats good , job done, then a week later looking into the barn you could see steam rising off the top bales? bang a steel rod into a bale feel the end after a night if its to hot to hold you know theirs a problem, even when the heating process ends the quality of the hay is poor?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

bang a steel rod into a bale feel the end after a night if its to hot to hold you know theirs a problem, even when the heating process ends the quality of the hay is poor?

This reminds me of a story I’ll never forget that my retired neighbour told me

he stacked his in the hay shed, then a few weeks later stuck a steel rod into check them….he put the rod down turned around to walk off and heard “whooosh” when he looked back they’d burst into flames as he’d let the air in

 

[Pistonbroke]

In foot and mouth year we had to bale fifty acres of grass keep as hay in June. Bales were still hot in the middle six weeks later

 

[puppet]

Don’t spike them if possible, that sets the air in and sets them off heating up. we shift all ours with bale handler even if they’ve been left out for a week. We try to put them straight in if weather allows. A neighbour left his out 10 days then spiked them to the shed and stacked them then they started heating up again so he took them all back out

If putting a bale spike in makes them heat up then you have made silage, not hay.

 

[mixed farm]

If putting a bale spike in makes them heat up then you have made silage, not hay.

I Agree, if hay can't be put into the shed the day it's baled, then it wasn't fit and should have been wrapped. If it's heating, it's rotting. Better off with good silage than sh!t hay.

 

[LuckyEleven]

Ive a bale showing 60c in center, flip it fairly regular. Will it be ok for sheep once its cooled down? or is likely to cause problems?

 

[Classichay]

I’ve seen hay go like caramel it’s been that unfit when baled, moisture probe before the second bale hits the floor.

 

[steveR]

We have just baled 11 acres of hay into round bales would have preferred another day on it but forecast is not in our favour so we are leaving it out in the field to sweat how long does the curing period take to heat up and then cool down to be safe enough to put it in the shed.

I disagree with thise who say "almost there" hay should be wrapped, in many cases, it is not cost effective, same goes for a few headland bales. I round bale my own hay, and will leave them to "sweat out" on the field for around a week, and try and roll the bales 1/4 turn every day or so to stop damp patches from standing too long...

If I have oodles of barn space, I sometimes will get some under cover, one high, space around every bale...

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I’ve seen hay go like caramel

I know there’s no feed value in it when it’s gone like that but cattle go bonkers for it

 

[steveR]

I know there’s no feed value in it when it’s gone like that but cattle go bonkers for it

Ahhhh, it's the same as with Mangels, "nowt but water in them, but by God the cattle love 'em!" 50 happy cows cannot be far wrong!

 

[michael N123]

Wrap it

 

[Classichay]

just get someone in with a stand alone wrapper and save yourself the shed space and insurance claim