Table of Contents
- 1 Is hay or silage better for cattle?
- 2 Which one is better hay or silage?
- 3 Is silage more expensive than hay?
- 4 Which is more nutritious silage or hay?
- 5 Do cows need silage?
- 6 How long should silage ferment before feeding?
- 7 How long can you keep silage?
- 8 Which crop is best for silage making?
- 9 Why does baleage have an advantage over dry hay?
- 10 How to make the best haylage?
Is hay or silage better for cattle?
Good hay is more palatable than silage due to the high sugar content and the reduced protein breakdown. The breakdown of hay in the rumen also results in a more synchronised release of energy and protein. Silage is made from more digestible material and is not so reliant on the weather.
Which one is better hay or silage?
Silage has several advantages over hay as a mechanically harvested product. Silage has more nutrients preserved per acre because there is less field loss. Silage is also less affected by weather damage because the forage does not lie in the field drying.
Is silage more digestible than hay?
Dry matter from silages contained more energy, ether extract, and less hemicellulose than the companion hay, and the energy from silages was slightly more digestible. Thus, the digestible energy value as calories per gram dry matter for silages was about 1.24 times that of companion hays.
Is silage more expensive than hay?
Today, silage is much more economical than most hay, and it may be possible to feed more silage. “Most large feedyards will feed 10\% to 15\% silage which works well. It’s an excellent roughage source and is still more economical than using alfalfa hay or other hays.
Which is more nutritious silage or hay?
Silage trumps hay any day In comparison to hay, silage preserves more nutrients from the original pasture. To put it another way, nutritional losses are smaller when you convert pasture to silage as opposed to hay.
What are the disadvantages of silage?
Disadvantages of silage
- It requires a silo (a permanent structure) in comparison with the simpler methods of field curing and storing hay, this is likely to mean higher costs for small farmers.
- Wastage my be more, if silage is not properly made.
- Poorly prepared silages are not accepted by animals.
Do cows need silage?
Corn silage is a feed that we don’t typically feed to beef cows. Corn silage is usually used in growing calf and feedlot diets because of its high nutritive value, especially energy. When hays and alfalfas are expensive, corn silage is a feed that cow/calf producers should consider.
How long should silage ferment before feeding?
The fermentation process takes 10 days to 3 weeks for completion. Silages should not be fed until after this process is completed for the best milk production and feed intake. Thus, the recommendation is to wait at least 3 weeks before feeding new crop silages.
How many acres of silage does a cow need?
A cow can eat about 55-60 lbs of corn silage per day (33\% moisture. To grow cattle from 300 to 1000 pounds on only corn silage would require about 7 tons of silage. Generally you could expect between 20 and 24 tons of corn silage per acre.
How long can you keep silage?
Storage life will depend on the type of plastic used. Stretchwrap plastic will give a storage life of 12 months, while plastic sheet can last for 2-3 years. Unwrapped round and square bales can be stored in pits or hillside bunkers and covered with plastic sheeting.
Which crop is best for silage making?
The crops most often used for ensilage are the ordinary grasses, clovers, alfalfa, vetches, oats, rye and maize. Many crops have ensilaging potential, including potatoes and various weeds, notably spurrey such as Spergula arvensis.
Can you feed cattle just hay?
Hay is the most commonly used winter feed for beef cattle, but it’s also the most expensive. Each cow requires a daily intake of 40 pounds of round-baled hay, which amounts to $1.61 if pricing hay at $80 per ton. So, unless you can get hay for $40 a ton or less, your most economical choice is corn.”
Why does baleage have an advantage over dry hay?
Advantages over dry hay. Baleage can create high-quality forage if done properly. Baleage typically has less loss during storage than dry hay, fewer weather delays at harvest and a faster turnaround from when the forage is down in both regrowth and time on the ground. The equipment changes are not significant but need to be considered.
How to make the best haylage?
Choose the right crops. The type and quality of your crop matters.
Are there benefits to feeding haylage to horses?
It is dust free