This document provides information on silage and hay making. It defines silage as green fodder preserved through controlled fermentation to minimize nutrient loss. Crops suitable for silage include those high in sugars like maize and sorghum. The process of ensiling involves chopping the crop, packing it tightly in pits or bags to remove air and allow fermentation. Good silage has a pH of 3.5-4.2 and is preserved for feeding during scarcity. Hay is made by drying grass or legume crops completely to less than 15% moisture. Field curing and barn drying are common hay making methods.

1. COLLEGE OF VETERINARY & ANIMAL SCIENCE,
NAVANIAVBN UDAIPUR
(RAJASTHAN UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY & ANIMAL SCIENCES, BIKANER
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL NUTRITION
Dr. Abhishek Sharma

2. Silage:-Silage can be defined as a green material
produced by controlled anaerobic fermentation of
green fodder with a minimum loss in respect of
various nutritive constituents of fodders.
or
The green fodder at right stage when stored in
packed and compressed condition so as to expel the
air and then sealing up with a covering to prevent the
contact with fresh air, with minimum loss of nutrients
in order to preserve it by fermentation for use as a
succulent fodder during scarcity is called silage.

3. Ensilage:- The process of conserving green fodder is called
as ensilage.
Silo:- Silo is a hole/ pit in the ground where green fodder is
stored for making silage.
Crops Suitable for Silage Making
1. Kind of crop
a. Crops rich in soluble sugars/carbohydrates are most
suitable for ensiling; e.g. maize, jowar, bajra.
b. Cultivated and natural grasses can be ensiled with addition
of molasses at 3 to 3.5 %
c. Mixture of grasses/cereal fodders and legumes such as
berseem, Lucerne, etc. in a ratio of 3: 1
d. Unwilted leguminous leafy fodders and dry forage in the
ratio of 4: 1.

4. Stage of harvesting: Crop should be harvested between flowering and
milk stage.
Process of ensiling:
A. Laboratory Method of Silage Making
Under laboratory conditions silage can be prepared by using polythene bag silos.
Steps in ensiling:
• A 45 x 60 cm polythene bag is taken for the experiment.
• The crop chosen for ensiling is chaffed to 2-4 cm in length and wilted to 35% DM.
• The crop is thoroughly mixed.
• Molasses can be added to ensure the availability of soluble carbohydrate for efficient
bacterial fermentation to an extent of 3 to 3. 5%.
• Salt and urea are added at 0.5 and 1% respectively, to improve palatability and
nitrogen content of silage .
• The material is then packed tightly into the bags.
• The open end is sealed perfectly and kept in an identical bag and placed in a metal
can cement tub after sealing.
• The remaining space is filled with sand before closing the lid, thus minimizing the
possibility of the air, permeating the polythene film.
• The silo is then stored in a room and opened for sampling after 4-6 weeks.

5. •Preparation of Silage under Field Conditions
Silo:
A silo is an air tight structure designed for the storage and preservation
of high moisture feed as silage. Pit silos are more common in India.
The pits are dug 2.4 to 3.0 m deep, with variable sizes. One cubic metre
space is required for 400 kg fodder.
Requisites of a silo
• The walls should be impermeable so that water can not gain entry into
silo pit.
• Silo should be sufficiently deep.
• Silo must be located on an elevated ground.
• The size of the silo should be calculated on the basis of the number of
animals to be fed, the length of feeding period.
• Fodder for ensiling must contain higher NFE.
• The crop chosen for silage must be bloom stage

6. Method of preparing silage
• Select the crop that is to be ensiled when it has 30-35% dry matter.
• Select the days of the week when the weather is fair and not rainy.
• It is always better to chop the fodder first since packing is better. Thus loss of
nutrients is minimized with chaffed fodder.
• After chaffing and ensuring that dry matter is around 35% the silo is filled with
fodder.
• The fodder should be evenly distributed throughout the pit.
• At the top of the silo the fodder should be packed 3-4 feet above the ground level.
• From all the sides it should be covered with long paddy straw or poor quality
grasses and then covered with wet mud and dung to seal the material preventing the
entry of air and water.
• The silage would be ready in two months after covering.
• Salt at 0.5%, urea at 1% are added to cereals and grasses to improve the
palatability and nitrogen content.
• In grass silages, molasses is added at 3 to 3.5% to improve the sugar content and
thus quality of silage.
• In a more mature crop higher level of molasses (5%) may be added.

7. Changes during Fermentation
• Plant respiration continues for a short time after the material is
packed in the silo pit.
• Enzymes, aerobic bacteria, yeast and moulds become active until all
the oxygen in the packed material is used up.
• The respiration also uses up some of the carbohydrates in the plant
material, giving off C02.
• As the temperature goes up(27 to 38 oC), bacteria that are always
present on the Surface of the material become active and use up the
carbohydrates and Produce C02, and organic acids like lactic, acetic
and butyric acids and Small quantities of alcohol.

8. Lactic acid type Butyric acid type
 When the fodder contains 65 to
75% moisture and sufficient sugar
in the plant juices, anaerobic
lactic acid bacteria become active.
 Produce eventually a good,
Clean-smelling silage of high
quality.
 The lactic acid checks the
undesirable Organisms, Harmful
bacteria, for example, those
producing butyric acid are
inhibited.
 The forage is too rich
proteinaceous substances, the
butyric acid type of
fermentation will be predominate.
 Butyric acid has a sharp,
disagreeable odour and the silage
is not relished by the animals.
 The clostridia group break down
the protein in the plant material
and produce butyric acid.
Types of fermentation:
Two main types occur-Lactic acid type and Butyric acid type.

9. Important Conditions for Silage Making:
1. Storing the plant material at a moisture content of 65 to 75%.
2. Excluding air.
3. Encouraging a rise of temperature to 30 to 38°C.
Why is Exclusion of Air from the Silo Needed?
1. To minimize the loss of nutrients due to respiration.
2. To initiate the growth of lactic acid producing bacteria
rapidly.
3. To prevent the development of undesirable aerobic
organisms .
4. Aeration promotes the activity of mould, which spoil the
silage and make it unpalatable.

10. Colour of the silage:
When the temperature in the silo is moderate
the silage tends to be yellowish or brownish
green and golden colour. Silage is dark
brown or black, when temperature in the silo
is high.
A.I.V. Method of silage making:
Silage was popularized in America in 1917, when
Lucerne was successfully ensiled. The method of
making silage by using acid additives was developed
principally by Professor A.I.Virtanen in 1925 in
Finland, and the process has come to be known as
A.I.V. method of silage making.

11. Name Example
Fermentable Carbohydrate
Source
Molasses, Whey, Buttermilk, Sour
milk
Less readily fermentable
carbohydrate supplements
Potato, Sugar beat pulp, ground
barley
Acids Oxalic, formic , Lactic acid
Mineral acids Dil. Sulphuric acid in A.I.V silage
Chemical Sodium metabisulphite
Gases Co2, Formalin
Preservatives uses during Silage Making:-

12. Very good silage Good silage Fair Silage
 Acidic taste and order.
 Being free from
butyricacid,
Moulds,sliminess.
 PH range of 3.5-4.2
 Ammoniacal nitrogen
less than 10% of the
total Nitrogen.
 Lactic acid content 1-
2%.
 Acidic taste and odour
trace of butyric
acid(less than .2%).
 Ammoniacal nitrogen
10-15% of the total
nitrogen.
 PH range 4.2-4.5.
 Some butyric acid
a slight
proteolysis, some
moulds.
 PH 4.8 above.
 Ammoniacal
nitrogen 20% of
the total nitrogen.
Silage quality: Shephered et.a1. (1948) have classified the silage into
the following categories.

13. Haylage:
•When grasses and legumes generally meant for hay are
ensiled, the term 'haylage’ is used.
•Material wilted to 40-45% dry matter before ensiling is often
referred to ‘haylage’.
• The straws are chaffed into fine pieces (2-3cm). One kg of
urea and 1.5 kg of mineral mixture are dissolved in 20 kg of
water and mixed with 97.5 kg of the chaffed material.
• This is stored in silo pits like silage and is allowed to ferment
under anaerobic conditions.
•After about 2 months the pits are opened, and fed to
livestock.
• It is supplemented with 2 kg of green fodder per day per
animal to take care of the requirement of vitamin A.

14. Wastelage:
•A silage containing animal organic
waste (poultry dropping, poultry litter,
swine excreta, bovine dung) is called
wastelage.
•Wastelage is anaerobically fermented
animal waste containing other feed
ingredients with the help of lactic acid
producing bacteria

15. Hay Making
• Hay is the product obtained by cutting and curing the entire
herbage of fine stemmed grasses or legumes.
• The moisture content of the product is not more than
12-14%.
Crops Suitable for Hay Making
•All thin-stemmed grasses, and legume. e.g.- Grasses, M.P.
Chari, Oats, Cowpea, berseem, Lucerne.
•Oat is the best suitable crop for Hay making.

16. Advantage of Hay Making:
1.The hay provides the nutritious feed to the livestock
during the lean season when there is scarcity of green
fodder.
2. The good quality legume hay may reduce the cost of
production by replacing certain amount of concentrate in the
ration.
3. The fodders can be harvested at the stage when there is
maximum accumulation of nutrients in the plant.
4. The ration of the animals can be balanced with the help
of good quality hay.

17. Stage of Harvesting the Crop for Hay Making
:-
•The best time for cutting a crop for hay making
is when it is 1/3 to 1/2 in blossom.
• In case of cereals the grain is in the milk stage.
• In legumes tender pod formation stage is
optimum.

18. Legume hay Non-legume hay Mixed hay
Higher percentage of
digestible Nutrient.
More of digestible
protein because of
the high protein
content.
Rich in Carotene,
Vitamin E,Vitamin D
and Ca.
Less palatable and
contain less protein,
minerals and
vitamins.
Rich in carbohydrate.
Hays made from
crops like oats, barley,
etc.
Prepared from mixed
crops of legumes and
non-legumes is known
as mixed hay.
Ex:- Oat and Lucerne,
Barley and Lucerne
Kinds of Hay :-

19. Different Methods of Hay Making
There are three methods of hay making. They are field curing, barn drying and artificial
drying.
Methods
( a) Field drying method (b) Barn drying method (C) Artificial drying
Sun drying windrows method Tripod stand method
(swath curing) (Raking method)

20. 1. Field curing:- As the name indicates, cut plants are cured in
the field itself to make hay. The various steps in this process
are:
•Cutting the crop:
•Any type of power or hand cutting may be used.
• It is highly desirable to cut in the same direction.
•Swath curing:
•Hay is dried much more rapidly in the swath than windrow.
•After a certain degree of curing there will be shattering and
bleaching of leaves reducing the nutritive value of hay
considerably.
• No definite time can be assigned to swath curing but at this
time the moisture is roughly 40%.

21. Raking:
•After wilting forage to about 40% moisture in the swath, it is
rolled into small loose fluffy cylindrical bundles known as
windrow.
• It is better to do raking in the morning as dew makes the hay
a little more tough and prevent shattering.
Tripod method :
•This method is suitable in areas of high rainfall.
•Hay crop spread on tripods for sun drying.
Baling and storing:
Pick-up baling directly from windrow is the most automated
system where the baler attached to tractor picks up hay in the
form of windrows and bale it.

22. 2. Mow curing (barn drying)
•This refers to the practice of curing partially dried hay inside the barns
in mows.
• Heated or unheated air is blown on to the mows until the moisture is
reduced to 12-15%.
•Swath curing is completed in the field itself and when the moisture is
35-40%, it is taken into the barns and placed on the mows.
• It takes 7-14 days on the mows with unheated air to cure the hay fully.
With heated air it takes less time.
•Generally the hay produced in this manner will be greener and leafier
and of a higher quality than field cured hay.
3. Dehydration or artificial drying
•This is the process of chopping freshly cut or wilted fodder and drying it
in artificial driers. Such hay is consistently of superior quality.

23. Causes of loss of
nutrients
Nutrients lost Remarks
1. Shattering of
leaves.
2. Bleaching(sun drying)
3. Leaching
4. Fermentation
5. Oxidation
TDN, Minerals, Vit.
Carotene and Vit A
TDN Minerals and
vitamin.
Starch, simple sugar and
protein
Sugar and Starch
Leaves are rich in
nutrients, such losses are
more in leguminous hay
Carotene is present in
green colouring matter.
Such losses are more if
rain.
When hay stored with high
moisture.
When rain water makes
hay wet, the oxidation of
nutrient takes palace.
Losses of Nutrients in Hay Making

24. Total losses in hay making
Loss of dry matter - 20-30% in legumes
10-15% in grasses
Loss of protein- 28%
Loss of carotene- 90%
Loss of energy - 25%

25. Characteristic of Good hays:
1. It should have a typical aroma of the forage from which it has been
prepared. Moisture content should not exceed 12-15 percent.
2. It should be free from foreign material like dust, moulds and
undesirable weeds.
3. It should possess reasonable green colour, which gives a rough idea
of carotene content.
4. It should maintain leafiness of original fodder. The loss of leaves
during the process will produce a poor quality product.
5- It should be palatable to animals. The poorly prepared hay generally
is not readily accepted by the animals.
6. Leguminous hay contain 9-15% DCP and 50-60% TDN while gram
hay contain contain 2-4% DCP and 45-50% TDN.

26. Brown Hay :
•Sometimes because of very unfavorable weather conditions, good hay
cannot be obtained by the ordinary method of curing.
•Under such circumstances, hay is allowed to dry until about 50%
moisture has been removed and then it is packed in stacks or piles.
• Fermentation takes place and the hay may become very hot and turn
brown.
•There are great losses in the nutritive value on account of fermentation.
•Starches are broken down to sugars and alcohol and a type of hay called
Mow-burnt hay.
•Sometimes hay stacks may catch fire spontaneously due to excess
fermentation and heat.
Therefore a moisture level of 12-14% is important before stacking.