How We Make Silage for the Dry Months

Why we bother

Grass grows faster than the herd can eat it during the monsoon, then almost stops from about December. Goats that gained well all summer give a lot of that weight back over winter, and months of feed cost go with it. Silage is simply a way of moving the monsoon surplus into the dry months.

You do not need a pit or machinery to start. Our first batches were made in ordinary heavy plastic bags, and bags are still what we would recommend to anyone trying it for the first time — if you get one wrong you have lost one bag, not a whole pit.

What we do, step by step

1. 1

   Cut at the right stage, not the biggest stage

   For maize we cut when the grain is soft and doughy, not dry. Leaving it longer gives more bulk but much less feeding value. Napier we cut before it goes stemmy and tough.

2. 2

   Let it wilt for a few hours

   Freshly cut grass straight into a bag is too wet and turns slimy and foul. A few hours spread out in the sun takes the surface water off. If you squeeze a handful and water runs out, it is too wet.

3. 3

   Chop short — this is the step people skip

   One to two inches, with a chaff cutter. Long material traps air no matter how hard you push, and trapped air is what spoils silage.

4. 4

   Pack it hard

   A layer at a time, pressed down with real force. We stand on it. The bag should end up dense and heavy with no soft pockets.

5. 5

   Seal it and leave it alone

   Tie the bag tightly with as little air inside as possible, and store it where rats and sun cannot reach. Do not open it for at least three weeks.

The two mistakes that cost us batches

A torn bag will also spoil, because air gets back in. We check bags for holes before filling and again before storing, and patch anything suspect with tape.

Feeding it out

• •Introduce it over about a week. The rumen needs time to adjust, and a sudden switch causes loose dung or worse.
• •Start with a handful mixed into the usual fodder, then build up.
• •Keep green fodder in the diet. Silage supplements it, it does not replace it.
• •Once a bag is open, use it up. Air is back in and it will not keep.
• •Never feed mouldy silage. If part of a bag is spoiled, the whole bag is suspect.

Is it worth the work?

It is the cheapest feed we make, because the raw material is grass we already grew and could not use. The work is concentrated into a few days at the end of the monsoon, which is a busy time — so the honest answer is that it is worth it if you plan for it in advance, and painful if you leave it until the grass is already over-mature.