Scanning provides reassurance for deer farmers

Most progressive deer farmers realise the importance of scanning hinds to see if they are pregnant, says Feilding based-veterinarian Barney Askin.

The cooler nights signal the onset of the roar in stags, and most should have done the majority of their work reports The Manawatu Standard. “There is only a small window during which time we can accurately tell how many hinds are pregnant. The foetus is sitting high in the pelvis – as the pregnancy progresses, the foetus moves further down and we can’t scan it.”About 30 per cent of deer farmers pregnancy tested their hinds, he said. Many of the others choose not to do so on the basis of cost, or they ran a few deer in conjunction with sheep and beef. Mr Askin said a good pregnancy rate would be about 90 per cent of hinds.”We did do one lot of about 40 hinds. The farmer had paid $8000 for the stag. They were all dry – the stag was infertile.Mr Askin said the stag was replaced, but the farmer lost a year’s production.

Totally Vets say a yes or no pregnancy call provides very valuable information, enabling empty hinds to be removed and not carried through the winter.”The window for hind scanning is very narrow (approximately three weeks), as hinds ideally need to be greater than 30 days but less than 120 days in calf.” Mr Askin said this meant scanning needed to start about a month after the stags had gone out, and could be carried out for two to three weeks thereafter.