Pre vs Post Rut Weaning and Impact On Hind Performance

The Gaddums were having variations in their reproductive peformances between different mobs of hinds of the same age/breed. They wanted to investigate whether the pre vs post rut weaning choices were impacting on this

Pre & Post Rut weaning as a tool to improve reproductive performance in hinds.

The Gaddums had two mobs of hinds (by chance) that were weaned at diffferent times of the year, but otherwise were on the same feed and animal health programmes.

One mob was pre rut weaned and the other post rut weaned.

The attached info sheet describes the benefit in pre-rut weaning your hinds and subsequantly the Gadudums will be doing this after reviewing these results.

The results can work as a tool to improve both hind condition at conception as well as at fawning, giving the best chance for the hind to get back in fawn the next year. A key measure for the Gaddums profitabtility is reproductive performance.

Farm owners: Rupert, Ben and Harry Gaddum

Manager: Hugh

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Can we see the data sheet?

OK, just saw the attachment on the right!

Having looked at the results I am wondering why there is such a big difference in the liveweights of the hinds in the pre and post rut weaned group. This difference is even bigger when you take into account body condition score. Wet hinds av CS 3.08 and 125kg, weaned CS 4.3 (thats fat!) and 105kg.

The spreadsheet is pretty "busy" but you will see that the first sheet has different named boxes for data from pre-rut and post-rut weaned hinds. There were a lot of dry hinds that year- mainly younger hinds, not scanned, may have been dry/dry or wet/dry. So we identified those so their condition (very fat, obviously) and weight (younger, small, reflecting poor reproductive performance) did not confound the data for hinds that had lactated right through the rut. These are separated out in the lower "post rut" boxes. Thus we could get as close as possible to apples with apples. Took the pears out!

So the 4.3 105kg hinds were not "weaned" hinds.

The numbers to really look at are 4.1 for pre-rut weaned versus 3.08 for late weaned. And then look at the fetal aging for extra effect.... a no-brainer in our dry summer environment and good commercial farming agreement with earlier scientific and observational work throughout NZ.

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