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Reproductive wastage

Reproductive wastage is lost money! Any time a hind fails to present a good healthy calf at weaning, that’s wastage. It is lost reproductive potential. If you feed a hind for a year and she fails to give you a calf, then you have lost money on her.  However, attention to reproductive productivity has been identified as the key area for the easiest and quickest gain in productivity.

Key points

On most farms in NZ reproductive wastage is one of the biggest causes of lost revenue potential. There will always be losses associated with reproduction but we can definitely reduce the scale of present wastage figures across our farms. 

Early-pregnancy ultrasound scanning is one of the most important diagnostic tools to identify issues around conception rates.

What impact does it have on profitability?
Can we fix the problem?
Low pregnancy rates at scanning
What about abortions?
How many calves die during and after birth?
Why do my yearling hinds bomb out?

More resources

Information on A successful pregnancy: Preventing foetal losses is available in a convenient DINZ Deer Fact (August 2017). Download your own copy here >>

Asher, G.W., Pearse, A.J. (2002) Managing reproductive performance of farmed deer: the key to productivity. Proceedings of the Third World Deer Farming Congress, Austin, Texas, USA: 99-112.

Asher, G.W., Wilson, P.R. (2011) Reproductive productivity of farmed red deer: a review. Proceedings of a Deer Course for Veterinarians. Deer Branch NZVA 28: 23-29.

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