Last autumn he put 1800 Highlander hoggets to the ram, about 1000 down on normal because the dry meant they were struggling to get hoggets to their 40kg target for mating.
“We had to start hard feeding a few. It wasn’t all beer and skittles but we managed to pull a few up and it worked.”
Grain supplementing about 700 saw them achieve 164% scanning, but by docking that dropped to 120%.
“We’re not sure what went wrong.”
Mated hoggets are grazed on the best pasture and given preferential treatment.
“This coming season we’re going to try and set about 1000 going on a plantain rotation and see if we can achieve a 48 kilogramme average weight instead of the norm which is about three or four kilos lighter.”
While the Highlander hoggets are good mothers, it’s important to ensure they’re not stressed as lack of feed or a worm burden can increase mis-mothering, he adds.
And while mated hoggets may be a bit more work, overall those that produce lambs are probably the most profitable stock on the farm.
“If you can get a hogget lambing by the time she’s 13 or 14 months of age you are in the money,” he says.
