A quick guide to hogget mating
As with most things in farming, there are pros and cons to hogget mating but with current lamb prices the way they are, and capital stock numbers low, it seems like a good time to make the most of this opportunity.
The pros include increased lambs sold, increased lifetime performance of ewes and higher flock fertility, and more efficient utilisation of spring feed. The cons can include poorer performing two-tooth ewes if not done well, higher death rate in lambing hoggets, extra feed consumed from July to February and reduced wool at hogget and two-tooth shearings. These all need to be weighed up and a decision made as to whether hogget mating suits your particular system.
If hoggets are to be mated, it is important to use best practice to optimise the performance of this stock class both by way of increasing the number of hogget lambs weaned and not impacting negatively on the performance of two-tooths the subsequent year.
Below is a list of ‘best practice' procedures that should help optimise the performance of this group:
- Ensure hoggets to be mated are selected early, become a priority stock class and are correctly vaccinated against Campylobacter and for toxoplasmosis (see article in December Vetnotes). This should achieve a 5% lift in scanning on average.
- Select replacements early and feed preferentially to achieve optimum weights for mating. Aim for 40kg and remember that each 1kg liveweight above 36kg increases lambing percentage by 2%. Target growth rates from teaser introduction onwards should be 100g/day.
- Use of a teaser from 17 days prior to ‘ram in' means that more of the hoggets are in their second cycle by the time they are mated. The second cycle is more fertile and scanning percentage will increase as a consequence. Hoggets are often mated for only one of two cycles so this is all important.
- Ensure teasers are vasectomised well in advance of use (at least 3 weeks) and hoggets are toxo-vaxed a minimum of one month prior to teaser joining.
- Mate hoggets separately to mature ewes and use adult ram ratios of 1:80 or hogget ram ratios of 1:50. This is because hogget rams have smaller sperm reserves than adult rams. We recommend using adult rams when possible.
- Mate hoggets in easier country in smaller paddocks. Hoggets are shy breeders so this will increase their chance of being mated.
- Watch out for Barber's Pole and drench appropriately if conditions are favourable.
- Ensure hoggets have booster and sensitiser doses of 5-in-1 so they are fully immune and maximum effect will be achieved from a pre-lamb 5-in-1 booster.
