Pregnancy-scanning hinds
Cooler nights signalled the onset of the roar. Now is a good time to decide what you need for this coming mating.
A simple yes/no may suffice and provides very valuable information enabling empty hinds to be removed and not carried through the winter. Without basic scanning information it can be almost impossible to know if a hind is a wet/dry or failed to conceive at all. This is invaluable information when a high empty rate needs investigating.
Further information can be obtained by splitting pregnancies into early and late. A poor fertility issue with a stag could be highlighted by an increased number of late pregnancies (unless hinds were single-sire mated). Alternatively, it might highlight a management issue that needs to be addressed - an example of this is how well yearlings are grown out when they are mated. Without this information, these problems might not be picked up until much later.
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. This means that scanning needs to start about a month after the stags have come out and can be carried out for two to three weeks thereafter. Any later than this and pregnancies can become too deep and difficult to detect. If pregnancies need to be split into early and late then this early scanning is essential.
For example:
Stag in on 10th March
Stag out on 13th May
The scanning window is 13th June-8th July.
To make an appointment for hind scanning or discuss your hind-scanning options this coming season, call Totally Vets on 06 323 6161.
