Depend wnen the stag was removed from the hinds. 2 cycles was normal mating practice when we were farming and i would guess it still is ? The article below says stag in 10 march removed by 10 may at latest , i would say that is 2 and half cycles ?

This might give you a better idea, hope it helps .

https://www.deernz.org/sites/dinz/files/DeerFact_BestPracticeMating_updated_Web....

just looked back 48mths and found our son  shot a hind (his first deer bush stalked the hard way) on 3rd of January that had fawn with her and comments at the time is it was borderline/touch n go if the wee fella would be old enough to survive on its own...man 4 years have gone fast.

I'm not worried about the carry Micky, There's a tractor and forklift to do the lifting for me.  This is one just step away from going to the supermarket.

Micky Duck wrote on Nov 28^th, 2018 at 12:36am:

Why mince it course?
Never heard that.

gonehuntin wrote on Nov 28^th, 2018 at 5:28am:


I don't know about that, got 98kg of great sausages off the old stag last month, as well as some great fillet & backstrap.
Shame about my diet

www.deernz.org/deerhub

Weaning options

Pre-rut weaning

Pre-rut weaning is when calves and hinds are separated before the rut, usually in February-March, when the calves are 3-4 months of age.  

The advantages of pre-rut weaning are that it allows-

optimisation and prioritisation of feeding management for different stock classes well before the onset of winter;pre-winter accustomisation of calves to desired grazing systems;simplification and implemention of a targeted health management regimen for calves (e.g. anthelmintic treatments);simplification of mating management of hinds (especially for setting up single-sire mating programmes); andterminatation of lactation to allow hinds to improve BCS before mating (i.e. improve mating success).

Disadvantages of pre-rut weaning may include the following things:

stress on young calves due to physical separation from dams; growth rates can be checked for several weeks;compromisation of feed planning for newly weaned calves in dry conditions; and.physical injury of young calves if there has been no prior habituation to yarding/handling.

Post-rut weaning

Post-rut weaning (May-June) is when calves and hinds are separated after the rut, usually in May-June, when the calves are 6-7 months of age.

The advantages of post-rut weaning include:

reduced workload on farm prior to rut;less stress on calves ; andmuch lower risk of severe pre-winter growth checks in calves.

 Disadvantages of post-rut weaning may include:

compromisation of hind BCS may be by lactation leading into the rut, leading to negative impacts on pregnancy rate and/or conception date;calf removal at the start of winter being complicated by bad weather;limited opportunities to habituate calves to winter management regimens;pre-weaning health treatment of calves being complicated by the presence of hinds; andsorting of hinds into mating groups being complicated by the presence of calves.

Pre and Post Rut Weaning evidence from on farm studies

Natural weaning

Natural weaning is when hinds and calves are left to their own devices. Most calves will be naturally weaned between August-September, when they are 9-10 months of age.

 The advantages of the natural weaning approach are:

minimal social disruption and minimal stress on offspring;that simplicity of farm design (e.g. minimal paddock subdivision) doesn’t suit early calf separation; andthat it suits a very “hands-off” farming style.

 However, natural weaning systems have the following major disadvantages :

very limited flexibility around feed management to optimise both reproductive performance of hind and growth performance of calves;affords limited opportunities to habituate young stock to handling and to conduct health treatments; andsub-optimal  tameness of calves (could be important when sending young stock for slaughter).

gonehuntin wrote on Nov 28^th, 2018 at 6:58am:


Depends how much you get of it.
I hardly ever get out for a deer these days, so it tastes like heaven to me.
If I smell wild pork cooking though.....
My mate I hunt pigs with has a habit of sussing out where the big ones are.
I give away heaps and still end up eating the shit 5 nights a week. Yet deerstalkers go out of there way to get wild pork. 😂