“Sometimes farmers forget that hoggets are young and still growing. They feed them well during pregnancy and get them to 60-65kg. But as soon as they lamb they drop 10kg and if they lambed in early October it doesn’t leave them long to get back up to 60 or 65kg for mating in April,” Kenyon said.
Compounding the problem was poorer pasture quality and growth during that period. A ryegrass-white clover pasture needed to be producing at least 1200kg of drymatter a hectare to sustain hogget and lamb growth. Bridging the feed quality gap could be achieved with alternative herbage pastures such as plantain, chicory and clover mixes.
Massey University professor of sheep husbandry Paul Kenyon.
Lucerne was also a good greenfeed crop for improving the weight gain of hoggets and their lambs.
Kenyon said setting target liveweights for hoggets at mating, immediately before lambing, post-lambing and for mating as a two-tooth was a good strategy.
“If they’re mated at 40kg liveweight they should be 60-65kg at lambing. It’s a good idea to weigh a few regularly so you can monitor what’s happening and put management strategies in place if need be.”
Kenyon is also involved in a Beef + Lamb New Zealand-funded hogget project looking at reproductive losses that are estimated at 5-15%. The losses seemed to be happening from mid-pregnancy onwards, but the reasons why were unknown.
