Reproductive performance of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) in New Zealand: II. Risk factors for adult hind conception

A 2-year longitudinal observational study of 15 red deer farms was carried out in New Zealand from March 1992. About 2600 adult hinds were individuall y monitored for reproductive success. After mating, hinds were pregnancy-te sted by ultrasound and were classified as having conceived before 1 May, af ter 1 May or as being not pregnant. Risk factors potentially affecting the probability of conception before 1 May or of concept-ion that year were inv estigated using path analysis. Final path diagrams were used to formulate a putative management strategy for farmers to achieve the desired reproducti ve performance from adult hinds. To achieve a high pregnancy rate early in the mating season, farmers should wean calves early, exclude hinds which fa iled to rear a calf to weaning and hinds with a body condition score less t han or equal to 2.0 at mating, join hinds early with one or more sire stags , use only experienced sires for mating, limit the hind : stag ratio, use a t least one back-up sire after the peak of mating, keep mating mobs away fr om disturbance and avoid shifting or handling mating mobs. The farmer shoul d choose paddocks with high green pasture allowance and grazed down to no l ess than 5 cm high. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.