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mothered or weak lambs. Despite keeping one
person busy, there is a cost benefit.
Austin says that increasing the lambing
percentage of hoggets presents a further
opportunity to increase productivity.
“We have 1500 hoggets and, depending on
the season, we mate 40-60 per cent of them and
normally lamb 70% to hoggets mated.
“We think we can increase that hugely. We
scanned 139% – but again it’s trying to get those
lambs to survive.
“The issue is the weight of the hoggets. The
bigger you can get them, the bigger the birthweight
of the lamb will be, and therefore the survival rate.”
He says that to increase the hoggets’ weight
they are mating from June 1 and lambing from
November 1.
The station grows 50ha of fodder beet, on which
the ewes and calves will be wintered.
“We find it’s really high-value feed for the ewes
and is the best to get them through pre-lamb
shearing in a cold winter, though there is some extra
work in transitioning them from grass to fodder
beet.”
Avenel Station’s Austin Garden says he normally expects 685 triplets from 4400 ewes mated and there is potential for one extra lamb per triplet ewe
through better feed and management.
RURAL PEOPLE »
Austin & Victoria Garden
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