Scanning Hinds for Pregnancy

While we’ve had an exceptionally dry mild autumn the year is not standing still, and winter is rapidly approaching. Most stags were probably removed from the hinds in early to mid-May and the most common question I’m now getting asked is “when should I be scanning my hinds”. The answer is it depends on what information you want to get from your pregnancy test.

We’ve already scanned mobs of hinds where AI was used in late March followed by a chaser stag, this has allowed us to identify AI pregnancies and the first round of natural mating’s to the chaser stag through aging of the foetus.

To achieve the best possible outcome from scanning there are a few things to consider.

Timing of scanning. Hinds can be diagnosed pregnant from 35 days of pregnancy until around 120-130 days of pregnancy. After 120 days, the pregnancy tends to drop down into the abdomen making visualisation of the pregnancy difficult. Hinds should be scanned 35 days after the stag has been removed from the mob, this means most hinds should be scanned from early June through to early July.

Facilities. Sufficient restraint of hinds is necessary. While deer crushes are the ideal setup but with quiet hinds and an extra person to help with deer handling, swinging doors, races and small pens can all be workable options.

Permanently identify dry hinds. Dry hinds should be tagged with either a coloured fold over sheep tag or a slaughter tag, this saves a lot of confusion further down the track when aerosol marks wear off!

If you are planning to scan your hinds for pregnancy or are unsure about your facilities or the help required please talk to one of the Veterinary Centres experienced deer vets.