19th June 2020 – Mangaroa Private block, Helisika.
The hind was in good condition in general, although no consistent fat covering on the meat or organs. She was not in milk, but pregnant from 2020 Roar. No stags were roaring at all and this may indicate an early roar in the location.
I collected the jaw for aging and she was 3 to 4 years of age, on estimate. I noticed she had a hernia which may have been from having a fawn 2018.
Her paunch was full, with a range of grasses and native leaves. She was living in a small patch of beech in the manuka country.
She had been eating prior to harvesting, and mainly broadleaf and grasses off a slip prior to joining the freezer bags.
I estimate her weight at 35kg. Her good condition was evident from skinning, and the back steaks were full in the bone cavity, good dark coloured meat. I’d say 3 to 4 in condition scale.
The block holds good deer numbers, with limited clearings that are shootable in the manuka country. The grass on clearings was all eaten short. Regular stag scrapes evident across the manuka and beech country.
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