Finnebrogue Estate is owned by Co Down business man Dennis Lynn and runs 600 breeding red deer on 580 acres of land classified as ancient parkland grassland.
Hinds (female deer) calve down from early May with the whole herd calving within a month. Farm manager Mark Sandford said that only one hind required assistance at calving this year.
“Deer are the closest you get to wild animal. They are very easily stressed, especially if on their own. They tend to stay reasonably calm if they are in at least pairs when in enclosed spaces,” he said.
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During the winter and up to calving hinds are outside with access to a forested area and are fed silage as a supplementary feed. Calves are housed for the first winter on slats and straw bedding and fed silage and deer concentrates.
55-65kg carcase weight
Calves are weaned after four months with stags slaughtered from the following August at 65kg carcase weights. Hinds are slaughtered after this over the duration of winter to meet market demand at around 55kg carcase weights. The Finnebrogue Estate has its own abattoir, which is one of only two facilities in Ireland licensed to slaughter deer.
A Wagyu beef enterprise is also in the initial stages of development on the farm, with the aim of producing 20 to 25 Wagyu beef cattle annually for restaurant outlets.
Watch an interview with farm manager Mark Sandford and footage from the farm below:
Further coverage from the factory and farm visit will feature in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal and on www.farmersjournal.ie
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Finnebrogue Estate is owned by Co Down business man Dennis Lynn and runs 600 breeding red deer on 580 acres of land classified as ancient parkland grassland.
Hinds (female deer) calve down from early May with the whole herd calving within a month. Farm manager Mark Sandford said that only one hind required assistance at calving this year.
“Deer are the closest you get to wild animal. They are very easily stressed, especially if on their own. They tend to stay reasonably calm if they are in at least pairs when in enclosed spaces,” he said.
During the winter and up to calving hinds are outside with access to a forested area and are fed silage as a supplementary feed. Calves are housed for the first winter on slats and straw bedding and fed silage and deer concentrates.
55-65kg carcase weight
Calves are weaned after four months with stags slaughtered from the following August at 65kg carcase weights. Hinds are slaughtered after this over the duration of winter to meet market demand at around 55kg carcase weights. The Finnebrogue Estate has its own abattoir, which is one of only two facilities in Ireland licensed to slaughter deer.
A Wagyu beef enterprise is also in the initial stages of development on the farm, with the aim of producing 20 to 25 Wagyu beef cattle annually for restaurant outlets.
Watch an interview with farm manager Mark Sandford and footage from the farm below:
Further coverage from the factory and farm visit will feature in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal and on www.farmersjournal.ie
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