Tikana Wapiti News
Next Tikana Sale Monday 17th January 2022
Click for draft of bulls and cows for sale
Click for draft of bulls and cows for sale
Winter 2021
Environmental issues are a part of modern farming and for the sustainability of pastoral farming we need to embrace the opportunities that present. We were fortunate in having a small woodlot on farm (eucalypts -firewood variety). Many trees were past their use-by date and so approximately a third of them were harvested leaving much of the flay. We extended the lane, put in a second feed pad and so now not only do the hinds enjoy wintering in the woodlot but all the older bulls do so as well.
This has been a win- win all round. It has halved the amount of winter crop we need(and potential nutrient loss) and consequently slowed our pasture renewal. A big bonus too for human welfare with one less electric fence to shift and no more chasing through the crop when the old boys break out !!
Environmental issues are a part of modern farming and for the sustainability of pastoral farming we need to embrace the opportunities that present. We were fortunate in having a small woodlot on farm (eucalypts -firewood variety). Many trees were past their use-by date and so approximately a third of them were harvested leaving much of the flay. We extended the lane, put in a second feed pad and so now not only do the hinds enjoy wintering in the woodlot but all the older bulls do so as well.
This has been a win- win all round. It has halved the amount of winter crop we need(and potential nutrient loss) and consequently slowed our pasture renewal. A big bonus too for human welfare with one less electric fence to shift and no more chasing through the crop when the old boys break out !!
December 2020 - Upcoming sale finalised
This year we are offering semen from three of our bulls. Nepia (whose record says it all), Crikey (despite his demise) and Prophecy - our promising new sire who won the 3 year old class at the 2020 National Velvet Competition with an impressive 15.6kg EWSupreme. One of this year's star lots will be BACCHUS a son of THOR - see his video below
This year we are offering semen from three of our bulls. Nepia (whose record says it all), Crikey (despite his demise) and Prophecy - our promising new sire who won the 3 year old class at the 2020 National Velvet Competition with an impressive 15.6kg EWSupreme. One of this year's star lots will be BACCHUS a son of THOR - see his video below
November 2020 - Mother Nature the great leveller
There are always ups and downs in farming - the loss of our sire bull Crikey was certainly a "downer". Crikey experienced an anaphylactic reaction to xylazine and died 24hrs after velveting this month. He was the closest we have bred to the all round sire (good for every trait we select for). Fortunately his genetics have been spread through the industry via his semen being used as a link sire for DEERSelect.
There are always ups and downs in farming - the loss of our sire bull Crikey was certainly a "downer". Crikey experienced an anaphylactic reaction to xylazine and died 24hrs after velveting this month. He was the closest we have bred to the all round sire (good for every trait we select for). Fortunately his genetics have been spread through the industry via his semen being used as a link sire for DEERSelect.
September 2020 - Record winter growth
Our normal wintering system means that at weaning/end of May our young stock are housed for winter. This year we achieved record winter weight gains and end of winter average weights for both males and females.
Females grew at 248 gms/day for 92days and at the end averaged 139kg
Males grew at 327gms/day for 92 days and at the end averaged 159kg (top bull calf 189kg)
There was no special treatment as they simply had ad lib baleage and for the last 20 days some deer nuts. The crucial thing as always was the quality. Baleage tested 23%DM, 20.7% Crude protein and ME 9.9. The 0.8kg/dy of Clarkes Velveter Deer nuts are 19+% crude protein and ME 12.9.
Our normal wintering system means that at weaning/end of May our young stock are housed for winter. This year we achieved record winter weight gains and end of winter average weights for both males and females.
Females grew at 248 gms/day for 92days and at the end averaged 139kg
Males grew at 327gms/day for 92 days and at the end averaged 159kg (top bull calf 189kg)
There was no special treatment as they simply had ad lib baleage and for the last 20 days some deer nuts. The crucial thing as always was the quality. Baleage tested 23%DM, 20.7% Crude protein and ME 9.9. The 0.8kg/dy of Clarkes Velveter Deer nuts are 19+% crude protein and ME 12.9.
August 2020 - New CARLA research
The outcome of the 2019 CARLA research has been released and indicates exciting potential for all deer farmers. Our early faith in this simple saliva test has paid off handsomely. High CARLA in young deer not only means they have less parasites but they grow faster and shed significantly less lungworm larva and gutworm eggs onto the pasture. There is a tangible financial benefit to having R1 stock with high CARLA levels. The eBV for CARLA enables breeders to select for this parasite resistant trait to produce high CARLA sires for the industry to use be it terminal or maternal replacement. See Tikana progress for CARLA in the Genetic Trend graph on our Genetics Parasite Resistance page.
This saliva test has application for commercial farmers as well. The test will not give them an eBV but the result can be used as a replacement hind selection criteria.
We believe that in time selecting for high CARLA will reduce our reliance on the need to drench.
August 2020 - New CARLA research
The outcome of the 2019 CARLA research has been released and indicates exciting potential for all deer farmers. Our early faith in this simple saliva test has paid off handsomely. High CARLA in young deer not only means they have less parasites but they grow faster and shed significantly less lungworm larva and gutworm eggs onto the pasture. There is a tangible financial benefit to having R1 stock with high CARLA levels. The eBV for CARLA enables breeders to select for this parasite resistant trait to produce high CARLA sires for the industry to use be it terminal or maternal replacement. See Tikana progress for CARLA in the Genetic Trend graph on our Genetics Parasite Resistance page.
This saliva test has application for commercial farmers as well. The test will not give them an eBV but the result can be used as a replacement hind selection criteria.
We believe that in time selecting for high CARLA will reduce our reliance on the need to drench.
April 2020 - Mating Firepower
We are excited for the outcome of this years mating.
Velvet is within herd only but ranking and values of all other traits and index are based on the Wapiti Across herd sire summary - August 2020.
Crikey who has been used a link sire for a number of Wapiti herds on DeerSelect has now 100 progeny on DeerSelect with more yet to be entered. He is currently ranked second top Wapiti bull for growth traits(Weaning weight, autumn weight and yearling weight) for Carcass weight and Terminal Index. We are using both Prophecy and Legacy as two year old bulls. Both cut over 10kg EWSupreme as two year olds as well as pretty respectable performance in other traits. Prophecy is a son of Forecaster and Legacy a son of Thor. Roosevelt while only a spiker is being used to mate our first calvers. He is a son of Edendale Station's record breaking hard antler bull Seattle. As with any animal used on DeerSelect who is not from a herd being recorded on the genetic database then by default genetic merit for any trait attributable to that animal is zero. Mindful of this, Roosevelt's eBV's will be likely understated and so we very excited for his future.
We are excited for the outcome of this years mating.
Velvet is within herd only but ranking and values of all other traits and index are based on the Wapiti Across herd sire summary - August 2020.
Crikey who has been used a link sire for a number of Wapiti herds on DeerSelect has now 100 progeny on DeerSelect with more yet to be entered. He is currently ranked second top Wapiti bull for growth traits(Weaning weight, autumn weight and yearling weight) for Carcass weight and Terminal Index. We are using both Prophecy and Legacy as two year old bulls. Both cut over 10kg EWSupreme as two year olds as well as pretty respectable performance in other traits. Prophecy is a son of Forecaster and Legacy a son of Thor. Roosevelt while only a spiker is being used to mate our first calvers. He is a son of Edendale Station's record breaking hard antler bull Seattle. As with any animal used on DeerSelect who is not from a herd being recorded on the genetic database then by default genetic merit for any trait attributable to that animal is zero. Mindful of this, Roosevelt's eBV's will be likely understated and so we very excited for his future.
January 2020
Our annual sale was again a success with 19 of 21 bulls on offer finding new homes throughout New Zealand. The average sale price at $8900 was up a little on last year and exceeded the reserves we had on them. The star lot Legend (a Thor son) at 3yrs cut 13.1kg EWSupreme as well as being a top 2% bull for growth and meat traits.He sold for $20,000. Congratulations to Next Generation deer farmers Jesse and Traci Saunders who are the proud new owners of Legend.(pictured to the Left)
Our annual sale was again a success with 19 of 21 bulls on offer finding new homes throughout New Zealand. The average sale price at $8900 was up a little on last year and exceeded the reserves we had on them. The star lot Legend (a Thor son) at 3yrs cut 13.1kg EWSupreme as well as being a top 2% bull for growth and meat traits.He sold for $20,000. Congratulations to Next Generation deer farmers Jesse and Traci Saunders who are the proud new owners of Legend.(pictured to the Left)
December 2019
The 38th National Velvet & Trophy Antler Competition resulted in some notable results for Tikana. The 3 year old bull Devon with a 12.92kg of EWSupreme won the three year old Elk/Wapiti class (pictured). Devon is on offer in our 2020 sale. Tikana has a proud record in this class having produced the winner nine times in the last 10 years. His efforts were overshadowed by Nepia who has staked a place in the history of the National Velvet Competition. Nepia has now been National Champion of Champions three times and Reserve Champion twice. A feat never previously achieved by any deer, Red or Wapiti.
July 2019
Our fawns are weaned post rut and are wintered inside. We do a mid-winter check weigh and were pleased with the result. Female calves averaged 118kg with an 11kg weight gain since coming indoors 50 days ago. Bull calves averaged 127kg with a 13.5kg weight gain.
June 2019
Congratulations to Murray Hagen and Jim Cameron of Conemarra Wapiti. Their purchase at our 2018 sale of the Wapiti bull "Forecaster" has proved to be a great investment. Based on the latest Across Herd Wapiti Sire Summary (June 2019) this bull sets new industry benchmarks and records for his genetic merit. A Terminal Index of $47.56, WT12eBV of + 25.6kg and Carcass Weight eBV of 14.1kg ranks him #1 Wapiti bull currently in New Zealand.
March 2019
The 2019 Elk & Wapiti Society Velvet and hard Antler Competition was held at Cromwell in February and the 2019 Rising Star Velvet & Hard Antler Competition was held at Outram in March. The honours (top 3 placings) in both competitions went to Tikana bulls. Juggernaut (sire Isobar)8.5kg, Devon (sire Devereux)9.8kg and Hendrix (sire Thor) 8.3kg will all be worth watching out for in future.
January 2019 - Annual on farm sale
Lot 1 Yotam was cut on New Year's Eve. 15.3kg of EWSupreme.
Yotam has the heaviest velvet of any 3 year old bull we have put on the market.
Yotam is a son of Nepia and outperforms his sire by 1.3kg @ 3years old.
Video below of last four sale bulls to velvet.
Lot 1 Yotam, Lot 3 Pinot, Lot 4 Selfridge and Lot 11 Bogart
The 38th National Velvet & Trophy Antler Competition resulted in some notable results for Tikana. The 3 year old bull Devon with a 12.92kg of EWSupreme won the three year old Elk/Wapiti class (pictured). Devon is on offer in our 2020 sale. Tikana has a proud record in this class having produced the winner nine times in the last 10 years. His efforts were overshadowed by Nepia who has staked a place in the history of the National Velvet Competition. Nepia has now been National Champion of Champions three times and Reserve Champion twice. A feat never previously achieved by any deer, Red or Wapiti.
July 2019
Our fawns are weaned post rut and are wintered inside. We do a mid-winter check weigh and were pleased with the result. Female calves averaged 118kg with an 11kg weight gain since coming indoors 50 days ago. Bull calves averaged 127kg with a 13.5kg weight gain.
June 2019
Congratulations to Murray Hagen and Jim Cameron of Conemarra Wapiti. Their purchase at our 2018 sale of the Wapiti bull "Forecaster" has proved to be a great investment. Based on the latest Across Herd Wapiti Sire Summary (June 2019) this bull sets new industry benchmarks and records for his genetic merit. A Terminal Index of $47.56, WT12eBV of + 25.6kg and Carcass Weight eBV of 14.1kg ranks him #1 Wapiti bull currently in New Zealand.
March 2019
The 2019 Elk & Wapiti Society Velvet and hard Antler Competition was held at Cromwell in February and the 2019 Rising Star Velvet & Hard Antler Competition was held at Outram in March. The honours (top 3 placings) in both competitions went to Tikana bulls. Juggernaut (sire Isobar)8.5kg, Devon (sire Devereux)9.8kg and Hendrix (sire Thor) 8.3kg will all be worth watching out for in future.
January 2019 - Annual on farm sale
Lot 1 Yotam was cut on New Year's Eve. 15.3kg of EWSupreme.
Yotam has the heaviest velvet of any 3 year old bull we have put on the market.
Yotam is a son of Nepia and outperforms his sire by 1.3kg @ 3years old.
Video below of last four sale bulls to velvet.
Lot 1 Yotam, Lot 3 Pinot, Lot 4 Selfridge and Lot 11 Bogart
December 2018
The 2018 National Velvet & Trophy Antler Competition provided yet more success for Tikana bulls. "Breeze" continued our dominance in the 3 year elk/wapiti velvet class. He is Lot 7 in our upcoming sale and "Celsius" (Lot 5) was runner up. These were the best of the seven three year olds we had velveted at time of competition close off. We will update the 2019 draft of sale bulls as we velvet them.
We were proud to have the top 3 placings in the Open Supreme class with 3 heads all over 21kgs. Nepia once again won this class with a 24.6kg EWSupreme head. He has nine sons in our January 22nd sale.
November 2018
This impressive spiker provides strong endorsement of DeerSelect. Prior to even growing any velvet this bull calf had an exceptionally high BV for mature velvet. I guess it should have been no surprise when we cut this 4kg of spike velvet off him. He is a son of Thor.
September 2018
Our weaners are wintered inside every year to help maintain pasture integrity but it has the added benefit of familiarising them with daily human contact. This does seem to have a settling affect which transfers to later life.
Mother nature has the biological clock turned down for winter and traditionally has been a time of low seasonal growth. Due to this low potential for growth there is no point in expensive supplements through winter. For 100 days of winter this year our weaners grew the best they ever have. Female fawns grew at 235grams per day. Bull calves grew at 320grams per day.Our top bull calf is sired by Thor and weighed 174kg on 1st September. This compares to the winter growth of good red deer of 130 grams per day. The last 10 days of winter they have been getting 0.5kg/head of deer nuts but otherwise their sole diet has been good quality pasture baleage (white & red clover base). Baleage analysis was DM 48.3%, CP 19.2% and ME of 10.4 MJ/kgDM. The exceptional winter growth is no doubt a mixture of nutrition and genetics - one allows the other to be expressed to potential. The impact of this good start in life (see pedicle development in picture) will be seen for years to come.
July 2018
Currently deer farmers are paid for venison based on carcass weight. Using the Carcass weight breeding value (CWeBV) is a simple way of selecting for more carcass and more dollars in your pocket. The most recent Wapiti Across Herd Sire Summary features 86 Wapiti sires used by Wapiti studs over the last 3 breeding seasons.
The top five Wapiti bulls for CWeBV are all Tikana bred with CWeBVs ranging from +9.0kg to + 10.2kg. At current schedule this represents "money for jam".
May 2018
Mating for 2018 is behind us now and we are delighted with our scanning results. 14 of 15 first calvers are pregnant = 93% which is the best result we have achieved in this age group. (all bulls were removed on 22nd April to ensure no late calvers)
We used Seattle semen from Edendale Station to AI 10 cows and 9 of them scanned in calf. This represents exciting outside bloodlines coming into the Tikana herd.
The Mixed Age cows overall bred well with a 93% conception rate. By foetal aging we know 81% of our cows conceived in March - an important target to ensure the next crop of fawns start on the front foot.
February 2018
The 2018 Elk & Wapiti Society Velvet and hard Antler Competition sees the emergence of a new Champion of Champions in Thor - a 4 year old Tikana bull who produced a record 4 year old head of 17.42kg EWSupreme.
Thor has deposed his sire Nepia who had held the Champion of Champions podium for an unprecedented five years straight.
January 2018
Successful bidder for the top bull - Forecaster - at our annual sale was Murray & Beverly Hagen of Connemara Wapiti Stud, Manapouri. Murray paid $38,000 for this outstanding bull. The happy new owner is pictured below with some tokens of appreciation for his support of our sale
December 2017
Forecaster - he cut 12.2 kg EWSupreme at 3 years this year which earned him the winner's podium at this year's National Velvet Competition (3 year Wapiti class). This follows on from his champion title as winner Two Year Wapiti National Rising Star Competition last year. Even more impressive than his velvet Forecaster has a WT12eBV of +19.06kg. He has a Terminal Index of $37.64 which puts him well clear of the top 3 sires(all Tikana bred bulls) in the latest (December) Across Herd Sire Summary.
Forecaster - he cut 12.2 kg EWSupreme at 3 years this year which earned him the winner's podium at this year's National Velvet Competition (3 year Wapiti class). This follows on from his champion title as winner Two Year Wapiti National Rising Star Competition last year. Even more impressive than his velvet Forecaster has a WT12eBV of +19.06kg. He has a Terminal Index of $37.64 which puts him well clear of the top 3 sires(all Tikana bred bulls) in the latest (December) Across Herd Sire Summary.
November 2017
Isobar is no doubt one of the star lots in our 2018 sale. He is a former winner of the Two year old Wapiti National Rising Stars Competition but as you can see with a great span and classic blades he has very good trophy potential. This year he cut 16.4kg EWSupreme. An all rounder Isobar ranks as the 3rd top bull of all Wapiti sires for Terminal Index in the latest (November) Across Herd Sire Summary
Isobar is no doubt one of the star lots in our 2018 sale. He is a former winner of the Two year old Wapiti National Rising Stars Competition but as you can see with a great span and classic blades he has very good trophy potential. This year he cut 16.4kg EWSupreme. An all rounder Isobar ranks as the 3rd top bull of all Wapiti sires for Terminal Index in the latest (November) Across Herd Sire Summary
August 2017
Draft of 2018 Sale bulls now available.
We have detailed the likely bulls to go to auction in January 2018. This allows all prospective buyers an early opportunity to see what is available. Also we are trialing a new visual presentation of the genetics and BVs of these bulls. The traits we have selected for - growth(WT12 eBV), meat (EMAceBV), terminal index (combination of growth and meat traits economically weighted) and parasite tolerance (CARLA10eBV) are all colour coded based on how these bulls rate for any particular trait against all the sire bulls being used by Wapiti studs in DEERSelect. Are they in the top 50%, or top 10% or even in top 1%? The darker the blue the better. We welcome feedback regarding this new presentation. We know that pages of figures can be off-putting - does this format make it easy? 2018 Catalogue update
A Wapiti across herd sire summary is not available for velvet and so the actual weights are presented.
May 2017
2017 MSD Photographic Awards.
As part of the Deer Industry Conference each year a deer farm related photographic competition is held. We are very proud of our sixteen year old daughter Demi, who was awarded 2nd place for her entry entitled "Follow me boys" as displayed at left
February 2017
Rising Star Velvet & Hard Antler Competition
For the fourth year in a row a Tikana bull has won the prestigious Rising Star Competition for 2 year old Elk/Wapiti Velvet. Forecaster(a son of Storm) grew an impressive and tidy 8.4kg of EWSupreme at two years old. We plan on using him this coming mating as his genetic worth is not limited to velvet. The highest WT12eBV on the most recently published (Feb 2017)Wapiti Across Herd Sire summary is +17.3kg, Forecaster has a WT12eBV of 17.85kg. The highest ranked bull for the Terminal Index in the most recently published (Feb 2017) Wapiti Across Herd Sire summary was $32.02, Forecaster has a Terminal Index value of $35.92.
January 2017
The Elk & Wapiti Society celebrated a milestone with their 30 year anniversary. The event featured a fieldday and BBQ at the Ewings' Cattle Flat Station followed by the 20th Elk & Wapiti Society Velvet and Antler Competition and awards evening. Dave was awarded with life membership to the society for his contribution to Wapiti and the society over many years. He joins a prestigious group of life members and industry stalwarts:- Sir Tim Wallis, Dr Ken Drew, Tony Pearse, John Barber and Jack Pullar.
December 2016
New Zealand Velvet Record
Our stud sire Nepia this year created history with a new record for velvet cut off a deer in New Zealand with a massive 26.3kg of EWSupremeTM velvet. This saw him crowned once again as Champion All Comers at the 2016 National Velvet & Trophy Antler Competition.
Nepia was also this year the inaugural winner of the handsome bronze Winston Day Memorial Trophy donated by the children and grandchildren of the late Winston Day.
November 2016
First Wapiti across herd sire summary published
DEERSelect after considerable effort have produced Breeding values and Indexes across connected Wapiti herds and the sire summary is now available on the Deer Industry New Zealand website.This is a milestone for the whole deer industry. Commercial deer farmers can compare the genetic worth of any individual animal for a given trait directly across all the Wapiti herds in New Zealand that are linked or connected. There are currently seven Wapiti herds active in DEERSelect.
September 2016
Next Generation Conference 2016
This very successful initiative of the New Zealand Deer Farmers Association has for several years now brought together the younger people in the deer industry. This interactive conference combines a field day with information sessions and workshops. The 2016 conference was oversubscribed indicating just how popular it has become. Dave Lawrence and John Falconer presented to attendees. Venison Production with Wapiti - Dave Lawrence and John Falconer
July 2016
Elk & Wapiti Society of New Zealand – “changing of the guard”
At the AGM of the society this year Dave stood down from his role as President of the Elk & Wapiti Society of New Zealand. Dave has been a member of the society since its inception in 1986, has served on council for more than half of the last 30 years and has been President for the last five years. Stepping down with the society in good heart sees the next generation taking office - John Falconer of Clachanburn Elk takes on the Presidents mantle. A role his late father and former active member, Charles would have been proud to see.
May 2016
2016 MSD Photographic Awards.
As part of the Deer Industry Conference each year a deer farm related photographic competition is held. We are very proud of our fifteen year old daughter Demi, who for the first time submitted entries for this year’s competition. The image on our home page entitled “Curiosity” was one of just two highly commended entries. Demi was rewarded with 2nd place for her “Land of Milk and Honey” image which features on the deer farming page on this website.
