Mink Ranchers

[ponyboy123]

I was just wondering if there were any fellow mink ranchers frequenting this form? Myself, I have a 30,000 herd here in eastern Canada.

[Spinner]

I've always wanted to find out more about them. Joked for years that I'll have to grow a coat if I ever want one. Do they have to live in the north or could I raise some down here?

[dcross]

My dad and I used to work at one.

[katlupe]

I had a friend once, who's father had a mink farm. He did pretty well too. That was his only job. I always liked going there to see them.

Tell us about it. Who do you sell them to? And do you have to kill them and then sell their pelts? (I think that's what they're called) Is it expensive to get into? Or are they like rabbits...just buy a few and they multiply?

Just curious.


katlupe

[shadowwalker]

In the late 60's. My brother and I would shoot jackrabbits with 22's and sell them to a mink farm guy that would come around every other weekend during the winter. We got 8 cents each. For big ones, little ones we got 5 cents. I remember a gallon of gas was 33 cents then. We got all new clothes, and I got my first new bicycle.

[Spinner]

I've been told there are some wild ones that live on a river bank a few miles from me. I've never seen one, but would like to. Can you post a picture of one?

[APPway]

Hi ponyboy

Where in Canada are you located?
Mink ranching sounds interesting

APPway

[ponyboy123]

I have heard of mink ranches as far south as Texas, but they grow a different pelt down there. Here in Nova Scotia, we produce about 1.6 million pelts annualy, bout 65% of the country's production 2.5 million. It not hard to get into on the side, need cages and good quality supply of feed goods. We lucky on the coast, we feed 60% fish, mostly herring and a lot of chicken by-products. I tried to post a few pics but not sure how to do it on this site. Maybe somebody could drop me a line and explain. Basically we grade mink for color, clarity, density, nap, and a subjective factor of how they all fit together. we call it the "like'm factor". What ever doesn't make breed quality we pelt. All that do make breed qulity are entered into the software and are matched up according to grades. The pelters are implanted with a melatonin tablet to hasten the fur priming process, and by october are ready to be pelted. We use CO to kill here produced with a 7 HP combustion engine and the exhaust is cooled and cleaned by a water filter bath. Because of shear numberes we send our mink to a pelting plant where they are pelted stretched and dried and sent to the auction house for private auction in Totonto ONT.
Most are purchase by Asian countries but some go to Russia and Italy and other Baltic countries. Some stay here in the US and Canada and go to New York and Montreal's top furriers. That's bouth it in a nut shell, I'll try to get some pics on when I fugure out how to do it.

Ponyboy

[Bruce in NE]

I too sold jackrabbits to a mink rancher as a kid. What I most remember of the place is the overpowering stench.

[ponyboy123]

Yes the overpowering stench, that is a good way to describe it. Mink will only eat fresh highly perishable food, and this can add to the stink when we pick day old feed of the wire and mix it into the manure to be spread on the feilds. Also mink have a highly developed scent gland, quite similar to a skunk, and they spray often when being handled.

[Spinner]

Originally Posted by ponyboy123

Yes the overpowering stench, that is a good way to describe it. Mink will only eat fresh highly perishable food, and this can add to the stink when we pick day old feed of the wire and mix it into the manure to be spread on the feilds. Also mink have a highly developed scent gland, quite similar to a skunk, and they spray often when being handled.

Whew! That sure killed my romantic dream of growing my own mink coat. LOL

[APPway]

Great post ponyboy123
Thanks for the explination on the way it is done sounds real interesting and keeps you busy I am sure. Do you breed for all colors as well as for pelt quailty?
also are the different colors a different texture?
Sorry for all the questions but I find this very interesting subject.
I hope this does not turn into a flame post as it is so far very imformative. if they get nasty to you here just ignore them as alot of us homesteaders do wear fur

Thanks again for the great post looking forward to more about your operation and for the pictures.

APPway

[Corgitails]

Very interesting!

Are mink as nasty to handle as everyone says? What's it really like?

With all the stuff on different types of animals to make a farm pay, there's very little on raising animals for fur. Guess because it's so politically incorrect. :P

[CraftyDiva]

Is it true, the female will eat her young if spooked? I had heard that somewhere awhile back and am wondering if this is true or not.

[ponyboy123]

We raise three color phases of mink here on the farm, we mainly raise black mink as they are the lion's share of the market but we also raise a pastel mink which has a very light dusty brown coat. The pastel is a different fur, longer under fur and much finer texture. Because we raise these two colors we also get what is called a mahogony mink which is a cross between the two.
The mink are very agressive, especialy at different times of the year, breeding season through whelping, but other than that they are more afraid of you. I have lots of nasty bites to show for it but it is just the nature of the best. We try not to handle the mink too much but there are times when the have to be handled. In the mink business you become a good handler or a good healer, hehe.
There are times when the female will react quite viciously to her young but only in extreme cases, you can't burn brush or wood scraps during whelping and lactating, that can cause bad results, as well as construction should be kept to a minimum during these times as well. Mostly it is foxes that can be quite tempemental and harm young during this time but mink for the most part are excellent mothers.
I still need some coaching on placing pics along with my posts, if anyone has done it before drop me a line as I would love to put up some of my pics from the ranch.

Ponyboy

[ponyboy123]

I started this post hoping to find some other fur farmers to discuss topics relavent to the industry but in fact I have gotten a lot of enjoyment just answering some questions that you all have. I too hope this does not turn into a flame thread, I raise livestock like many other farmers on this site but fur does seem to conjure up some negative feelings for some. I take pride in how I raise my herd, all animals here are treated with respect and give the best upbringing possible. For the fur farmer it is the only way to stay in business, as the first thing to show signs of anunhealthy herd is the pelt. We have a code of ethics we adhere to, that is put forth by the Canadian Mink Breeders Assc. (CMBA) and these codes have been aproved by SPCA as well as the ethics comitee of Canadian Agr.

[Spinner]

Pony, here's how to post pictures:

An easy way to post a pic is to upload it to free hosting service such as imageshack When you upload at imageshack there is a box to check so the image will be resized to fit the forum, pick the size 320x240 (for websites and email). Check the box, click on upload and wait for the addy to appear. There will be a list of addresses for you to choose from. I think some of them say they are for forums, ignore that, pick the one that says "Direct link to image". Copy that link and bring it here to post.

To post it here: The image link can be found when you go to advanced editing. Look right above the white text box where you type your message and you'll find 7 little images (under the boxes that say "size" & "color"). The first little image is the one for posting pictures. Click on it, it will guide you thru the process.

I hope this helps you post the image.

[APPway]

I really think you are the only person that has a fur farm the way yours is
alot of people raise rabbits and tan their hides and we do some tanning and leather work but I really think you are the only professional fur raiser on here I might be wrong tho.
Thanks for asking the questions and looking forward to seeing pics
I know I will have alot more questions also

APPway

[Spinner]

I guess I should explain my earlier statement "Whew! That sure killed my romantic dream of growing my own mink coat. LOL" I don't want to leave it sounding like I am flaming, that's not the way I ment it to sound.

I had a picture in my mind of soft cute furry animals that would be fun to have as pets. Maybe have one set here on my desk so I could enjoy it while at the computer. They sound like they are not snuggly pet material, therefore. my romantic dream is gone. I'm still interested in learning more about them and maybe raising my own mink coat some day.

[pookshollow]

I was going to make my own mink coat last year - when a wild one killed five ducklings! Came face to face with him a couple of times, but never caught the little monster.

Mink is very nice fur to work with - I buy old fur coats and make teddy bears from them.