Mink and other fur animals

How about nutria instead? They were imported to Oregon for the fur trade, they're vegetarians so their food should be cheaper, don't have strong musk smell, have absolutely beautiful, soft, rich fur, and they taste great. Any carnivore will eat them, including people, so you'd have a secondary use for them. I don't know how they were grown, what kind of cages were originally used, but they dig and have big teeth so it would have to be something wire. Also, they're a lot bigger than mink so you'd have to raise fewer of them to have your blanket, coat, etc.
Kit

I won't say anything about mink, except that from what I know about breeding ferrets I wouldn't touch it.

But I'll second Rex rabbits. When you raise them for fur, you let them grow out for 6 to 8 months. By that time, your kids will have forgotten about them and the 3 other litters you've had in favor of the newest litter which will just be cutely peeking out of the nest box. Raising rabbits for fur is different then raising them for meat - though you do still get some good meat.
For any good fur, you have to raise the animal out. Baby fluff won't do. You need to have enough grow out cages for the different sexes and ages. Then you can feed them cheaply on hay with just a bit of grain or pellets to supplement. A mature Rex fur is a thing of great beauty and softness, and there are a lot of colors to choose from.

And, there is no reason not to do both. Start with a fur set up for rabbits, and then yes, you can feed the meat to mink when you get set up for them.

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A ship in the harbor may be safe, but that's not what ships are built for

Well, a lot of descriptions of nutria fur come to mind, and soft isn't one of them. Neither is mink for that matter.

In any case, for trapping them, fresh bloody meat.

Like others have said, it's a hard animal to farm. Make darn sure this is the fur you actually want. Many folk think they love mink when in fact they love fox and muskrat. Both are far softer.

And fur prices are quite the opposite of being down. Oh, they're down from the spring auctions; but overall, they are higher than they've been in many years. Lots of traps sold this year to novices. It should be an interesting season.

Mink ranchers like to keep a very low profile because of the animal rights wackos. If you don't have a state fur breeder association, contact your state trappers' group. They probably know of local mink ranchers because they often sell skinned carcasses to them for feed. You'd have to establish your bona fides first so they know you're not fronting for PETA or something. If you already know a local trapper, you're ahead of the game.

It is simple.
The harder and more costly to raise an animal the more people want it.
If you raise an animal that cost little to buy, cost little to raise, you will get little in return.
If you raise an animal that is costly to buy, costly to raise, you will get more for it.

People don't want something cheap, no matter if it is just as good as the costly item.

I'm not sure about wild mink because I've only seen a few pelts, but for breed-for-fur mink like the blackgama their fur is silk. Soft, sure but not the softest around. They're bred to produce more oil which (gramps says) make their final output that much more silky. Tripe, eggs, fish, etc, everything humans don't eat is what we fed them. Dad says that's why they were silk-gamas. They literally glisten and shine. Also make good water repellent clothing.

Btw we also used their bodies and fat. Sold to make-up companies, various leather protection product companies. Hell, even had a buyer in India for their wee penis part.

I raised mink for several years. Had Pastels and demi-buffs the buffs were close to wild color . I liked the Pastels better as they had 6to 8 kits as to the buffs 4or 5. I fed a commerical feed which was pretty easy with self feeders and water. You do not handle if possible as they are worse then nasty. I did make decent money but changed jobs and had to give it up. It is not a 7 day aweek job but a 365 days a year, Anything diff. or noise or change will make the female kill their young. If you want to raise fur try high grade ferrets or in the fur trade they are known as fitch. What you don"t sell as pets you can pelt out and send to the auction, about as much money to be made as not the expense and cheaper to start with. Good luck.

A neighbor 2 moves back and 25 years ago raised mink and fox. One of the oddities I remember was that he had two to three hours to remove the male from the females pen after breeding. Any longer and one would kill the other.

Wild mink right now are bringing $25-$35 for quality males, females bringing about half that. Trapped a female trying to get at our pigeons earlier this year. Got $12 for her "as is", unskinned. According to Fur-Fish-Game, mink has been the most dependable fur for the past couple years.

Martin

Yes wild mink have been poor in price. Tame mink have been much better. I remember my dad in the mid eighties getting 100 bucks frequently for a mink pelt, coyotes were 100 and up to 200, and beavers were 60 or so. 3 or 4 thousand dollars in the eighties was a lot of money!

I remember his big smile when we would pull up at a muskrat house where he would set his 110 conibears over the holes made by mink in their never ending quest for their favorite food, (their is a hint there you see! ), and would find a large male. I now know why he would smile. 100 dollars back then was enormous.

@InvalidID - How do you plan on dispatching these critters once you've got a decent sized flock, and what would you do with the meat / body? Being from the south we don't have these kinds of animals.

Just remember that on a good day, mink smell like rancid camel pee.

I remember going to a mink farm as a child (growing up on a dairy farm) and thinking 'This place stinks'.

I would raise the lil buggers if it would take less than 15000 to cover my fat butt

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Roger