Fur Farming Part 5

MINK RAISING.

There is only one species of mink found in North America, altho there are a number of varieties differing in size, color and quality of fur.

Thus we find in Northern Maine and New Brunswick a very small variety having a fine silky fur of a very dark shade; farther west and south a somewhat larger variety, paler in color, and thruout the Mississippi valley and parts of the south, also parts of Western Canada, a very large mink is found, but running quite pale, and the fur somewhat coa.r.s.er than the northeastern varieties.

Again, on parts of the Pacific Coast, a very small and poorer quality are found, and the mink from the lower Yukon River of Alaska are said to be of very poor quality. One or more varieties are found in almost every part of the United States, Canada and Alaska. Wherever there is running water their tracks may be seen; but they seem to prefer the smaller streams, as a rule, and they will be found as plentiful in the thickly settled parts as in the wilderness.

Mink are great travelers, but each individual animal has his regular route and seldom ventures far out of his course. While they travel streams and lake sh.o.r.es as much as possible, they do not hesitate to leave the stream and cut across country in order to reach some other water-course. During the mating season they also wander away from the streams more than at other times. While they are always found in the neighborhood of fresh water, they are not a water animal, and in following a stream, always run on the bank, but usually as near to the water as possible.

In the thickly settled districts where the most valuable fur-bearing animals, such as the silver foxes, otters, etc., are not to be found, the mink is the most valuable and is eagerly sought by the trappers. The fur is at its best during the first two months after it becomes prime, which in the north will be about November 1st, and in the south perhaps a month later. After the first two months, the fur commences to fade, especially where the country is open and the animal is exposed to the bright light, for the mink is not, strictly, a nocturnal animal. The darkest skins come, as a rule, from the timbered parts of the country.

While the female is smaller than the male, she is also darker, and the skins have about an equal value.

The food of the mink consists mostly of rabbits, partridges, quail, squirrels, muskrats, mice, fish, frogs, birds' eggs, etc. While they will eat stale meat, if hungry, they prefer strictly fresh food.

Occasionally they will pay a visit to the poultry house, for like most animals of the weasel family, they have a decided liking for the domesticated birds. They are very fond of fish, and when same may be secured easily, they will kill large numbers, merely for the sake of killing.

They are active and hardy little animals, apparently almost tireless, as they will travel long distances in a night. They are perhaps most active during the fall months, and in the north they travel very little during the cold part of winter.

The burrow or den of the mink is usually located in the high bank of some stream, but they frequently inhabit deserted dens of other animals, but always near the water. It is in these dens that the female and her offspring spend the summer months, never straying far from home.

The first two weeks of March is the minks' season for mating, and the young--from four to six--are born about six weeks later. When confined in enclosures where the diet, water and temperature are similar with each animal, there is so little difference in the time of mating and bearing their young, that five or six litters may make their appearance within twelve hours of each other.

The young are blind from four to five weeks, but are very active and as playful as kittens. The mother weans them when they are eight or ten weeks old. At about four weeks the mother begins to feed them meat, and they learn to suck at it before they have teeth to eat it. The young are fed by the mother on frogs, fish, mice, etc., until they are three or four months old, when she leaves them to shift for themselves. The young soon separate and do their hunting alone. They do not pair and the male is a rover and "free lover."

Mink are extremely cleanly and as soon as the den becomes foul, the mother moves the family to some other nest.

MINK BREEDING.--There are a great many readers of the H-T-T who live in the city, that long for some way to profitably spend their idle time. I will give a successful way of breeding mink, according to Mr. Boughton's Guide:

"Wild adult mink are almost untamable, but young ones readily submit to handling and are easily domesticated. The time to secure young mink is in May or June when they begin to run with their dams. The streams must be quietly watched for mink trails, and these, if possible, tracked to the nest. When they leave the hole, the young ones may be secured, or they may be dug out. Those who own a breeding stock of mink ask very high prices for them, but if the aforesaid plan is carried out, it is an easy matter to get the young wild ones.

"MANAGEMENT OF MINK.--Mink being by nature solitary, wandering animals, being seldom seen in company except in mating season, it is impossible to rear them successfully if large numbers are kept together constantly; therefore, their enclosure should be a large one. The male and the female should be permitted to be together frequently from the middle of February until the middle of March. At all other times keep them entirely separate.

"About this season the mink should be allowed plenty of fine gra.s.s, which they will carry into their boxes to make their nests out of. A box 3 or 4 feet long and 18 inches wide is the shape they prefer. It should be placed as far as possible from the water to prevent the mink from carrying mud and water into it. The young mink, when first born, are small and delicate, dest.i.tute of any kind of fur and much resemble young rats. If the old mink is tame, the young ones may be taken out of the nest and handled when they are three weeks old. They will soon learn to drink milk, and may be fed every day. At three weeks of age they may be taken from their mother and put into a pen by themselves, and then they will soon become very playful, are pretty, and make much better mothers than they would if allowed to run with the old one."

The shelter should be in the shape of a long box, 5 or 6 feet wide and 3 or 4 feet high, set upon legs, with a good floor and roof. Divide into separate apartments 6 feet long (longer would be better), the front of each apartment to be furnished with a swinging door of strong screen wire, with hinges at the top, and a latch on the bottom. A trough 6 inches square, should run the entire length of pen at rear side; one end of the trough should be made several inches lower than the other, so that the water could be drawn off. With this arrangement the water can be turned in at one end of trough, and be drawn off and changed as often as desired. The lower end of the trough should be a little deeper than the other end to prevent the water from running over. Each apartment is furnished with a box 3 feet long and 13 inches wide. On one side of the box, and near one end is made a round hole about 4 inches in diameter, and provided with a sliding cover, so by means of a stick it can be opened or closed from the outside. This is so the mink can be closed up while the pen is being cleaned.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Mink Enclosure in Detail.]

On the top of the box and at the other end should be a door large enough to put in gra.s.s, straw, etc., for the nest, and take out young. It is necessary that they have an abundance of pure soft water, fresh air, desirable shade and plenty of exercise. These conditions secure for the mink a good quality of dark fur and good health. Brush, weeds, etc., are allowed to grow up in the yard, but not near enough to the fence to admit of their climbing up and out.

The fence for the enclosure should be of poultry netting of one-inch mesh. If of larger mesh the young animals will escape. The general plan for the fence should be the same as described under the heading, "Enclosures." There should be separate apartments for the males and females, and also some smaller breeding pens. As it is not advisable to attempt handling the animals, each compartment should be provided with a small gate so that the animals may be driven from one pen to the other.

During the breeding season, and afterwards, while the young animals are under the care of the mother, the same general methods of handling as is recommended in skunk raising, should be adopted.

At all times, plenty of fresh water must be provided, and the enclosures should be so arranged that the water will be distributed to all parts.

While the mink is always found near the water, it is not a water animal, as is the muskrat, and a large body of same is not needed. A spring or a small stream is all that is needed; and a pond may be dug in each of the large enclosures.

Careful and regular feeding is advised. The mink is strictly a carnivorous animal, and always prefers fresh food. The matter of supplying sufficient food will be more difficult than in the case of the skunk and muskrat. As they are fond of fish, if one is near a place where they may be obtained, the feeding will be comparatively easy. They should not, however, be fed on fish alone. An occasional fowl will be acceptable, also rabbit, muskrat, etc.

The natural home and breeding place of the mink is near the water. Their den is often under an old stump, tree or in some drift pile. The nest where the young are born generally being in the ground. When the animals become tame enough, the raiser should provide dens similar to those used in their wild state. These can be made by burying tile in the ground and in other ways making artificial burrows. A few hollow logs placed in the enclosure would be enjoyed by the animals.

Many report that the males kill the young. This should be guarded against by keeping the males separate. Some hesitate about starting a "minkery" for fear that the animals will not fur properly. There is no danger on that point if properly fed, watered and given homes in keeping with those they lived in when roving at their own free will. This only brings out more forcibly the fact that those who are going to be the most successful mink raisers should have a natural apt.i.tude for the business--trappers, hunters, animal lovers, etc. Who has made the greatest success at raising stock in your neighborhood--the man who loves stock or someone who thought they saw a fortune in the business but neither loved animals or knew anything about them? We venture the answer, without fear of contradiction, that it has been the party who loves and delights in stock. Remember, this applies to fur animals as well as horses, sheep and cattle.

CHAPTER VIII.

OPOSSUM RAISING.

The opossum is a southern animal and is found in abundance in most parts of the Southern States. In late years they have been moving farther northward and are now found, though not numerous, as far north as Central Pennsylvania; but are found most plentifully in the wooded portions of the South, where they are such a common animal as to be well known to all.

They are slow moving and inoffensive, having no means of defense whatever. When approached, they make a great show by opening the mouth, and present a rather fierce appearance, but when touched by man or animal, they pretend to be dead, and this very characteristic habit has given rise to the expression, "playing 'possum."

While the opossum is a nocturnal animal, it is sometimes seen in daylight, but this is of rare occurrence. They do not hibernate but will remain in the dens during cold weather, and do not like to roam about when the leaves are dry and rustly.

The dens are, as a rule, located in the ground, under a rock, log or tree, and are quite shallow; the nest at the extremity being lined with leaves or gra.s.s. They also den in hollow logs and stumps occasionally, and in natural openings in rock bluffs.

The young of this animal are born in the last half of April and the beginning of May, the number of young varying from six to twelve, and sometimes even more. When born they are very small and imperfectly formed and are immediately placed by the mother in the pouch on her belly, where they remain until they have attained a perfect form and have become large enough to walk about. After being placed in the pouch, they attach themselves to the teats of the mother, and remain in that condition until they have become large enough to move about.

On leaving the pouch, they quite often ride about, when tired, on the mother's back, holding fast by winding their tails about that of the parent. They will reach their full growth within a year, if the conditions are favorable--that is, if they have plenty of food, etc. In captivity, when well cared for, they attain considerable size by midwinter.

The opossum is omnivorous, feeding alike on animal and vegetable food, but it prefers flesh to fruit. They feed on carrion, and on any small animal which their slow movements will allow of capturing, also on eggs and young birds, for they are good climbers. They are quite fond of wild fruits, such as persimmons, polk berries, apples and paw-paws; also of certain vegetables, especially onions. They also eat mice, insects, etc.

Opossums are hunted extensively in the South, and when pursued they usually climb the nearest tree, unless they are close to the den. As an article of food they are highly esteemed, especially by the colored people, and find a ready sale in the market.

While the fur of this animal is not, strictly speaking, a valuable one, to the prospective fur-farmer it is well worth considering, especially if located near a market. At present prices the young animals by midwinter, will average a dollar each in value, when selling both the skin and carca.s.s. The ease with which they may be raised is also an important factor, so that on the whole, in many sections, they will be found to be a profitable animal to handle.

Opossums are fairly good climbers and the enclosure should have a wide strip of tin around, as described elsewhere in the chapter on Enclosures. They will also gnaw out of wooden enclosures if there is a crack or any chance to get a start. They will readily climb out of the enclosure if made of wood unless covered or at least partially covered.

There has been no better or cheaper material found for constructing fences for opossum raising purposes than galvanized wire.

They are not much given to digging and the wire need not be buried very deep in the earth. If the ground is solid, 18 inches will be deep enough. The animals, if properly fed, watered and cared for, will soon become accustomed to their quarters, and make little or no effort to escape. The young will become tame and quite playful.

The natural home of the opossum can be described as south of a line drawn west from New York City through Pennsylvania, Northern Ohio and Indiana, south of Chicago, through Iowa near Des Moines, and into Nebraska near Omaha, extending about half way into Nebraska, then South through Kansas, all of Oklahoma and the lowlands or the Eastern half of Texas. The opossum is not a cold weather animal, and in its wild state would freeze if it inhabited territory much farther north than the northern boundary of the line shown. A severe winter a few years ago, is said to have frozen large numbers in their dens in Southern Ohio, Pennsylvania, and parts of West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois.

In their natural or wild state, they often hole up in shallow dens, old logs, trees, etc., and while they are endowed with the instinct of "playing 'possum" when injured, their instinct along other lines seems very shallow, as they do not always know enough to "get in out of the cold;" in other words, on the approach of severe winter weather, they do not all seek deep dens where the ground does not freeze.

While the natural home of the opossum is in the section as outlined, there is no reason why they cannot be successfully raised hundreds of miles north of their northern limit. The thing to guard against will be freezing. The raiser must see that they have good and deep burrows--deep enough that the ground will never freeze to their nest. They should have plenty of leaves in their nest. If the enclosure is in a thicket, and there are trees within and leaves near, the animals will no doubt carry an abundance of leaves into their dens for nests. If there are no trees in the enclosure, see that a supply is furnished each den before freezing weather in the Fall.

The opossum is going to become one of the important animals in fur-farming for various reasons: They are prolific breeders, bringing forth from 6 to 12 at a litter; grow rapidly; are easily fed and eat a great variety of food.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Ideal Spot for an Opossum or Racc.o.o.n Fur Farm.]

The opossum raiser has two sources of revenue--fur and carca.s.s. There is a ready market for the carca.s.ses in all cities. The grower should make arrangements with butchers and others to take so many carca.s.ses on a certain date. The fur is at its best from about Thanksgiving to the middle of February. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are three holidays when the fur will be prime and the meat in demand. In cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City, St. Louis, etc., a market can be had in each for large quant.i.ties at each of these holidays, as well as considerable quant.i.ties each week during the winter months. In the smaller places, from 5000 up, there will be found a demand for the meat, so that the market for the carca.s.ses as well as fur, is one that will always be open. Prices at which the carca.s.ses sell will of course vary, depending to some extent upon the supply of other meats, as well as the times, etc.

When it is taken into consideration that the litters are large; that they eat cheap food; their growth is rapid and that the pelt is extra, does not this animal promise to lead as a money maker over some of the other and higher priced fur-producers?

In the lat.i.tude of West Virginia, the young are born about the middle of April. In two months, or by June fifteenth, they are about the size of rats and always "gaining." Six months later, or December fifteenth, if well fed and cared for, they will weigh from nine to fifteen pounds. By this it will be seen that at only eight months old--born April fifteenth and killed December fifteenth--they have attained sizes ranging from medium to large.

The males should be kept by themselves, at least from the time the young are born, until they are two months of age or older. The female, with her large family, should be given plenty of food from the time the young are a few days old until weaned, as she requires a great deal of food to satisfy her cravings and to supply the numerous young.