How to grow a mink at home?

Keeping minks can be really profitable. There are still not many farmers in our country who breed these fur-bearing animals. At the moment in Russia there are only about 30 farms of this specialization. In principle, keeping such fur-bearing animals is a relatively simple matter. However, successful breeding of minks in Russia, as in any other country in the world, is possible, of course, only if the farmer has certain knowledge and skills.

The value of mink skins

At the moment, farms specializing in raising these animals are the main suppliers of material for the country's fur industry. It is mink that is most often used in Russia for sewing fur coats, hats, collars, scarves and even mittens. The demand for such fur is actually very high. This is explained primarily by his truly unique qualities.

In the wild, minks, the breeding and maintenance of which should be carried out, of course, taking into account the biological characteristics of their body, live mainly in the northern regions of Russia. Thick fur helps these animals stay warm in winter. A thick air gap is created between the hairs of the animal's skin, which does not allow cold to pass through. Thickness is not the only advantage of mink fur, however. All hairs of the skin of these animals have exactly the same length. Therefore, the mink fur looks velvety and noble.

The price for one such untreated skin is about 120 rubles per 100 cm2. But this figure is, of course, approximate. The real cost of mink skins depends on two main factors - the quality of the fur itself and its shade.

Breeds and varieties

Most often in artificial nurseries, including in Russia, Scandinavian mink is kept. Breeding it is an easy task, since this variety is very unpretentious. In the wild, there are only two groups of minks - European and American. Scandinavian, in fact, is a variety of the latter. As for the breeds, their breeders have bred a huge number of them. On farms, for example, mink can be bred:

• piano-pastel (brown);

• Finnish topaz (light brown);

• American palomino (beige), etc.

In particular, silver-blue, sapphire, iris and the like are considered valuable species among farmers. The skins of the rare white Hetlunds are also very expensive. Breeding mink at home will be most beneficial when choosing exactly blue and white breeds. But the purchase of such manufacturers will cost, of course, more.

What a novice farmer needs to know

Minks are kept, like rabbits, most often in cages installed in special open rooms - sheds. The latter are, in fact, a simple canopy without any kind of fencing. In winter, minks should be kept in conditions as close to natural as possible. That is, to put it simply, in the cold. Otherwise, their fur will not be so beautiful and thick.Since in the wild these animals live in burrows, small insulated houses are installed for them in each cage.

Unlike the same rabbit, the mink is a predatory animal. This, of course, should be taken into account when choosing feed. As the latter, farmers usually use fish, meat and chicken waste mixed with various kinds of premixes.

Minks reproduce quickly enough. A good female can produce up to 16 cubs at a time. But most often there are 5-7 babies in a litter.

How to make calculations

Breeding of minks will be successful, of course, only if the entrepreneur prepares a detailed business plan for the farm beforehand. The initial capital of a person who wants to organize such an enterprise must be large enough. The construction of the shed itself will not cost too much. But for the manufacturers, of course, you will have to pay a tidy sum.

It is believed that raising mink at home as a business can only be profitable if the farm maintains at least 20 females. The cost of one such individual of the usual brown color is about 3,000 rubles. For each male you will have to pay about 2300 rubles. Of course, there should be several such producers on the farm. In one day during the rut, the male can cover no more than three future queens. Thus, just for the purchase of producers, a novice farmer will have to spend at least 60-70 thousand rubles.

Mink feed will, of course, also be quite expensive. In fact, the success of the enterprise will depend on whether the farmer can find their cheap supplier or not. Most often, mink breeders enter into contracts with poultry farms for the supply of giblets. Calculations should be made based on the fact that one female should receive 40-60 g of meat with bones per day, and the male should receive 60-80 g.

Very often, farmers add minks and fish to their feed. This allows you to slightly reduce maintenance costs. However, when using such an additive, it should be borne in mind that its total share in the diet of animals should not exceed 40%.

Where should a mink farm be located?

When choosing a place to build a shed, an entrepreneur should, of course, comply with certain SES standards. Of course, a mink is not a pig. But the smell from a farm that specializes in breeding these animals can be quite unpleasant. According to the standards, if the farm contains up to 50 females, the distance from it to the nearest residential building should be at least 30 m.With a larger number of animals, this figure increases to 60 m.

Of course, the shed should be built where it is possible to connect to power lines. The farm will also need a lot of water. Therefore, it is worth choosing a place for the shed where it does not lie too deep. In this case, drilling the well will be cheaper.

Of course, the farm should be located in a location with convenient access roads. After all, the breeding of minks involves the delivery of a large amount of feed, hay, sawdust, etc. to the farm. The skins will also need to be removed from the farm.

Construction works

To build, in fact, the shed itself, of course, will not be difficult. To build this structure, you just need to put up the pillars and cover them with a two- or lean-to canopy. However, the shed is not the whole farm. A novice breeder will also need to build structures designed for slaughtering animals and storing equipment and feed. You will also have to build a small quarantine block.

If the farm contains 20 animals, the owner will be able to take care of them, of course, on his own. More animals will likely need to hire additional staff. In this case, the farm will need to provide, including a change house with a changing room and a shower.

Breeding minks at home: what should be the cells?

The size of the shed, of course, will depend primarily on the number of animals raised. Cages in such structures are installed close to each other, in one tier, in several rows. The sizes of these mink dwellings may vary. But in any case, the length of the cage should not be less than 70 cm, and the width - 30 cm.The most comfortable frame height for a mink is considered to be 45 cm.

In most cases, farm owners purchase ready-made mink cages. However, if desired, such equipment can be made independently. They make cages for these animals from a bar and a metal mesh with a cell size of 25x25 mm. Mink houses are most often knocked down from boards or plywood. A feeder and a drinker are hung on the door of each cage.

Minks are not afraid of cold weather. However, in order for the animals to feel comfortable, it is imperative to put bedding on the bottom of each cage. It is usually made from equal amounts of wood shavings, hay and straw. In the future, the litter, of course, will have to be changed periodically. On average, one mink requires about 40 kg of a mixture of hay, straw and shavings per year.

Features of feeding minks

Breeding mink as a business will bring tangible profits, of course, only if the animal ration is properly developed. Meat and fish of any variety are given to these animals exclusively with bones and veins. Adult animals are usually fed twice a day. Youngsters are given food 3-4 times a day. Ease of feeding minks lies primarily in the fact that these animals never overeat. You should not be afraid to overfeed them.

In addition to fish and waste products of poultry farms, minks can be given specially prepared factory dry food, beef, lamb, game and mice. Do not feed these animals sausages, sweets, salty foods, canned food, citrus fruits, dairy products and anything fried. Only seafood can be given to minks.

Breeding animals

Breeding minks will not be successful if the owner of the farm does not take care of periodically renewing and increasing his stock. Mink rut begins in March. It is possible to determine that an individual is ready for mating by its characteristic rumbling. The mating of these animals is allowed from the age of 11 months. The offspring of queens covered in March appear by the beginning of May. During pregnancy, females eat much more than they normally would. This, of course, must be taken into account by the farmer. If a pregnant mink does not receive enough nutrients and vitamins, its young will be born weak and sickly. It will be impossible to get good skins from them in the future. Pregnant minks should be fed ad libitum. Of course, you need to pay maximum attention to the development of the menu for male producers. It should be as diverse as possible.

Mink farm owners usually start preparing for childbirth from April 15th. At this time, the houses of the females are cleaned, treated with fleas and disinfected. Further, the females put more mixture of hay, straw and sawdust into the cage.

Mink cubs are born completely naked. They begin to acquire valuable fur only after some time. Therefore, the female's house in the cage must be well insulated. Only in this case, breeding mink at home will be successful. In a cold nest, puppies can easily catch colds and die.

Young growth care

At first, mink puppies feed exclusively on breast milk. The eyes of the cubs open approximately on the 25-30th day. On the 20th day, the puppies' teeth erupt. It is by this time that well-chopped food should be placed in the cage on a small metal plate. The uterus will independently carry it to the babies in the nest.

When the puppies are one month old, the female will start pulling them out to the trough.After a while, the cubs get used to going out to the tray themselves.

At 5-7 weeks of age, mink puppies become very voracious. If they do not have enough food at this time, they can gnaw each other or even kill and eat the female itself. The owner of the farm must take this into account, of course.

The lunge of young animals in minks is usually small. Some puppies die mostly only in the first week after giving birth.

Young minks are deposited from the uterus most often at the age of 1.5 months. Cages for young animals are prepared in advance. The puppies are seated one at a time or in pairs. Minks born in May are usually slaughtered in November.

Potential profit and feedback

You can get income from a farm of such a specialization in basically two ways - by selling animal skins, as well as by pedigree producers. Some owners of farms for breeding minks sell part of their young animals as pets. Mink breeding can bring a really big profit with the right organization of the farm.

Example of calculating costs and revenues

So how profitable can a mink farm be? Further, for clarity, we present to the reader's attention a few numbers for the nursery for 240 females and 60 males. Setting up a farm in this case usually costs about 4,200,000 rubles. At the same time, the annual expenses amount to about 2,891,000 rubles. Skins and sires can be sold in such a nursery for about 4,000,000 rubles per year. Thus, the farmer's net profit is 1,109,000 rubles / year.

Instead of a conclusion

Of course, 240 female heads is a lot. In most cases, entrepreneurs initially buy far fewer producers. But even a farm of 20 heads can be quite profitable. It is believed that from just one pair of minks you can get up to 120,000 rubles of income per year. Thus, this business is really quite profitable - mink breeding as a business. Reviews of such farms, of course, are mostly only good ones. But, as farmers believe, a lot of efforts will have to be made to maintain such a nursery. Otherwise, of course, it will not work to profit from breeding minks.

For people who want to organize their own business in livestock farming, I recommend taking a closer look at the idea of ​​breeding mink at home or a sable business.

Breeding mink as a business is a profitable activity that, if properly organized, will certainly bring you a stable and large income.

Mink is an animal that is very famous for its beautiful fur. Every woman dreams of a chic mink coat. Fur products of this animal are quite expensive, such fur coats and vests are worn only by rich people. A mink coat is not only very warm and beautiful, but also worn for many years without losing its presentation.

Not only fur coats are sewn from mink fur, but also hats, mittens, collars and scarves. The demand for fur is quite large, so its cost is considerable.

From this, many entrepreneurs are thinking about organizing a mink farm.

Breeding mink business plan

Successful entrepreneurs always draw up a clear business plan of action before embarking on an idea. This is necessary in order to calculate the profitability of an idea in a specific territory, the level of demand and competition, as well as to indicate the approximate amount of costs and the approximate payback period of the business. As an example, we advise you to look at the business plan for breeding rabbits.

Breeding mink at home

The mink is a small carnivorous animal of the weasel family. The animal is small in size up to 50 cm. Mink comes in a wide variety of colors from brown, black, to silver-blue. Interestingly, for the production of elite fur coats of world brands, the skins of only females are used, the quality of their fur is much higher than that of males.

Keeping animals

To keep these fluffy animals, you need to equip cages and a room. The cages can be made by yourself or made to order. It is important that there is enough free space for the mink, take care of the convenience of the animals. The cultivation of these wild animals requires free premises, so this type of income is suitable for people living in rural areas. If you are a resident of the city, we recommend that you start breeding dogs as a business at home.

The cage should have a house where the animal can hide from prying eyes. Also, put a special feeder for food, a drinker and a container of water, these predators love water treatments.

Minks are aggressive animals, so they need to be kept in separate cages. The length of this structure should be at least 60 centimeters, and more is possible, it all depends on your preferences. But even on such an area, predators will feel comfortable.

Feeding

Minks are predators by nature. When free, they feed mainly on small rodents, fish and birds. If you decide to start breeding mink at home, you must provide the animals with a complete, balanced diet. It should mainly consist of fresh meat, fish, plant foods and dairy products.

It is not worth feeding the mink with low-quality mast waste. It is best to breed rodents for these purposes, providing these predatory animals with a full, healthy diet.

You can also feed the minks with inexpensive fish that you can buy in bulk. But do not forget that these furry animals are prone to various diseases, and this is a risk for your business. Therefore, take care of the constant observation of minks at the veterinarian, also add vitamins to food for prevention. This will significantly increase the chances of survival of the offspring.

Business registration

Before starting your own business, you must register as a private entrepreneur or LLC. To breed minks, you need to obtain a license, as well as documents confirming the origin and assessment of the breeding and productive qualities of animals.

If you plan to carry out your detail as an individual entrepreneur, you must have the appropriate education (animal technician or animal engineer). If there is no education, then you need to register as an LLC and hire, for the position of your deputy, a person with the appropriate education.

In addition, the content of minks on your farm will be checked by the sanitary-epidemiological service, which must issue an opinion on whether you adhere to the rules and regulations.
After collecting and submitting documents within 60 days, the licensing authority makes a decision to issue or refuse a license, which is issued for 5 years.

Sales of products

This business does not require large primary investments. You can start small, buy a small stock and leave young females for breeding. Naturally, in this case, the payback period of the business will be longer, but with a lack of funds, this is a good way out of the situation.

Mink implementation options:

1. Selling live minks as pets or for divorce. Additionally, you can make money by selling minks for breeding. Also today, keeping these animals at home as pets is in vogue. But here you should not forget that the mink is a predatory and rather aggressive animal that is difficult to tame. The only way to domesticate a mink is to care for the cub from the moment of birth. It's almost impossible to tame an adult animal.
2. Sale of skins. You will receive the main income, of course, by selling this valuable fur. Fur factories and shops can become your clients. The prices for mink skins are quite high, everything will depend on the quality and a well-established distribution channel. Therefore, take care of this at the initial stage of the implementation of your idea;
3. Sewing fur products. If you own your own mink farm, you may well open a fur sewing factory. Thus, you can successfully invest your money and significantly increase your profits.

conclusions

First of all, I want to note that this business is profitable and quite promising, because the prices for fur are only growing every year.

An important condition for business success is a competent investment, it is also important to adhere to the technology of breeding, care and maintenance of furry animals. Without proper care, minks can get sick, and you will lose all livestock and doom your business to failure.
A very important point is a competent sales market. It is important to find buyers in advance and, if possible, conclude a contract with them for the supply of products.

I wish you success!

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Recently, many commercial entities are giving preference to animal breeding. Although this kind of work is quite specific, for many it will become the basis of material support. It is worth noting that if you take into account all the nuances that are described in the regulatory framework, then you can easily achieve success in your field.

If we talk about animal husbandry as a form of business, then it is worth noting that the central role in this issue is played directly by the choice of the very subject of breeding. Today, every entrepreneur has the right to choose the type of animal that suits him best according to many criteria: the climate of the territory, conditions of detention, etc.

In this article, we tried to reveal the basic rules of doing business, the subject of which will be minks. How to properly arrange such a business and how to breed such animals will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Pros and cons of business

Before deciding to open such an activity, it is imperative that you familiarize yourself with the positive and negative aspects of such a business. After all, each activity has its own pitfalls, even if it brings huge profits. This rule applies to our situation as well.

So, the following advantages can be highlighted:

• The relevance of such a business... In this situation, we are talking about the fact that the activity itself is becoming popular in our time. The subject of breeding has a certain value and demand in the market. A huge number of clothing items and accessories are made from the fur of such animals. Almost every woman dreams of a mink fur coat. Therefore, as practice shows, there are no problems with the sale of goods.
• Ease of breeding... Compared to other animals, the main value of which is fur, mink quite simply lives in an artificial environment. The most important thing is to correctly formulate the minimum conditions for the existence of the animal, and then it will not only feel free, but also reproduce.

The disadvantages include:

• Complex preparatory process... Before starting to breed animals, it is necessary to prepare all the conditions for the possibility of carrying out such an activity. This consists both in the registration of all the necessary legal aspects of such a question, and directly in the actual actions themselves to create conditions for the life of the mink.
• Moreover, such initial preparation is quite costly... As a rule, the creation of premises for the life of furry animals requires a fairly substantial contribution.

Therefore, before finally deciding to engage in such a business, it is necessary to calculate all the strengths and weaknesses of this project. Based on the results of such actions, it is worth making a decision. If the start-up capital allows you to do everything quickly and efficiently, then there should be no doubts.

Where should you start?

Everyone who has finally decided that the sphere of his activity will be the breeding of fluffy rodents, asks the question of how to organize his business. In this situation, the answer is quite simple: every entrepreneur must draw up a business plan. Such a document establishes all the necessary provisions on the conduct of activities.

Competent drafting of the document will be the basis for a successful career. In order to write it, you can use two options:

• independent creation;
• work of specialists.

Each business entity has the opportunity and the right to independently compose step-by-step instructions for building their own business. To do this, you need to clearly prescribe what and why you need to do, how to act in a given situation. In addition, when creating a business plan, not only the main steps are described, but also all the nuances that require a certain solution in the task at hand.

If an entrepreneur, due to certain circumstances, cannot draw up such a document on his own, then he always has the opportunity to contact specialists.

Today, there are a huge number of companies on the service market that, for a certain fee, can easily create step-by-step instructions for building a business. In addition, they will not only describe all the actions in a stereotyped manner, but will also take into account all the nuances that the entrepreneur himself will provide. The only drawback of the second option is that such works have their own price, which is not always affordable for a novice businessman.

Breeding animals

It is quite important to understand exactly how minks breed. There is only one possibility of breeding such animals - this is the natural process of their replenishment. In this situation, you need to take into account all the basic rules for their reproduction and the features of such a process:

• First of all, every entrepreneur must know that a mink can become a mom or dad only after it reaches ten months. If the mating period of animals begins before reaching this age, then it is best to place them in another room, because it is simply pointless to wait for replenishment from them.
• The mating period itself falls on the month of March. It is during this period that sexual activity increases in minks, which leads to pregnancy of females. As a rule, babies are born after the moment of conception it will take 2-2.5 months... At the same time, it is rather difficult to determine the pregnancy of a female individual. Only 10 days before giving birth, the female's tummy begins to grow.
• During childbirth, about 6 puppies are born. All of them are quite helpless, so the first 40 days they always live with their mother. After this period, they can be transplanted into individual cells.

Room options

A huge number of questions arise about where it is better to breed minks. In principle, it is possible to do this at home, but it is not entirely convenient. Firstly, the area of ​​an apartment does not always accommodate the required number of cells. Secondly, the living of such an animal at home becomes not its breeding for the sake of business, but simply an aesthetic satisfaction as a pet.

Therefore, most entrepreneurs who decide to breed these animals create special farms. Although they are not very whimsical, they still require certain conditions for the content.

First of all, for rodents it is necessary build special cagesin which they will live permanently. An entrepreneur can make such houses on his own. The most important thing here is to assume that the size of the cells should be less than the size of the animal itself.

If it is not possible to create a cage with your own efforts, then it can always be purchased in specialized stores. As a rule, these are markets that sell a variety of products for animals.A huge number of them place their entire assortment on the Internet, which greatly simplifies the task for each buyer.

Room equipment

It is also important to decide what exactly should be in such a cage. As each person equips his apartment or house, so any animal wants to improve their home. In this situation, many devices are not needed for minks:

• First of all, you need to tackle the base - the bedding of the cage. In most cases, hay is used. If we talk about houses for newborn babies, then it is best to use soft wood shavings.
• In addition, you can combine cells with each other and create transitions. This will allow the animals to spend time actively.
• Great importance must be devoted to "cutlery". In the corners of each cage, you need to place containers for food and water. At the same time, they should stand in a place that will not only be easily accessible to humans, but also outside the place of activity of the animal itself.
• If we talk about a recreation area, then the mink will choose it herself. From bedding or shavings, she paving a nest for herself, where she then sleeps. The animal also determines the place where its offspring will see the light.

Purchase, care and feeding

It is quite important to know where is the best place to buy animals for breeding. Today, such actions can be carried out on specialized farms for breeding such animals... It is best to go there on your own and make sure that the animals had a normal place of residence and were provided with everything they needed. This will give you confidence that the health of the mink is normal and that there will be no problems with it. At the same time, it is best to independently choose animals from the entire assortment.

If we talk about caring for minks, then it is worth noting that they are not squeamish. It will be enough to feed them on time and change the bedding.

Breeding requires special knowledge during the period when animals mate, special conditions are created that facilitate this process. In this situation, we are talking about the separation of individuals that are sexually mature from babies.

Special attention should be paid to feeding. Here you need to proceed from the fact that the mink itself is a carnivore, which in the natural environment has a fairly diverse diet. It must be taken into account without fail when keeping the animal in artificial conditions.

The basis of the diet should be fresh meat, cereals, milk and fish... In no case should these animals be fed with waste. This will affect both their coat and overall health. If it is not possible to independently calculate the nutritional balance, you can purchase food. Today there is a huge range of food for minks, which greatly simplifies the procedure in terms of time and quality.

Product distribution channels

It is important to establish links with organizations to which the entrepreneur will sell products. As a rule, it is fur factories... They are happy to buy the wool they need.

If it is not possible to find a companion on your own, then you can always turn to intermediaries for help. Today in the market of services there are a huge number of firms that are engaged in establishing relations between the manufacturer and the distributor. The only negative is that such persons take a certain part of the profit.

Total costs and revenues

It is worth noting that this business is quite profitable. As practice shows, within several seasons an entrepreneur can cover all his expenses for the initial opening of a business.

It all depends on how many individuals there are, and how quickly they reproduce. It should be noted here that the skin of one animal costs from 100 to 200 dollars... Therefore, you yourself understand that the self-sufficiency of such a business is quite high.

Doing Business Videos

The video provides valuable information about the content of these animals:

Table of contents:

• General information about mink
• Basic colors of minks
• Tips for keeping minks in cages
• Feeding Tips for Minks
• Mink Breeding and Breeding Tips
• Mink breeding business plan
• Organization of sales of finished products

General information about mink

Mink is one of the most valuable fur animals that can be raised in captivity. These animals are almost the most important "suppliers" of fur for sewing various accessories and clothing. Almost every woman dreams of a mink coat, as it has long been an indicator of the status of its owner. Hats, scarves, collars, mittens are made from mink fur. Therefore, the demand for the fur of these animals is very high. The peculiarity of these animals is that they take root very well in captivity. And if you are planning to organize your own business, then breeding minks is a very profitable and promising business plan option. Breeding and raising minks is a very profitable business. Having correctly built a plan for this business, you will have a stable income.

Where to start a mink breeding business? First, it is necessary to strictly follow the business plan drawn up in advance. For help in drawing up such a business plan, you can turn to specialists, or you can yourself outline ways to build a business and implement your own business plan. Secondly, it is necessary to study the features of these animals, their species.

The mink is a carnivorous animal of the marten family, small in size, 40-50 cm (without a tail). The fur is smooth, short, smooth, rather shiny, has a thick undercoat. There are more than 300 different shades of colors in the world. The most popular are brown, black, silver-blue and sapphire mink.

It is known that each trait of an animal or plant is determined by a corresponding gene. The color of a dark brown ordinary mink is determined by 20 genes, of which 14 are dominant (suppressing action over others) and 6 recessive (suppressed by dominant genes). As a rule, this is taken into account in fur farms and state fur farms.

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Basic colors of minks

1. The dark brown standard mink is the main form from which a variety of color groups are obtained as a result of mutation and combination when crossing. She makes up 33.9% of the total number of females of the entire herd of the animal husbandry and takes first place.
2. Jet is a black mink. This dominant mutation appeared in Canada in 1963-1964. Reproduces very well. Average fertility is 4-5 puppies.
3. The silver-blue mink is one of the most famous and common colored minks on farms. The herd of females on fur farms makes up 39.3% of the total population. These minks are above average in size.
4. Sapphire mink - obtained by crossing silver-blue with Aleutian mink. She has a blue smoky color. The average fertility of the mink is 4-5 puppies, the survival rate of the offspring is 87.6%.
5. Pastel - This color resembles the brown standard mink, but because of that. that her fluff casts blue, she is much more beautiful. The color varies from light brown to blue-brown with a touch of chocolate. The average fertility of a herd of mink of this species is 6 puppies, the survival rate of the offspring is 86-90%, sometimes these indicators can be even higher.

An interesting fact: fur coats, hats, collars made of female fur are valued much more expensive than male fur, so the skins of females are used to make models of world brands.

The European mink is considered a rare animal. This species is listed in the Red Book. But its congeners - the American mink - are more common and excellent for breeding in order to generate income from the sale of its fur.

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Tips for keeping minks in cages

For the successful development of your own mink breeding business, an important issue is the construction or purchase of cages and premises for minks. Cages and rooms for keeping and breeding minks can be very diverse. You can do home business by placing cells in one of the rooms of your house or apartment. But, of course, you must understand that you will not be able to get a full-fledged business at home and you will hardly be able to get a lot of income. It will feel more like caring for a pet, such as a cat, dog, or guinea pig. Just for fun. Growing and breeding these animals in small volumes is completely unprofitable. Therefore, based on the above, we will talk about a more or less large-scale organization of animal production.

The first thing you need is a piece of land in order to build at least a small farm. You are very lucky if you live outside the city or own your own house with a plot of land. In such conditions, it is possible to organize the entire process of growing minks right in your yard, by building special cages for this. The size of the cage must be sufficient for this. so that the animals can move freely, because minks are quite active and mobile animals. They are often compared to cats. In the cage, it is imperative to place a house where minks can hide (since in natural conditions they live in deep burrows). Therefore, it is imperative to place drinkers, a feeder and a small container of water, since minks love to swim and bathe. Pay special attention to the fact that all the elements that you placed in the cages are well fixed, otherwise the animals are all turned upside down.

The cells in the cages intended for the placement of the mink should be 2-2.7 cm in diameter. But there is one caveat here. Adult animals cannot slip into such small cells, but newborn animals can quite easily fall into the hole and fall out of the cage. Therefore, young individuals are placed in separate cages with small cells or boxes.

If you find it difficult to make cells yourself, then you can purchase ready-made cells at quite reasonable prices. So, a nine-seat cage can cost about 10,000 rubles. But remember that minks are quite aggressive animals, so it is better to settle them in separate cages.

The cages are best placed under awnings. Thus, the dwelling of animals will be protected from inclement weather, rain, wind, it will be less polluted. Minks do not tolerate the hot season well. In winter, the premises do not need heating.

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Feeding Tips for Minks

The mink is a carnivore. In the wild, these are unsurpassed hunters. Their diet includes rodents, various small animals that they catch, as well as birds and fish. If you plan to breed minks at home, then you need to know that these animals need to be fed with fresh meat, fish, cereals, use special dry food and dairy products.

With proper feeding, minks practically do not get sick. It is better not to feed the mink with waste, as this badly affects the fur, its color and quality. It is better to give them live food, for example, laboratory mice, which can also be bred on their own. Mice can be fed with the cheapest cereals. This is a very good economic effect that will only bring profit to your business. Mink eats on average one or half a mouse per day. You can feed the minks with inexpensive fish. If any mink has died, it can also be fed to its other relatives.

In addition to all of the above, minks must be fed with vitamin supplements, since they are very susceptible to infection with all kinds of diseases. The most unpleasant thing about this is that the disease spreads like an epidemic.In a matter of days, all livestock can become infected and die. Then your business may fail. But if you have studied everything perfectly and made a clear plan of activities, then this can be avoided.

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Mink Breeding and Breeding Tips

Breeding of minks must be carefully organized and planned. In spring, as a rule, in March, minks start rutting. Minks reach sexual maturity by 10 months. Mating of animals takes place in March, and usually puppies in the second half of April or early May. It is rather difficult to determine pregnancy by its appearance in minks. Approximately 10-15 days before giving birth, the belly of females increases in size. Hay or soft shavings can be used as bedding in the nest where the offspring will be placed. The brood usually has an average of 5-6 puppies. Animals are born helpless, deaf and blind. For the first one to two weeks, the puppies are in the nest and feed on their mother's milk. When the puppies reach the age of 17-20 days, the mother begins to carry food to the nest, by this time the puppies are already trying to eat on their own. When teaching newborn cubs to feeding, food must be placed in the house. When the babies are 40 days old, they are separated from their mother.

From September to November, winter fur grows in animals, it is this that has the greatest value, therefore, in the period from November to December, animals are selected and slaughtered to obtain valuable fur, which will be the main way of income in your business. In autumn, in order to maintain the mink population, individuals are selected that are most suitable for breeding. At this time, competent work on selection is important, which will be aimed at improving and maintaining the quality of fur, animal breeds, for their further breeding. The duration of keeping and growing minks does not exceed 5.5-6 years, because in the future, the quality of fur and the ability of animals to reproduce are significantly deteriorated in animals.

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Mink breeding business plan

As mentioned above, in order for mink breeding to bring a stable income, you must have a clear plan. And if you have accurate calculations and have made a plan, then opening this business will not be difficult. According to experts, the maintenance of one animal on average takes 65-70 rubles per month.

Skins prices can range from $ 20 to $ 200.

With the necessary equipment, one person can maintain a farm for 1000 females.

If you have twenty females and three males, then you can get about 120 heads during the year.

Thus, to get 1500 skins per year, 300 females must be bred. Under these conditions, your business, designed according to the plan, will undoubtedly be profitable.

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Organization of sales of finished products

The most difficult thing is to find a buyer for your product. Remember that your job is to follow a well-written plan for your business exactly. There are three ways to do this. First, you can sell live animals. Sometimes people buy minks as a pet, or budding farmers can become your potential clients. The second option is the sale of skins. This option is quite laborious, but at the same time beneficial in terms of making money, since animals are valued primarily because of their fur. And the last sales option - the most difficult one - is sewing and providing finished products for sale. It is also important to have a plan for attracting specialists in tailoring, a plan for the implementation of an advertising campaign. Which option to choose is up to you personally, of course. By successfully implementing your mink farming business plan, you will have no shortage of finances. Good luck!