Growing mink as a business. Mink breeding

Mink breeding as a business. Farm for growing and breeding minks. A mink farm can be built on your own personal plot without any special expenses, profit from the sale of fur skins can be obtained in the first year of growing minks.

Mink is a predator of the mustelid family, has an elongated body and smooth, short, soft, thick fur. Minks come in various colors, most often black, white, sapphire, blue, red, jaguar and leopard. Minks are bred on an industrial scale and at home; these animals can live and breed in captivity.

The canopy protects the animals from the sun and rain,

at the same time, minks are constantly outdoors.

Frosty winters are not afraid of animals, they are protected by thick fur. IN natural conditions these animals live in burrows, so houses are installed in cages for them, which are a box with a hole for entry. A tray, a drinking bowl, a feeder are installed in the cage

Breeding and cultivation of minks.

The mating period of minks begins in early March, on these days the male is placed in a cage with the female 2 times a day for 2 to 3 hours. One male can usually cover up to 3 females per day. Pregnancy of females lasts an average of 1.5 - 2 months, a female can bring from 1 to 16 puppies in a litter, more often 5 - 7. It is believed that a female can fully feed no more than 6 cubs with milk, so if there is another female with a small litter, then Some of the puppies are placed next to her. The female puppies in a house, which is placed in a cage; you should first put a bed of dry hay in the house.

Mink babies are born blind, their eyes open after 4 weeks. The first days puppies eat only mother's milk, from 3 weeks of age they begin to eat food brought by their mother. At the age of 1.5 months, the puppies are separated from their mother, the entire brood is placed in one cage, later, as they grow, the young are seated separately in cages, this is due to the fact that the minks often fight among themselves.

The slaughter of minks intended for skinning begins in November, first of all, minks go for skinning white color, then the blue and brown group and at the very end of the standard color. Slaughter should be carried out on time in time, this is due to a change in the quality and color of the fur during this period.

Mink feeding.

Mink is a predator wild nature feeds mainly on small rodents, birds and fish, so the basis of the diet should be food of animal origin. Mink farms have their own feed kitchens where feed is prepared. Mink food is a mixture of minced meat and fish waste with the addition of porridge, eggs and premixes.

Small fish, meat waste, offal are used for food preparation. poultry, geese, ducks, chickens. On fur farms from waste, chicken giblets from poultry farms are often used, slaughtered into minced meat with the addition of premixes.

Some fur farms also use regular laboratory mice as feed, which are raised to feed minks.

Owners of home mink farms buy small sprat, fish waste, expired fish at a low price at fish bases. Fish food should be no more than - 40% of the total diet.

As an additional feeding, you can use dairy products.

Mink breeding as a business.

If you want to start growing and breeding mink, the first thing to start with is to look for cheap feed. A business is worth starting if it is possible to get food at a poultry farm, a fish base. Most of the owners of small domestic mini-mink farms are also engaged in the cultivation of poultry - chickens, geese, ducks. When poultry is slaughtered, offal is fed to animals. Access to cheap feed is the backbone of a successful mink business.

The next step will be building a shad, making cages and purchasing animals.

Cells are usually made independently from a metal fine mesh.

Scheme for making cells.

Mink can be purchased at fur farms, at a price of $80 - $150 per animal. It should be remembered that moving is stressful for animals, therefore it is not recommended to buy pregnant females, they endure the move the most restlessly and may lose offspring. Best Option there will be a purchase of young stock in summer period or more adults by autumn. During the winter, the minks will get used to the new place of residence and in March they will be completely ready for mating.

Farm for growing and breeding mink: profit.

The main income from the farm comes from the sale of fur skins and from the sale of minks for brood.

The wrought skins are purchased by private traders engaged in tailoring fur products.

The cost of mink fur skins depends on the quality of the dressing of the skin, on the quality of the fur, and also on the color, the most expensive white, black and gray, red and brown are less valued. The approximate price of good skins is from $50 to $200. For example, for sewing a women's fur coat, you will need 25 - 30 skins, sewing a fur coat will cost 2 - 3 times cheaper than buying in a store.

You can also get a good profit from the sale of minks for brood, the cost of one animal is about $ 100.

Breeding minks in artificial conditions as a business is considered a promising direction. Mink is a small predatory animal that has a different color (from black to pearl). Not all colors are in the same demand, so when planning to start this business, you can choose one of the directions:

breeding a large number animals of the most common colors;
breeding animals of rare colors (for example, sapphire). The cost of such fur is several times more expensive.

So, how to breed minks at home?

Before starting a mink breeding business, you should carefully analyze the positive and negative aspects.

Advantages:

the business is relevant, the products are in demand;
when creating minimally comfortable conditions for breeding, the animals will multiply rapidly.

Flaws:

long period of preparation;
requires a large initial investment.

You need to decide what kind of labor will be used on the farm (manual or automated). This is affected by the number of animals and the number of workers.

If workers can take care of animals without using automation processes, there is no need to invest additional funds. A veterinarian is required (he may not be on the staff, but come if necessary).

Mink feeding

In nature, the mink's diet is diverse: birds, fish, small rodents. When breeding animals at home, it is important to provide them with a balanced diet. You can not feed minks with waste, this will affect the quality of the fur. Proper feeding will prevent the development of diseases and accelerate the growth of animals.

You need to know the rates of water and feed consumption per 1 mink (for an adult, ½ liter of water is required). For a year, 38 kg of waste is collected from each adult animal (16 kg from young animals).

Sales of products

There are several options for marketing:

sale of animals as pets;
sale of skins;
organization of tailoring of fur products.

With a population of less than 1000 animals, it is more profitable to sell live minks and animal skins, since large investments are not required. It is profitable for large farms to engage in the independent manufacture of fur products. To do this, you need to purchase equipment for dressing skins and sewing clothes from fur.

How to breed budgerigars at home and how profitable this type of business is, you can read

Home breeding of minks as a business: feedback from entrepreneurs

Olga:

The most expensive minks are gray and white, brown ones are less valued. We started with 3 males and 20 females, after a year there were already 120. They learned about the content of minks from books, there was no experience at that time. Several animals died, the rest live safely.

While we decided to increase the livestock. There are few expenses, we do everything ourselves, only we have to invite a veterinarian if there are problems with the health of animals.

Boris:

I have experience in growing mink (2 years). Difficulties arise with the creation of the main tribe. A lot of time is spent on the selection of parents to obtain high-quality offspring.

You also need to make a diet and take measures to prevent diseases. After creating a family and getting good offspring, the question of selling skins arises.

Intermediaries are trying to offer a penny for them, so it's better to organize a dressing.

Anatoly:

I don't have much experience, acquired 7 males and 23 females recently. I read a lot, I seem to know the theory, but not enough practice. So far I combine the maintenance of minks with the main work. The issue of marketing has not yet been resolved, but I know that there are intermediaries who both dress the skins and buy them without dressing.

As for the crisis, women did not wear less fur coats, hats and fur vests. Mink fur is perhaps the most popular now.

Business plan for breeding mink at home.

Sample business plan for breeding mink at home

The cost of an adult female is 3 - 4 thousand rubles, a male is 2.5 thousand rubles. The purchase of 200 animals will require 612.5 thousand rubles.
The cost of 1 cage is 2 thousand rubles, for 200 minks 400 thousand rubles.
Rent of premises (per year) 360 thousand rubles.
Livestock maintenance (per year) 450 thousand rubles.
Salary of workers (per year) 240 thousand rubles.

Total: 2062.5 thousand rubles.

Business profitability and payback period

One female brings 5 puppies a year, in a year the livestock will increase 5 times. After the sale of some animals (750 rubles per piece) and the sale of skins (2.5 thousand rubles per 1 piece), you can get 1,500 thousand rubles. Therefore, investments fully pay off in 2 years.

If the goal is primarily to increase the livestock, then profit is postponed for some time. The sale of dressed skins will bring more income (its cost is 3-4 thousand rubles). .

Business plan for breeding turkeys at home, as well as step-by-step instruction for its implementation contains

The mink breeding business will be successful if the technology of raising animals is carefully observed. Failure can befall the death of animals due to improper care. It is important to properly address the issue of marketing products.

Video instruction

For more practical information on breeding mink at home, see the following video with expert advice:

What woman does not dream of a mink coat? The fur of this animal is highly valued in the market, so the cultivation of mink is becoming quite profitable business. Over the past five years, the number of mink farming firms has increased five-fold, from seven to thirty-five organizations in sixteen regions of the country. There are over three hundred different colors mink fur. The most popular are products of black, brown and sapphire animals.

Today, together with our readers, we will consider mink breeding as a business, give all the numbers of interest and advice from experienced professionals.

First you need to prepare a business plan for breeding minks. In order not to waste your savings or investor money, calculate all the necessary expenses to start a business . According to statistics, 80% of business failures are caused by incorrect calculations or ignoring them altogether.

After you have seen all the items of expenditure and measured them with your budget, go to register your activities. To conduct this kind of business, you need to register as farming with the traditional form of taxation. This form allows you not to limit yourself in amounts and types of activities, plus it is beneficial for the buyer to purchase goods from a VAT payer for large deliveries.

After registration, you need to choose a room for your farm. Before that, you should estimate the scale of your business, that is, how many heads you are going to keep - five hundred or tens of thousands. At the first stages, it is recommended to purchase no more than two hundred minks, for this you will need to hire only a few assistants, which will reduce the initial costs. Automation is not needed at the first stages, professionals recommend purchasing equipment after purchasing one or two thousand animals (it is not profitable to maintain such a number of employees).

Mink breeding - profitable business, but a large start-up capital is required to start it

room

When choosing a room, it is necessary to take into account the recommendations of the fire, veterinary service, sanitary and epidemiological station, that is, the bodies that oversee the activities of the farm. It is necessary to bypass the territory near the water protection zone and residential buildings. With a population of two hundred heads, the minimum distance to the dwelling should be one hundred meters.

When choosing a room, it is also necessary to take care in advance how the animals will eat, how the household waste will be disposed of.

Minks should be kept in special cages. The size of the cages should be enough for the free movement of the animal, because the mink leads an active lifestyle. In the cage you need to place a house where the animal can hide. Near the house there should be a drinking bowl, a bath (minks love to swim) and a feeder. All items must be fixed, otherwise the active mink will turn everything upside down with pleasure.

The lattices of the cage should be 2-2.5 centimeters in diameter, adult minks will not crawl into such holes, and young animals can slip through. Therefore, young minks are planted in cages with small cells, boxes.

Minks do not tolerate heat, so the room should be located in the shade and not heated in winter.

Mink Care

Minks in the wild are excellent hunters, they feed on small rodents, birds, and fish. Therefore, it is imperative to include fresh meat, fish, dairy products, dry food and cereals in the diet of domestic minks.

Remember: Do not feed the mink with waste, this will affect the color and quality of its fur.

Proper nutrition will protect the animal from disease and accelerate growth. Laboratory mice are considered to be their ideal food product, which can be grown on the same farm on their own or purchased. To count the number of mice, it is necessary to understand that the mink masters one or two mice per day. Cheap fish is also a good option for their diet. In the event of the death of a mink, it can also be given to relatives for lunch.

In addition to the main food, animals need vitamins and supplements, because their body cannot cope with possible diseases, and they can easily infect other individuals. In the event of an epidemic, your business will fail, so be safe, consult with veterinarians about vaccines and vitamins.

The amount of waste from an adult animal per year is thirty-eight kilograms, from young animals - sixteen kilograms.

Bedding (hay, straw, sawdust) for an adult animal takes up to 30 kilograms per year, for young animals - no more than 4 kilograms.

Remember: It is necessary to store the material under the litter in a place inaccessible to rodents. Do not use material damaged by pests or mold as a bedding for minks.

Minks reach sexual maturity by 10 months;
Animals mate in March, and whelp in late April - early May;
To determine pregnancy in females, pay attention to their abdomen, it increases about two weeks before birth;
The ideal bedding for offspring will be hay and soft shavings;
The offspring is born helpless, deaf and blind. Therefore, for the first 20 days, the mother must be with the brood in the nest, feeding the animals with her milk;
The greatest value is the winter fur, which grows from November to December. At this time, animals are selected for slaughter to obtain skins.
The selection of individuals for breeding is carried out in the fall, competent breeding work will help maintain the mink population, as well as preserve the breed;
Minks older than six years are not used for breeding, as the quality of their fur is deteriorating.

Skin preparation

It is unprofitable for the owner of a small farm to carry out dressing on his own, because this requires expensive equipment. Therefore, farmers often harvest raw skins. But you need to prepare the skin of a mink in a certain way. To do this, it is necessary to separate the inner part of the skin from meat and fat, spread it on a flat surface with the fur down and fill the mezdra (inner part) well with salt. After that, you need to leave the skin to dry for one or two days.

Remember: You cannot store the skin without salt treatment! The process of rotting and hair loss will begin.

Sales routes

There are several types of mink marketing:

Sale of live animals (as pets);
Realization of mink skin (for factories that deal in fur products);
Independent production of fur products.

For an average farm with a thousand or fewer animals, it is more promising to sell skins and live animals, this will not require large cash injections. Self-manufactured fur products begin to deal large farms which have automated work with animals, have equipment for dressing skins, and it is possible to hire personnel for tailoring fur products.

Farm expenses and income

In order to consider the profitability of this business, let's turn to the costs of starting the project and possible income.

The price of an adult female ranges from three to four thousand rubles, the male will cost two and a half thousand. The ratio of the number of males and females is one to five (there can be five females per male). That is, out of 200 minks purchased in our example, 35 can be males, and 175 females. In total, six hundred and twelve and a half thousand rubles are needed for the purchase of livestock.

One cage for a mink costs about two thousand rubles, which is another half a million rubles in addition to the starting costs. The rent of the premises is on average - thirty thousand per month, which is three hundred and sixty thousand per year. According to experts, on average, one mink a month costs one hundred rubles. That is, the cost of annual livestock maintenance is two hundred and fifty thousand.

One female a year gives offspring up to 5 puppies, that is, in a year the farmer has the opportunity to increase the livestock four times. Some of the resulting offspring can be sold, and some can be used for skinning. The price of mink skins is two hundred rubles per square decimeter, a whole young skin costs about two thousand rubles. The young animal itself is usually sold for seven hundred to eight hundred rubles.

The salary of the workers who will feed the animals and clean the cages will take two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand rubles a year.

That is, when selling the first offspring of young animals and their skins, the farmer will gain from one to one and a half million rubles. This means that the business will pay off after two years of operation of the farm.

Summarizing all of the above, it should be noted that the mink breeding business requires a large initial capital and compliance with breeding and cultivation technology. The biggest risk of failure in this business lies in the death of animals with improper care. Therefore, if you decide to start breeding minks, then be patient and hire a veterinarian on staff who will keep the offspring healthy.

At all times, animal husbandry has been profitable and ancient species human activity. Nowadays, people even breed wild animals at home. There is always an increased demand for this type of product, so animal breeding is very popular and profitable.

Mink is a small predatory animal that belongs to the mustelid family and has very valuable fur. Mink skin is actively used for tailoring outerwear and a wide variety of other accessories. Fur coats, mink hats are considered very beautiful, valuable and warm. Who doesn't want a mink coat? But in order for this product to be considered truly beautiful, high-quality and spectacular, the mink needs special care and proper nutrition. IN modern world many people think about small business that can generate a steady income. Breeding a mink at home is a profitable and profitable business. Now this animal is even started at home as a pet. Usually this process occurs in two directions:

when bred female and male individuals of various different colors;
when animals are bred rare flower e.g. pearl. The fur of unique individuals will cost much more than ordinary colors.

How to do business?

To engage in this business, special specific conditions are not needed. But you need to pay attention all the time. To begin with, if you still decide to engage in this business, you need to decide whether everything will happen on your farm with the help of special automatic machines or you will hire employees to work. If you can find skilled workers who can easily do their job without machines, then, of course, this kind of work will cost you less than automating the process. But, if you plan to increase the number of animals over time, then soon you will simply not be able to grow these animals without special machines.

At the initial stage, it is necessary to carefully and carefully study the most diverse literature on breeding these animals at home, view useful and entertaining videos on the Internet about the behavior of these predators. And the important point will be, of course, drawing up a business plan. In the natural environment of minks, there are over 300 species and colors. They are all obtained by different crossing.

What minks are chosen for business?

Most often, people are breeding at home the American individual. The most common colors are: dark brown, silver - blue, ordinary black, sapphire, pastel. Black color is considered the most common and practical. But gray-blue mink or pastel will be much more expensive and spectacular. For the process, it is recommended to have from 25 to 450 females. The ratio of the calculation of females and males on the farm is approximately the following: there should be 0.2 males per 1 female. And in this proportion, about 5 young animals are obtained.

A juvenile is considered to be under 8 months of age. The process of growing minks goes on until the transition of the individual to the adult stage. At the end of February, the rutting process takes place and lasts about two weeks. Fertilization occurs from the second mid-April to mid-May. Pregnancy in females lasts from one to almost three months. When the cubs are about a month old, one and a half, they need to be placed in separate cages. Adult minks are kept in separate cages. A very important point is the control of the temperature in the room in which the minks live. If the temperature exceeds 30 degrees, the fur may lose its beautiful appearance.

The cage needs to be spacious enough and large enough to accommodate the animal's house freely and have room for walking. Minks are quite aggressive animals, therefore, when placing them in cages, all norms, sizes and material for the cage must be observed. The height of the cage should be more than 40 cm. Also, there should be various central and transverse passages inside the room. Cells are made from metal mesh.

The main materials needed for breeding minks at home:

a place to prepare food;
the place where the slaughter of the animal and the process of processing the skin will take place;
the room must be fenced around the perimeter;
the farm must be provided with sewerage, electricity, heat and a constant supply of water;
on a farm where mink is grown, warehouses and household premises must be present;
there should be special platforms and sheds so that manure and peat can be stored.

Organizational issue

Before you start organizing a mink business, you need to right place place a construction site and coordinate all actions with all authorities, register with special authorities as a private entrepreneur or company. You can not build a farm in places close to residential buildings. These unique animals do not tolerate the bustle and noise of the city. If you plan to keep from 20 to 50 females on the farm, then the distance from the house should be at least 30 meters. If from 50 to 250 females, then the distance from the house should be about 60 meters. Or if the most is more than 250, then the distance must be more than 90 meters.

Breeding mink as a business is a very profitable business that can bring great profits. But before the start of any event, it is imperative to draw up a competent business plan, calculate the costs of arranging a farm, keeping and feeding animals, and recycling waste. All goods can be organized into shops, factories and other places that sell fur products and sew fur coats and hats.

The norms under which the normal cultivation of an individual occurs

The approximate water consumption for 1 female is about 7 liters, for 1 cub 0.7 liters and for an adult 0.5 liters. In one year, about 38 kilograms of manure is obtained from adults and 16 from young animals. The main food for minks: meat, various dairy products, fish, special feed, cake, fish meal, fish oil, meat and bone meal, fodder yeast. As bedding, the animal needs hay, special wood shavings or straw. It needs to be changed when it gets dirty. Cereals do not need to be processed and minks love live mice. You can buy them in ordinary pet stores or grow them yourself.

Minks are very fond of chicken meat, even with bones. Dairy products must be present in the mink's diet, for them this is a real delicacy. Low-fat cottage cheese is very useful for teeth and skeletal formation. For one adult, about 30 kilograms of bedding is needed per year. For young individuals, about 4. You need to carefully monitor the quality of the litter. Damp, moldy litter should not be used for animals. In order for the dressing of the skin to be of high quality, you must either purchase special equipment, which costs a lot of money, or hand over the skins at a good price to wholesale customers.

The mink is a very active animal.

Likes to swim and take baths. That is why, in order to ensure the full and profitable cultivation individuals, do not forget about the presence of a bathing container in the cage. Water must be clean, not hot, at medium room temperature. The pool can be purchased at a pet store or you can make your own. It must be remembered that the container for water procedures must be made of strong material so that the mink cannot bite through it with its teeth. An important point in growing minks is the constant deworming and regular necessary vaccinations. You can keep a veterinarian on the farm or invite him on some days to save money. Minks often suffer from the same diseases as dogs.

Skin processing

How is the process of processing the skin? You need to take the animal in your hands only in special gloves, since the mink is still a wild aggressive animal. After removing the skin, you need to very carefully process the inside of fat and meat and spread it on a flat and clean surface with the fur down to cool. After it has completely cooled, the surface is sprinkled with salt and left for several days. You can use another option and dip the treated skins into a saline solution, lay them out on a surface to dry. You can not store the skin without treating it with saline. The process of decay and loss of fur may begin.

In fact, the process of growing mink does not require a huge investment of money. To begin with, you can start increasing the heads of young females and after a while the number of individuals on the farm will gradually increase. You can sell the raw skin, but the price for it will be significantly lower than for the processed one. It all depends on the demand in your area. An adult female is slightly more expensive than a male. She brings about 5 cubs a year. If all the cubs survive and you sell the cubs, you will already receive good profit. To optimize the breeding process and get more profit, you can determine part of the offspring for sale, and use part to obtain skins.

Of course, doing this for the first time, get ready for a small profit in the beginning, because the profit from the first skins sold will go to feed and livestock.

Rules and Regulations

If you correctly follow all the norms and technologies, actively participate in the process of doing business, then you can earn a good fortune by breeding minks. The most important criteria that you need to pay attention to when conducting this type of activity:

for a good start and a successful business, you need to buy at least 20 female minks;
one person can safely take care of 50 animals. If the number of individuals increases, it is necessary to hire additional employees or automate the process;
keeping minks is allowed only in separate cages to preserve the quality of the fur due to their natural aggressiveness;
it is necessary to adhere to the established norms and the correct coefficients: there should be 0.2 males per 1 female and 5.1 young animals in one herd;
individuals reach maturity after 10 months, so the mating process should fall on initial days Martha. Within two months, the female bears cubs and in one litter can bring about 5-6 puppies;
one and a half months after birth, the young must be transplanted into separate cells;
fur starts to appear last days September, and already in early November, young individuals are selected for slaughter;
the best and most effective period for keeping these animals is from 5 to 6 years.

One of difficult questions is the market. There is either the option of selling live individuals, or selling skins. The minks will be bought by the same farmers who are engaged in the same business. They will pick up mink puppies in bulk. But because we live in today's world, many people buy minks as pets, and most pet stores are willing to purchase them from farmers. The price depends on the color of the individual. And if you sell fur, then you need to find a factory or salon that sells fur products. For all questions regarding the breeding of these unusual animals, you can ask specialists and farmers who have been in this business for more than one year or read information and reviews on the Internet.

Mink fur has long been valued by many manufacturers of luxury clothing and accessories. But the most important thing is that this animal grows well in captivity. Therefore, building a business on mink fur is quite realistic if you study all the features of the behavior and breeding of this animal.

Color features

Before opening a mink business, it is worth at least a little familiarization with the features of the species. The animal is small in size - up to half a meter without a tail. Its fur is smooth, shiny, short with a thick undercoat. The color has more than 300 shades, but sapphire, silver-blue, black, brown are popular. When breeding minks, you need to know that each color is determined by a set of dominant genes that suppress others, and recessive, suppressed ones. This will give an understanding of the possible shades when crossing.

The fur of females is valued more than males. Of all the species, the most popular is the American mink. Usually it is it that is used to grow fur for sale. But the European one is the most valuable, as it is listed in the Red Book.

Mink types

Standard dark brown, which formed the basis of many other subspecies.
Jet (black) - bred in Canada about 50 years ago, has a high fecundity.
Silver-blue - larger than medium sizes, one of the most popular.
Sapphire - the result of crossing the Aluet with a silver-blue mink, has a high fecundity and survival rate of puppies.
Pastel - has a brown coat and a bluish undercoat, the colors vary from light to blue-brown. It has the highest rates of survival and fertility.

The mink is a small animal, so a mink breeding farm can be organized even at home. But in this case, the business will not have high income. For the full-fledged construction of a highly profitable enterprise, it is necessary to rent a plot for the construction of a farm.

The animal is quite active and mobile, so it is necessary to build a large and spacious cage for it. It is necessary to place a house in it so that the animal can hide. Also remember that the animals love to swim and swim, so you need to provide appropriate containers with clean water. Everything that is in the cage must be securely fastened, otherwise the minks will tear everything off and turn it over.

Juveniles are kept separately from adults in cages, the cells of which are much smaller. For adult minks, the size of such cells should not exceed 2.7 cm in diameter. Such cells can be made independently and significantly reduce the cost of your business, or purchased for 10 thousand rubles. each. They may need a lot, since the animal is aggressive and sometimes individuals have to be resettled.

Cells must be kept under a canopy. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that mink tolerate frosts well, and in the heat they should be given the opportunity to cool.

Mink is a predator that in the wild feeds on small animals, fish and birds. Therefore, your business should provide for the purchase of fish, meat, cereals, dairy products and specialty dry food. Moreover, it is better not to use waste, because the quality of the fur suffers because of such nutrition. If you organize a good diet for minks, they will not get sick.

To do this, you can include the breeding of laboratory mice in your business so that minks always have fresh meat. During the day, the animal eats a maximum of one mouse. But mice can be fed cheap grain mixtures. By the way, a dead mink can also be fed to relatives.

Despite good health, the animals must be fed with vitamins and various additives. Diseases usually spread quickly, threatening to wipe out the entire herd.

Breeding issues

By 10 months of age, minks reach sexual maturity. Their rut begins in March, and puppies appear by May. Externally, a pregnant female is difficult to determine. Her belly enlarges only about two weeks before delivery.

You need to prepare for this by organizing a nest covered with hay or soft shavings. Each female brings an average of 5 puppies, which are completely helpless immediately after birth. Therefore, they are kept near their mother for two weeks, feeding on her milk, and only from about 17 weeks does she begin to feed them with food. From the 40th day of life, babies are separated from their mother.

In the autumn months, the animals begin to grow wool, which is valued by breeders. This is the period of selection of individuals for further selection. From the end of November to December, suitable specimens are slaughtered. After five years of keeping, the animals lose their ability to reproduce and, accordingly, the quality of the fur decreases.

Breeding Requirements

If you formalize a fur farm officially, in addition to registration documents, you will need an appropriate license. To do this, you need to bring the farm in line with its standards:

Animals must meet breed standards, which must be confirmed by relevant documents.
Animals should be evaluated every year for a number of indicators (bonitation).
The owner of the farm must have the education of a zootechnician or zooengineer. Otherwise, you need to hire an employee with the appropriate education.

How to calculate business

To imagine how much money it will take to open a business and how much this business can bring, you need to spend all necessary calculations. So, the maintenance of one animal will cost 70 rubles a month, and from one carcass you can sell the skin from 20 to 200 dollars. If you properly equip a farm for a thousand heads, it can easily be served by one person. For a year, 20 females and 3 males can bring 120 puppies. Based on these figures, you can calculate the profitability and growth of your business.

Where and how to sell products

No business will function if you do not think about ways to market products. You can earn income in three ways:

Sale of live minks. Both novice farmers and people who want to have an exotic pet can become clients.
Sale of skins. The most profitable and time-consuming business, as it is necessary to carefully monitor the quality of the fur.
Tailoring and sale of products from fur. Implementing this plan is easier if you have the right skills. Otherwise, you need to involve specialists.

According to the most conservative estimates, excluding land lease, investments will amount to about 6 million rubles. With good luck, they will return in a couple of years.