Minkenry Stories- That'e' The Hunting Mink.

[Minkenry 1,044]

Now that I'm done with writing my book on minkenry, I now have some time to get on here and share hunting stories like I used to do. I'll start out by introducing my new mink That'e'.

 

 

 

 

This is That’e’. His name means “to bite to death” in the Omaha Native American Language, and he was given this rather graphic name for a reason, as you will learn later on in this passage. That’e’ is 5 months old, and he is what I call a “Hunting Demi”. “Demi” is what the mink farmers in my area call a natural brown colored mink. In other areas Demi mink may be called things like “Standard Brown” or “Ranch Wild”. These are nothing more than fancy names for the natural wild brown colored ranch mink. I call him a “Hunting Demi” because my hope is he will be the first in a line of mink bred for hunting purposes.

That’e’ is very small when compared to most ranch buck mink. His working weight is only 935 grams (2 lbs), which puts him within the average range of working weights for a ranch doe mink, and on the lighter end of the range of trap weights for wild bucks.

Despite his small size, That’e’ lives up to his name, having an extraordinarily strong set of jaws, and a very powerful neck. That’e’ can dispatch a large prey animal in a fraction of the time it would take most other mink his size, and I dare say he is almost as quick and efficient at killing as a full sized ranch buck would be! This is quite the feat, seeing as he only has small, female sized jaws to work with. When That’e’ bites down on the back of the neck of a large prey animal, he does more than just sit and chew into his prey’s flesh the way most mink do. That’e’ adds insult to injury by shaking his prey with the ferocity of a game little pit bull! He drives his hold as deep as he can, chewing as he goes, and then shakes out his hold with all his might, then drives his hold deeper again before repeating the process. When That’e’ shakes his prey, he actually shakes it so violently that he occasionally breaks his prey’s neck! He is the first mink I have ever seen that has completely separated his prey’s skull from its spinal column! His efficient method of dispatch makes it so he kills so quickly that I have yet to need to step in and help speed along the dispatching process for the sake of the prey animal. I really like this trait, as I don’t like to see the animals we hunt suffer, and so the quicker and more humane the kill the better.

 

 

That’e’ is also surprisingly quick for a buck! In fact, it seems to me that he’s even quicker than most ranch does! That’e’ also has a good nose on him, and is a pretty talented tracker.

After that big list of talents, you would think I’ve pretty much summed it all up….. but I’ve saved the best for last Honestly, I’d give up all of the before mentioned talents to find a mink with this one ability…. the ability to learn to cache to the carry box like it was a natural occurring instinct. Every mink I have ever tried to train to cache has made the training process a big ordeal that has lasted many months. That’e’ literally picked up caching in a couple weeks, and after only 3 weeks of work he was completely done with training! He made fewer mistakes during his entire training process, than most mink make in one bad training session!

Even more impressive than the speed at which That’e’ blew through his caching training, was how incredibly solid his caching was once he had finished training! Before That’e’, even my best trained caching mink only cached “most of the time” and still made occasional mistakes. That’e’ not only learned to cache faster than any mink I’ve ever seen, he is also the most solid caching mink I have ever seen! He literally caches 100%, and he’s the ONLY mink I’ve ever been able to say that about! If he ever caches is prey somewhere other than the carry box, or leaves his prey in the hole he caught it in, all that is necessary to get him to cache correctly is to show him his box, and off he goes to retrieve his prey without delay.

It is for these reasons that I hope to have That’e’ become my first sire in my line of Hunting Demis. To be honest, if his only talent was caching, he’d still be my first choice for a sire, as that is such a great trait for a hunting mink to have!

 

 

Now after I have gone on and on bragging about That’e’s strengths, it’s time to also admit his possible weakness. I say “possible weakness”, because only time will tell if this is a weakness That’e ‘will have after he fully matures. Unfortunately, if this weakness does persist after That’e’ becomes a full on adult, it is a weakness that will completely cripple his hunting career

As surprisingly fast as That’e’ has flown through his caching training, he has been just as surprisingly slow at progressing through taking live game. I had decided long before I got That’e’ that I was going to give my next mink kit much more time to mature before I started giving any starts that could potentially weaken my mink’s confidence. I felt like last year I had given ThioNba way too many starter rats, way too young, and as a result she ended up being a very timid hunter as an adult. So I was determined not to make the same mistake this year, and instead take things much more slowly. Well, it turns out that with That’e’, I really didn't have a choice. Whereas ThioNba fearlessly took young starter rats at only 10 weeks of age with no real encouragement from me, That’e’ was actually afraid of a DEAD rat at the same age!!! After trying all kinds of tricks to encourage him to attack a dead rat on a string, I decided it was better to just give up and move on to see if I could find something he did like. Since then he has slowly progressed along, but even now at 22 weeks old, he is STILL very timid when it comes to taking game, and very behind where ThioNba was at only 12 weeks old! I’m still hoping and praying that he’ll grow out of this timid behavior, because he has so much to offer as a hunting mink, if he’ll just grow enough backbone to do something with his talent! He’s still young, so only time will tell if he will turn into a hunting phenomenon, or be a total disappointment with his special skills and abilities going to waste. Either way, I still want to breed him, as I could always just cross him over an extra bold hunting doe, with the hopes that the offspring will have the prey drive of their mother, and the trainability of their father.

All and all, I still have very high hopes for this mink as a hunter, and even higher hopes for him as a breeder! He is truly a joy to hunt with, so I’m just praying that I can find a way to get him to move past hunting mice and birds, and on to hunting more exciting game! Either way I love him, and am very grateful that he came into my life. Another day I will tell the story of how I got That’e’, and share some of the story of how he grew and progressed up until he’s at the point where he is now.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Minkenry

[Minkenry 1,044]

My little buck mink That’e’ has many talents, but so far bravery has not been one of them. Since he is still quite young, I still have hope that his timid behavior is just his a product of his age, and that he will someday grow out of it. So in the meantime, I’ve been doing my best at avoiding any bad experiences that could break his already weak confidence. Instead of allowing him to hunt aggressive prey like squirrels, brown rats, or muskrats, I’ve stuck to small stuff like mouse sized rodents, or non-aggressive prey like rabbits.

Today I took That’e’ out hunting in the desert where there is several small piles of brush, rocks, and small logs. That’e’ wandered around the brush piles, going in and out of holes searching for game. He had searched several piles without any luck. Then he came to a bigger pile which he went in, just like all the others. A few seconds later a rabbit shot out of the pile with That’e’ hot on its heels!

The rabbit raced across the desert, quickly weaving between sage brush as it ran over a hill and out of sight. There was no way That’e’ could out sprint the rabbit in the open field, but I thought he might follow the rabbit’s trail to its next hiding spot. Instead, he turned around and came running back to the same brush pile and disappeared inside.

Just seconds after he disappeared we heard a muffled scream, and I said, “Did you hear that? He’s got a rabbit!” We all snuck closer to the pile to try to hear where the screams were coming from, but the brush pile was silent. Then, after waiting for a few silent minutes, That’e’ came out of the pile. I put his carry box down near the hole he came out of and tapped on the box. He went in his box, and then looked out at me. I said, “Go get the rabbit” and teased him by letting him smell the meat in my hand, but not letting him take a piece. He climbed up my leg trying to get at the meat, but I put him back in the hole he had just come out of and said, “Go get your rabbit you silly mink.”

That’e’ disappeared down the hole, and we heard a muffled grunting/growling sound coming from the brush pile. I said, “The rabbit must have hidden its head in a corner so That’e’ had nothing but rabbit butt to bite, making it so he couldn’t put the kill bite into the rabbit’s head or neck.” We heard a few more grunting sounds, followed by more silence.

That’e’ then re-appeared, still with nothing in his mouth. So I teased him with the meat again, but he still wouldn’t cache his prey. Finally I decided that the rabbit must be caught on a stick or something, so I reached into the hole in the brush pile and felt around. At first all I could feel were sticks and That’e’s fur as he brushed past my hand in the hole. As I reached deeper into the hole, and a little to my right, That’e began to make protest squeaks, like he does when he thinks I’m going to steal his prey. This let me know my hand was headed in the right direction, so I stretched my arm deeper into the hole.

All of a sudden I felt a little lifeless head, so I grabbed onto it and That’e’ gave another protest squeal and angrily mouthed my hand, telling me more forcefully this time, to leave his prey alone. His mouthing was gentle, harmless, and caused no pain, but this was his way of saying, “Back off! This is MY FOOD!” I pulled the body loose so That’e’ could easily pull it out of the hole like he was supposed to, and pulled my hand out of the hole.

I sat back up and tapped on the carry box again, trying to encourage That’e’ to cache his prey. He came out of the hole, sniffed me, ran back in the hole and dragged out….. A SQUIRREL!!!!!

I was in total shock!!! Rock squirrels are quite aggressive prey, and I really didn’t think That’e’ had it in him to take a squirrel just yet! It was a small squirrel, weighing in at only 473 grams (about the size of an average eastern gray squirrel), but I didn’t care how big or small it was, I was elated that he was brave enough to kill a cornered squirrel! I’m hoping that today was a sign that That’e’ is maturing to become the courageous hunter I’ve hoped he would one day be!

 

 

 

[Frontbum 76]

Well done mate nice one

[jack68 628]

What a good read thanks for taking time to put that up ..atb

[Minkenry 1,044]

My hunting story of the day....

Today the forecast was for rain, and lots of it! I was determined to not waist the weekend, and just go hunting anyway. I woke up in the morning at 7:00 am and looked at the hourly forecast to see when there was a possible chance of a break in the storm. It said that there was a 30% chance of rain at 8:00 am, a 40% chance of rain at 9:00 am, a 60% chance of rain at 10:00 and 11:00 am, and a 85%-100% chance of rain for every hour after that for the rest of the day.

So I called my minkenry buddy Cade Pocock, because I knew he was always up for a hunting trip. It didn’t matter if it was hot and sunny, cold and rainy, or a full on blizzard. Cade is just like me and would rather be hunting in uncomfortable weather, than wasting the day inside! I told Cade that we were probably going to get soaked regardless of when we go hunting, but if we hurried and left now, it was our best chance at missing the storm.

So I packed up my mink That’e’, and headed to Cade’s house. He brought his young dog Carl, a 1/2 border collie, 1/4 catahoula leopard hound, 1/4 pharaoh hound. Carl is a pup Cade is training to help hunt rabbits and other game. Due to the border collie and pharaoh hound part of his breeding, Carl should be a real fast running dog, and he is just now getting old enough to do a little bit of work. We wanted to see how he ran on jack rabbits, and he still needed some training, so we brought him along for the hunt.

We drove through lots of rain, but the farther we got out in the desert, the more the rain slowed down. By the time we arrived at our intended hunting spot, the rain had all cleared up. The ground was wet from the recent rain, but fortunately for us, it wasn’t raining anymore. So we left our rain coats in the car and headed out into the desert.

We kicked up a few cottontails as we walked through the sage brush, and we could see several jack rabbits running far up ahead of us. Carl the dog tried to catch some of the jack rabbits, but they had far too much of a head start for him to have a real chance at catching any of them. We then saw some rabbits running on the opposite side of a ravine we were walking along. I asked Cade to put Carl on a leash, so I could put That’e’ down to see if he would follow their trail to their next hiding spot.

I put That’e’ down right on their trail, and he headed up the hill trying to find a rabbit. I tried my best to both keep my distance so as not to bump any rabbits, while simultaneously trying to keep That’e’ within view. It was really hard to keep track of That’e’, as his small brown body melted into the sage brush and rocks.

That’e’ traveled through the desert at a quick enough pace that I had to walk briskly, and even jog at times, just to keep up with him as he trailed the rabbits. The rabbits ran ahead of That’e’ and I, until they got to the edge of a cliff where the sage brush grew much thicker. As the sage brush continued to get both thicker and taller, I quickly lost sight of That’e’. I didn’t want to call him off the trail, so I just kept heading in the direction he was traveling the last time I saw him.

Cade climbed a hill, and stood at the edge of the cliff, trying to see That’e’ from a bird’s eye view. Cade couldn’t see him either, so after a few minutes of us both searching, I finally broke down and started calling That’e’. I gave That’e’ the food call over and over as I walked along the base of the cliff, peering into the sage brush, looking for a little brown shadow hunting in the cover. As I walked along, calling and looking for my mink, I saw a very large jack rabbit just a few feet away, hiding under a bush. I wondered why the jackrabbit allowed me to approach so close, especially when all the others were flushing far ahead of me. Could this mean that That’e’ was near, and for some reason this jack rabbit felt like hiding was his best chance at avoiding a mink attack? This didn’t make any logical sense. But then again, being a desert dwelling hare, jackrabbits wouldn’t run into a mink under normal circumstances.

At this point I was more concerned with finding my mink than I was hunting, so I left the jackrabbit, and kept searching for That’e’. Just a minute or two later, Cade called down from the cliff, “I see That’e’! Keep calling, he’s coming towards you!” Then out of the sage brush, there came That’e’. He climbed up on my lap, and took the small chunk of meat I had in my hand.

We decided that if I was going to try to hunt rabbits in brush this thick, I needed to either wait until there was snow on the ground, or get some telemetry so I could more easily find my mink. So we headed to a different area, where we could hunt in some piles of rocks that Cade had seen from the top of the cliff.

When we got to the rocks, I put That’e’ down, and he quickly ran into the rocks, searching the crevices for prey. Almost instantly we heard a quick squeal, and I saw a flash of movement in the gaps between the rocks. I said, “Cade, he’s got something!” Cade then replied, “It’s a rabbit! He’s right on its heels!!! Oh dang, he lost it, but he’s got a big chunk of fur hanging from his mouth.” As I rounded the pile of rocks so I could see what Cade was talking about, I asked Cade, “Where are they now?!?!” Just as I got to the edge of a steep drop off, Cade pointed for me and said, “That’e’ is down there at the bottom of the ravine, but the rabbit ran over there, and I think it disappeared down a hole.”

I could see That’e’ running down in the bottom of the ravine below me, a big chunk of fur still hanging from his lip. Then out of nowhere, Carl ran down into the ravine and right alongside That’e’. All That’e’ saw was movement, and he rushed toward the dog, and leaped in the air towards him. Carl jumped out of the way, and just barely avoided the mink’s attack. That’e’ then realized it was just Carl, and aborted his attack to continue searching for the lost rabbit. I said to Cade, “Dude did you see that!?!?!?! That’e’ is so geared up that he just tried to attack your dog! I don’t know if he thought Carl was a rabbit, or if it was self-defense. It didn’t look like he was afraid, so it must have been a predatory attack, not a self-defense attack.” Just then, I accidently bumped a golf ball sized rock which went rolling down the steep hill and into the ravine near That’e’. That’e’ hit the rock before it could even get to the bottom of the ravine! He was pumped full of adrenalin and just DIEING to catch something!

Cade ran to a bare patch along the top edge of the ravine, where he thought he saw the rabbit disappear down a hole. I slid down the hill, and into the ravine where That’e’ was still wandering around trying to find the rabbit’s sent trail. He yelled down to me, “I found where it went!” I wanted to let That’e’ find the rabbit’s trail on his own, but he was headed the wrong way, deeper into the ravine towards a pile of logs and branches. I was worried that That’e’ would find an animal in the pile of wood, and would catch that instead. I didn’t want to leave the injured rabbit down the hole, where it might die of infection and just go to waste.

That’e was still too inexperienced for me to feel comfortable trying to take a double (catch two animals in one hunt), so rather than risk him catching something else in the pile of logs, I gave him the call I make when I’ve found game. “Here here here!” I called as I ran up the ravine to where Cade was waiting by the hole. That’e’ knew “Here here here” meant I knew where the rabbit had gone, and he excitedly ran behind me, following me to where Cade was waiting for us.

I got to the hole, and That’e’ was excitedly running circles around us, looking in every nearby bush for the rabbit. I patted the ground near the hole and repeated, “here here here”. That’e instantly ran to where I was patting the ground, and disappeared down the hole. We quietly sat and waited for a while. Finally That’e emerged with blood on his nose and upper lip, a sure sign he had made a kill. I tapped on his carry box, and teased him with some meat, trying to get him to cache. For some reason That’e’ didn’t want to cache like he was supposed to, so after watching him go in and out of the hole for a few minutes, I finally caught him and locked him in his carry box. “I guess he wants a timeout” I said to Cade. So we left That’e’ locked in his box for 10-15 minutes as Cade and I walked around exploring the area further.

When we returned from our short walk, I released That’e’ from his box, and he quickly disappeared down the hole. I crinkled the plastic ziplock bag that held his meat, to tease him back to the surface. That’e’ quickly re-surfaced and I tapped on his box, then teased him some more with the meat. He disappeared down the hole again, and then came backing out, finally dragging his catch to the surface, and putting it in his box. I quickly gave That’e’ all the ground meat I held in my hand, and shut the carry box door to let him eat in peace.

I turned to Cade and said, “Well, this is the third time in a row I’ve taken That’e’ hunting and he’s hesitated to cache. I guess I better do a little bit of refresher caching training this week. He’s still caching everything that he caches, but not near as promptly as he used to!” I looked at the sky and saw a horrible black storm rolling off the mountains headed right for us. I said to Cade, “We better head to the car." I then pointed to the storm. Just as I said that, a cold wind started to blow from off the mountain. I looked at the black storm quickly advancing towards us and said, “Dude, we better run!” We ran down the hills, jumping over sage brush and weaving in between the bushes too tall to jump. Just as we ran down the last hill, finally nearing the car, we felt rain drops beginning to fall. We got to the car just as the downpour hit, narrowly missing being drenched by the storm.

My delicious fried rabbit dinner that my wife prepared for me after the hunt

Edited September 28, 2014 by Minkenry

[Minkenry 1,044]

Here's the video from this weekend's hunting trip...

[Minkenry 1,044]

Here's some pics from the hunt. These are the pictures that go along with the video above.

This was our little camp site.

And here are some pictures from after the hunt...

After sleeping on my lap while I watched TV my wife took him and they both fell asleep on the couch....

Edited October 6, 2014 by Minkenry

[tb25 4,627]

Your wife is a fit as fyck.

[northern lad 2,292]

Cant believe you leave her at home to go walk the desert with a mink

Edited October 8, 2014 by northern lad

[sprockerjay 74]

whare can I get the book ithink that would be brilliant to read yis aidy

[Jamie m 668]

Where can I get one of them wifes lol

[Guest vin]

joking aside etc etc.. Thanks for sharing these trips with us .

[mushroom 12,929]

Top vid and I'm still feckin amazed you can handle that there mink like that it's curled up like a Baby next to your balls ffs

[budharley 945]

Credit where it's due you put some effort and time into training them mink well done

[Minkenry 1,044]

Cant believe you leave her at home to go walk the desert with a mink

Actually I don't. She almost always comes hunting with me She's only missed one hunt since we've been married! She even caught a rat once while we were hunting! She stepped on it's tail to hold it down and yelled for me to hurry and come get it She is the perfect wife for me!

 

 

By the way, both muskrats in this picture were still alive. I'd caught them by hand, and she wanted to take this picture to freak her sister out lol

Edited October 15, 2014 by Minkenry