Mink Brocc and Shelby Each Catch a Muskrat!

[Minkenry 1,044]

 

[wyeman 1,191]

Another excellent post, one of the most interesting and understated hunting threads on here - many thanks!

[Minkenry 1,044]

1 hour ago, wyeman said:

Another excellent post, one of the most interesting and understated hunting threads on here - many thanks!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! 

[socks 32,253]

Another cracking video ... why don't you use a probe bare to find the tunnels it would save you digging multiple holes ......

[Minkenry 1,044]

22 minutes ago, socks said:

Another cracking video ... why don't you use a probe bare to find the tunnels it would save you digging multiple holes ......

What is that and how is it used? I don't dig very deep or very often, so I really am quite the novice when it comes to efficient ways of digging up a burrow. Any pointers or tools you can share with me would be more than appreciated! Fortunately with my mink, digging isn't something I do on a regular basis. However, when I do need to dig, it would be awesome to know the most efficient ways of doing so! 

Edited March 2, 2018 by Minkenry

[Guest vin]

8 hours ago, Minkenry said:

What is that and how is it used? I don't dig very deep or very often, so I really am quite the novice when it comes to efficient ways of digging up a burrow. Any pointers or tools you can share with me would be more than appreciated! Fortunately with my mink, digging isn't something I do on a regular basis. However, when I do need to dig, it would be awesome to know the most efficient ways of doing so! 

Top video again Joseph.

Maybe you should invest in a DEBEN ferret locator for your mink..?  So on the occasions when you do have to dig, you can get straight onto the action.

There are lots of videos on youtube showing you how to use them with a ferret.its not going to be any different with a mink.

From the very 1st videos, you ever posted I've been watching you and wondering if its possible to do the same with one over here. I've never had the opportunity to acquire a young kit, But its definitely on my list of things to do before I pass away.

I'd like to try with a stoat one day. 

 

[bird 9,938]

4 hours ago, vin said:

Top video again Joseph.

Maybe you should invest in a DEBEN ferret locator for your mink..?  So on the occasions when you do have to dig, you can get straight onto the action.

There are lots of videos on youtube showing you how to use them with a ferret.its not going to be any different with a mink.

From the very 1st videos, you ever posted I've been watching you and wondering if its possible to do the same with one over here. I've never had the opportunity to acquire a young kit, But its definitely on my list of things to do before I pass away.

I'd like to try with a stoat one day. 

 

+2 ,  great vids i really enjoy them as well , it nice to see something different  . regards  the mink Vin, i might be talking crap  and prob am   lol, but i got gut feeling  that you do better with baby mink , than  a young kit  stoat, or wild  polecat , think joe gets the young mink from mink farms, maybe  they might be bit more  domesticated   than a stoat, or wild polecat . but on this topic joe  can say alot more than me or you .

[delswal 3,819]

Well, that was well worth the watch, would like to experience it at first hand. Keeps the videos coming 

[Minkenry 1,044]

11 hours ago, vin said:

Top video again Joseph.

Maybe you should invest in a DEBEN ferret locator for your mink..?  So on the occasions when you do have to dig, you can get straight onto the action.

There are lots of videos on youtube showing you how to use them with a ferret.its not going to be any different with a mink.

From the very 1st videos, you ever posted I've been watching you and wondering if its possible to do the same with one over here. I've never had the opportunity to acquire a young kit, But its definitely on my list of things to do before I pass away.

I'd like to try with a stoat one day. 

 

Yeah, a stoat would be awesome! Such quick little things! I'd love to hunt with a large long tailed weasel (our local species that is a little larger than a stoat). Their tiny, ultra slim bodies would be PERFECT for getting at rats in a tight difficult spot! Problem is they aren't legal where I live :-( I'm tempted to get one anyway and just keep it quite ;-)

I've never messed with the ferret finders because they would only be useful in very specific situations that would only arise a couple times a year under normal circumstances. I typically have a mink or two that are trained to retrieve prey from the burrows, so digging is typically a last resort. When I do dig, it is often in circumstances like this, where I'm just trying to make an above water entrance for a novice mink, and a ferret finder wouldn't help much for that. 

[socks 32,253]

20 hours ago, Minkenry said:

What is that and how is it used? I don't dig very deep or very often, so I really am quite the novice when it comes to efficient ways of digging up a burrow. Any pointers or tools you can share with me would be more than appreciated! Fortunately with my mink, digging isn't something I do on a regular basis. However, when I do need to dig, it would be awesome to know the most efficient ways of doing so! 

Basically it's a large T bar with a blunt end about 3 foot long is ample ... you use it to push into the ground where you think the tunnel is and when you find the tunnel it will obviously "give" as it goes into the tube that way with very little effort and time you can find the muskrats tunnel system easily and only have to dig one hole ? ........

[ginger beard 4,652]

Does a ferret finder locate underwater.?

[Minkenry 1,044]

8 hours ago, bird said:

+2 ,  great vids i really enjoy them as well , it nice to see something different  . regards  the mink Vin, i might be talking crap  and prob am   lol, but i got gut feeling  that you do better with baby mink , than  a young kit  stoat, or wild  polecat , think joe gets the young mink from mink farms, maybe  they might be bit more  domesticated   than a stoat, or wild polecat . but on this topic joe  can say alot more than me or you .

I've trained multiple mink from almost every age and background imaginable, and the couple variables I haven't personally experienced, I have had close friends who have. I've seen adult wild trapped buck and doe mink both be tamed and trained without any problems, and I've seen ranch mink so fearful they could never be called tame. I've seen ranch mink who were tame without ANY effort, and wild mink who would starve to death before living in captivity. How much success you'll have really comes down to your personal skill level, the time you devote to the mink, and the the individual mink in question. Mink have a ridiculously large variation in temperaments, regardless of if they come from the farm or the wild. On average ranch mink are less fearful than wild mink, but they are just as aggressive, if not more aggressive thanks to their often more confident temperaments. 

Though properly raising a kit is quite time consuming, I very much prefer the end result. If done properly, a hand raised kit is by far the most enjoyable option out there, and you will be quite surprised at the bond a typical kit will have with its handler. However having said that, an improperly raised kit will be your worst nightmare. I've never had a hand raised mink that didn't turn out great as far as bond and handle-ability goes, but I know several people who have had hand raised mink that ended up being FAR from ideal and nowhere near safe to handle. It seems like it is roughly 50/50 with other people when it comes to their kits turning out safe to handle, but all of mine have been great without exception (yet), so I'm convinced it's something they are doing wrong, or not doing enough of, that has created the problems. You will need to devote a lot of time to raising a kit, especially during the first few weeks after weaning, or you will regret it for the rest of the mink's life. No amount of time later in life can make up for not giving a kit mink the time they need while the young animal is still developing. It is only during specific stages of development that the typical mink is capable of bonding with a human. Miss those stages, and most mink will never be the same. But having said that, once again every mink is an individual. I've seen adult mink, both wild caught and purchased from a fur farm, who were so tame and friendly that you would swear they were bottle raised! So with mink, just about every rule you make about them is broken by some individual somewhere!  

By the way, I would strongly recommend carefully reading and following the steps outlined in my book before attempting to train any mink, regardless of the age you acquire it.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Minkenry