What to Do During a Mink's Molting Period? A Detailed Guide to Scientific Management

The mink is a type of special-purpose livestock raised mainly for fur production. Many of the fur garments, leather shoes and leather goods on the market are made from mink fur, so the market price of fur is currently quite considerable, and market demand is growing larger and larger, which is why the scale of mink farming is gradually expanding. However, hair loss often occurs during the mink breeding process, so what should we do when a mink molts?

Causes of Molting in Mink

Mink molting is mainly divided into molting during the normal growth period and hair loss outside the normal growth period. Molting during the normal growth period usually occurs every spring and autumn, and it is a normal growth phenomenon. The causes of hair loss outside the normal period are many, such as infection from disease, unsanitary living conditions, malnutrition, climatic conditions, temperature, light, humidity, etc., all of which can cause mink hair loss. Because under otherwise normal conditions, after a mink successfully molts, it will not shed hair again until the normal molting period, and no hair loss will occur at other times.

Manifestations of Molting in Mink

In the early stage of the normal molting period, a mink shows a small amount of down hair falling out, and gradually new down hair grows in. If we do not observe carefully during this period, we cannot tell where it is losing hair; we only know that a large amount of down hair is falling in the breeding facility. Hair loss outside the normal period, by contrast, starts with a small amount of down hair falling out, and more and more falls out, until finally the body becomes completely bare and cannot grow down hair in time. Such mink are of no value to farmers, so we must be very careful when breeding them.

Solutions

Molting during the normal period does not require any treatment measures, because it can grow back on its own, and the texture will be even better than before. For the abnormal period, however, we can vaccinate them at irregular intervals to prevent and control disease, and when an outbreak is discovered, treat it promptly, using special mink medication for treatment. Reasonably inject nutrients such as vitamins and amino acids for treatment.

Precautions

In fact, the most important thing for mink molting is still routine daily management and feeding management. Therefore, in daily feeding, we should rationally match the feed given to mink to ensure balanced nutrition. Second, in routine daily management, clean the breeding facility promptly, and make the temperature, water and light in the breeding facility reach the standards suitable for mink growth. Finally, harvest the fur promptly, otherwise it will affect the quality of the fur and thereby affect economic returns.