Fur farming

“ Skunk and coon are easily tamed and even beaver, otter and mink have become so tame when secured young, that children have safely handled them.
A man who has been in the "fur farming" industry for years, in response to the inquiry, "Will the business pay," says: "Yes, it will pay the right man big dividends on the capital invested." The right man is one who has "natural aptitude" for this sort of work, and who is "cut out" for "fur farming." If he has an "inkling" for this sort of work, he will study the nature and requirements of the animals and attend carefully to their every want. ”

“ The persons who expect to make "fur-farming" a business, can begin in a small way and same need not interfere with other work to a great extent. Year after year, as they learn more of the business, they can enlarge, etc. Trappers, hunters and others who from experience know much of the animals, will no doubt [Pg 45] be the most successful from the start. One party writes to know if skunk, fox, opossum and mink can be successfully raised in the same enclosure. If he means allowed to run together, they can not. ”

“ Where are they to come from, if not from fur farming?
A well known fur dealer in Minneapolis sizes up the situation in a nut-shell:
"Under proper conditions, with intelligent care, raising fur animals can be made to pay. The raiser starting on a small scale and increasing as their knowledge increases. Most all successful business is built up by starting small."
Conda J. Ham, in the Hunter-Trader-Trapper Magazine, says:
"Did you ever stop to seriously think where your furs and your fur coats would come from twenty or thirty years from now? ”

“ True, fur farming, like any other business, has its drawbacks; but these impediments are rapidly conquered by the persistent and energetic study and scientific research of enthusiastic men, who are devotedly interested in the welfare of the animals, and the evolution of the industry to a higher and better standard. ”

“ The farmer or stock raiser, as a rule, who is making the most money, is the one who raises not horses, cattle, sheep or swine alone, but often two or more of them. The same can be applied to fur farming. Suppose an enclosure of a few acres is made for skunk, why not take in a pond and raise muskrat, coon, fish and frogs. ”

“ How large and where to build enclosures for fur farming, must be decided by each individual. One party may have a creek, pond or lake, perhaps a swamp, already inhabited by muskrat, and all that is necessary is to keep other hunters and trappers off. On navigable rivers or lakes having an inlet and outlet, we believe in most states any one can trap so long as he is upon the water. ”

“ The above facts show that fox ranching Is not a dream, but an established success, paying large dividends on the capital invested. This is also true about fur farming in general. There are many cases on record showing the wonderful results obtained by men who experimented with skunk, mink and muskrats. ”

“ Each succeeding generation of ranch raised stock becomes more and more domesticated; consequently the keeper finds it much easier to win their confidence.
Practically all the failures in fur farming are due to the lack of experience of the people thus engaged; their failure to take the proper interest in the animals, so they may understand them and their requirements.
There are now numerous fur farms located throughout the northern part of the United States and Canada. These establishments propagate and improve the breed of fox, skunk, muskrat, raccoon, mink and opossum. ”

“ Conclusion.
5 Practical Skunk Raising. By William E. Pratt.
The supply of wild fur has already fallen behind the demand and the time is in sight when wild fur will form but a small per cent of that in use.
All furs trapped in steel traps are less beautiful because the animal suffers. It is a well-known fact that the less the animal suffers, the better the fur.
The time is not far away when nearly all fur will be grown on fur-ranches. Fur-farming unquestionably has a great future as an industry. ”

“ The matter of 'Supply and Demand' is one that there is considerable difference of opinion upon. Hunters and trappers, as a rule, are of one opinion and that is that the number of pelts secured upon a certain territory is becoming less each year. Trappers going over their lines are surely the ones who know whether the fur is holding out or not.
The number of persons seeking fur is larger each year. In localities furnishing as much fur as ever, the chances are that the number of animals left for breeding is less each year. ”

“ The animal is beneficial in many ways to the farmer, and his eradication from any farming community should be prevented, and laws prohibiting the wanton destruction encouraged.
The contrast in size of the animal and the important variation in the color of its pelage, due to climatic and geographical differences, cannot be denied. The breeding and inter-breeding of the different colored furred species is the principal explanation why the young of a litter are so much unlike in color. The color usually dominates to the black. ”

“ A wooded bluff containing some den trees for coon, and hollow logs, stumps, etc., for opossum and skunk, would be an ideal place for a fur-farm. The location of the farm should be within sight of the home of the raiser, in case a dog should get within or a thief should visit the farm. To guard against stealing at night your dog would give the alarm, or you could have an electric appliance connect the farm with the house. ”

“ After the first week dogs are very little use, the birds will not lie to them; high farming, with its machine-cut stubbles, clean ploughs, and widely-drilled root-crops, has almost abolished shooting over dogs. The birds will not wait on the bare stubbles, and if you get them into roots, the rattle of the leaves when the dogs are at work is a signal for their flight. ”

“ The raising of fur-bearing animals is still in its infancy, but many experiments have been tried out from time to time, and it is a proven fact that if it is undertaken and carried out in an intelligent manner, the industry is bound to be successful ”

“ In some sections there has been a wonderful falling off in the catch of late years, altho the number of trappers is larger.
An industry paying the hunter and trapper probably $15,000,000 yearly is one that should receive attention. At the present rate of extermination, some of the fur bearers are destined to soon follow in the wake of the buffalo. The demand for furs is increasing as the population of the world is becoming more and more. Again furs are being put to more uses than ever. While the demand for furs are increasing, what of the supply? ”

“ But raising deer for profit does not necessarily imply their complete domestication. They may be kept in large preserves with surroundings as nearly natural as possible and their domestication entirely ignored. Thus the breeder may reap nearly all the profit that could be expected [Pg 157] from a domestic herd, while the animals escape most of the dangers incident to close captivity. But the breeder who aims at the ultimate domestication of the animals, and whose herd approaches nearest to true domesticity, will in the end be most successful. ”

“ As before stated one should use care in selecting animals for breeding purposes as it is in this way that the quality of the fur will be improved and the business made to be a profitable one. If you wish to increase the number of animals do not be tempted for the sake of the higher prices realized for the finer skins to kill off animals that should be kept for breeding. ”

“ As the number of these houses on a farm increased, and they were spread over a larger area and sometimes placed in fields and pastures a long distance from the farmhouse, the work of caring for the fowls, even by the simple method used, became too heavy to be done by man power alone, and a horse and cart was used in carrying food and water, collecting eggs, and moving chicks and fowls from one part of the farm to another. Thus the work was put on a very economical basis, and keeping fowls by this method became a common feature of the farming of this section of Rhode Island. ”

“ For years there has been a belief that the supply of fur-bearing animals would soon be inadequate to the demand. This belief is well founded and is apparent when the fact is known that the natural haunts and homes of the fur-producing animals are becoming less each year. ”

“ The purposes for which they have been held captive and the environment given them have been markedly different. It must be remembered, also, that few attempts have been made to rear and domesticate deer under intelligent management. The work has been largely a matter of chance experiment. If they had been as long under careful management as cattle, they would now, probably, be equally plastic in the hands of a skillful breeder. ”

“ Fashion is constantly [Pg 30] changing but indications are that owing to diminishing supply and increased consumption, prices will be on a fairly high level always. Trappers and hunters often catch fur too early and as a consequence have blue pelts which are graded down. In the spring shedders and rubbed skins are secured which are sold as No. 2 or lower. With the "fur farmer," there will be no early caught blue skins or late caught spring and shedders. The animals will be killed when "prime," and will bring best prices. ”

“ During recent years, the supply has fallen off materially in face of the fact of improved trapping methods and a greatly increased number of persons seeking the fur bearers. The same conditions are true to a greater or less degree in many parts of the country.
The American people, however, can be depended upon to meet all emergencies. They have already set about to provide for the future raw fur supply by raising the animals. As early as 1884, experiments were made at raising foxes on the islands in the Northern Pacific Ocean, along the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. ”

“ Until recently, many dealers and manufacturers believed that the supply of wild fur-bearing animals was practically inexhaustible—that when wanted, trappers would go out into the "wilds," catch, skin and send the pelts to market. These people are beginning to awaken to the true situation and while they send out price lists, circulars, and traveling buyers after raw furs, they say it is much harder to secure the goods wanted than formerly. ”

“ Suppose thousands engaged in the business of raising fox, skunk, mink, coon, opossum and [Pg 34] muskrat, what effect would it have upon the market? Would they overstock it? How many hundreds of thousands of persons are today raising cotton and wool to furnish clothing to the millions of people and there has always been a market. The same will be the case with fur. In fact, unless thousands engage in the fur raising business, the demand is going to far exceed the supply at no distant day. ”

“ Some of the successful ones claim that this has a tendency to cause a thick pelt and thin fur and say that it is absolutely necessary that they have natural dens in the ground. The dens should be made quite deep so that there will be no danger from frost in winter and in all cases there should be plenty of straw or leaves for bedding purposes. Where the land is flat it seems wise to throw up a few mounds of earth so that the animal may dig into the soil. ”

“ But the furs from the more distant regions are, as a rule, of the more valuable kinds, and cannot supply the demand of the great middle class of people, the largest consumers. Such furs cannot take the place of those of the muskrat, skunk, raccoon and oppossum, for these furs are usually made up to imitate the more expensive kinds. ”

“ The raccoon and opossum farmer have a double advantage where their "farm" is situated near a city. First, if the fur farm is one containing a large number of animals, the supplying of food will be quite a problem and the city offers a means of plenty and cheap food for your animals, such as offals from slaughter houses and other feed. ”

“ A pole several feet long with a strong loop on the end can be slipped over their tails. The animal can now be lifted clear off the ground and carried wherever the killing is desired. Drowning is not recommended, as it takes the fur hours to dry and is therefore extra work. Some even claim that the water spoils the luster of the fur to a certain extent. ”

“ Many hunters and trappers must think that the supply will not long be equal to the demand, judging from the hundreds of letters written the Editor of Hunter-Trader-Trapper, asking information about raising fur bearing animals. ”

“ These sacs are now removed with very little trouble by farmers, and without endangering the fur or breeding qualities of the animal, or ill-effect to the operator.
The removal of the scent sac has a tendency to increase the size of the animal ultimately. We believe, too, that it requires less food to sustain life, consequently it is considered a profitable operation to perform. It is certain that the altered animal becomes more easily domesticated. ”

“ Enclosure in thick woods.
There are some animals such as marten, fisher, wild cat, weasel, badger and wolves that [Pg 33] do not seem promising to us to raise for various reasons. Marten do best in the high mountain sections; fisher and wild cat would be hard to keep in an inclosure; weasel and badger are not valuable and would both be difficult to keep in; wolves are not valuable for fur and would require considerable attention and food, hence, not desirable to raise. ”