Mink nest box

In a back corner of an old barn on the family farm I found this mink whelping nest box. I think it is the last of it's kind. Made from WWII ammo boxes, at one time we had over 8000 of these. As I have stated on here before, my family raised over 25,000 mink a year. When we went out of the mink ranching business in 1986 the over 10 acres of mink sheds and pens were demolished. A few of the nest boxes were stored previously in some of the farm buildings but in the 35 years since have been used for other animals or birds. Some were burned for firewood. These boxes were hung on the end of a breeder pen that was 3 feet long 16 inches wide and the same high. Bedding was first cutting grass hay. We used first cutting as it was coarser, 2nd cutting grass hay tends to be finer and would tangle up on the embilcial cords of the newborns, killing them if not noticed (actually heard, little mink can cry loud) and trimmed off them.
This box says it was for 50 cal ammo, when filled it weighed 110 pounds. The tin on the top was added on and meant this box was used on one of the first few pens inside the entrance to the shed to protect the nest from days when it rained or snowed and blew in the open ended shed. Boxes further in the shed had wire lids. The hole is also tin lined or the mink would chew it out to a much larger size.

cool bit of history!

Thanks, Mr. Space!

Very nice!

I am finding myself wondering about the aroma of 25,000 mink on 10 acres.

It smelled like money. Ha ha ha. I raised mink a few years but not on the scale your family did. Did you guys ever regret pelting out ? The ranchers that stayed On business have had some real good years and some real bad years since 1986. MD

Eric, Thanks for sharing that picture and story.

Mac

Interesting, very interesting, thanks for sharing.

All our nesting boxes had that metal ring in them, and there's still some box/pen parts around the farm somewhere along with a few stacks of old pens with popple and bam growing up through them.

Eric do you mind sharing where your mink farm was in Wisconsin, just wondering because there used to be one near my cousins that went out of business around then and wonder if it might have been yours

Always like going past that place, I know many don’t like the smell of mink musk but I always have

Eric thanks for sharing

Thanks, Eric. I too just Love this stuff. Relics of lost days just speak to us on an inner level.

Eric Space threads always make me with I was a water trapper for a min or 2

Beav can have the same affect if I read too much of his stuff.

Cool history, Eric. I had an uncle whose brother raised mink. He re-did all his nest boxes once in the late 70's and I grabbed a 1964 F-100 bed load of them and nailed them up all around the lake I grew up on, hoping the wood ducks would use them. They did nest in some, but so did a host of other birds and beasts. Wish I had another 100 or so today. Some of those boxes were still hanging 10 or so years ago when I was last down there.

Our family farm is located in Beemerville, NJ and that is where the mink were raised. For a short time (1964-1971) we also had a second mink ranch in Middleburg, NY.
Once the kits started eating whole food until we started pelting them we fed 6 tons of food a day. That meant 6 tons of manure a day, so like any other livestock the main tool used was a shovel. Mink manure can grow some amazing fields of hay, problem is the first year nothing will eat it. Grows some monster ears of corn which animals will eat. Sweetcorn grown on fresh mink manure does tend to taste like mink manure!
Mink ranching is a lot of hard work and a 365 day a year job.

Thanks for posting, I always enjoy your posts. Are you going to do any demos any more?......jk

Very neat! Thanks for sharing!