EVALUATION OF TWO DRY PROTEIN SOURCES IN RATIONS FOR GROWING-FURRING MINK
Forty-five male Sapphire mink kits were allotted to three treatment groups and fed for approximately 100 days (August 1–November 7). The control diet (treatment 1) consisted of horse-meat 10%, cooked chicken by-products 15%, raw cereal 25%, and whole frozen fish 50%. The frozen fish was replaced by either herring meal or soybean meal on an equivalent dry matter basis for treatments 2 and 3. Average mink weights on November 7 were 1.78, 1.87, and 1.92 kg for the soybean meal, herring meal, and control treatment groups, respectively, and were not significantly different (P > 0.05). The feeding period was divided into a growing phase (period 1), a growing and furring phase (period 2), and a maintenance and a priming phase (period 3). The average daily weight gains during these periods were: period 1: 15.2, 18.0 and 11.8 g; period 2: 6.1, 6.7 and 7.8 g; period 3: +0.8, −2.6 and −0.7 g, for the control, herring- and soybean meal-fed mink, respectively. Digestibility trials were carried out during each period. Dry matter and energy digestibilities were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for the herring-fed and control kits than for the soybean meal-fed kits. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in nitrogen balance among treatments. Skin biopsies were taken at pelting time to compare fur density, with values of 19.6, 20.6, and 19.5 hairs per pore, for the soybean-, herring-fed and control kits, respectively.