Molt of the American mink, depending on the genotype and nature of the behavior

Abstract

The object of research was the American mink, a predator, a semi-aquatic representative of the mustelidae family. The study was carried out on an adult population of males and females of the 22nd generation of different behavioral types and genotypes at the Experimental Fur Farm of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The total number of studied animals was 547 ones of the Standard dark brown (+/+), Hedlund-white (h/h) and black crystal (CR/ +) genotypes. All animals were kept in the same conditions and received food edlibitum (lat. – full) on a unified ratio once a day in the afternoon. The research results were processed using a standard biometric method. The comparison was carried out according to the Student’s test. The aim of this work was to study the course of molting of the American mink depending on the genotype, behavioral character and gender of animals. At the end of August, a visual assessment of the course of molt along the tail was carried out. Points were assigned individually to each animal (from 0 to 5 points). During the study of the molting process of the American mink, it was found that in male aggressors of the black crystal and headlund genotypes, molting proceeded much more intensively than in animals of the standard genotype (by 1.9 and 1.3 points), and in females of the aggressive type of behavior of the standard genotype it was faster than in females of genotypes headlund and black crystal (by 1.8 and 1.6 points). When comparing gender data in animals of different genotypes and behavioral reactions, the best molt course was found in male aggressors of the Hedlund and Black Crystal genotypes in comparison with females of the same genotypes (by 0.6 and 0.5 points, respectively). Due to domestication and selection, changes occur in the economically useful traits of animals. Research in this area makes it possible to study these processes and apply them in practice. Ignoring the biological characteristics of minks creates a threat to the emergence and development of serious abnormalities in metabolism, which can lead to a decrease in productivity and even death.