346 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



Feeding the Breeders 



According to Mr. Bangs, the principal food given breed- 

 ing stock at Mount Forest is "marsh grass" throughout 

 the summer and fall, and during the winter carrots, corn 

 and mash is fed, with a sprinkling of oats. In the spring 

 corn, beets and dried carrots are given the penned animals. 

 Dry corn kernels, off of the cob, are also kept before the 

 breeding muskrats. Feeding costs were not furnished, as 

 the Mount Forest people contract a year in advance with 

 farmers adjacent to their field of operations for the grown 

 feed at so much a ton, and their feeding costs are very low 

 as a result. 



"One of the greatest mistakes of the muskrat breeder 

 who raises his animals in pens is that of over-feeding," Mr. 

 Bangs claims. "We have ascertained that muskrats are 

 naturally small eaters, although, like dogs and other ani- 

 mals, they will eat as much as they can if food is con- 

 stantly at hand. We have also found out that fat musk- 

 rats will not breed and drop young any more than will fat 

 foxes or any other animals." 



It is claimed by these fur raisers that curiosity of the 

 owner and help has been a contributing factor to many 

 failures experienced by amateur muskrat pen breeders. The 

 Mount Forest experience is that when a nesting heap is 

 opened to see if young are getting along, the disturbance 

 is resented by mothers, so much so at times that they kill 

 their young, and the expert advice they give is "the less 

 attention you give breeding muskrats the greater your pro- 

 duction will be." 



Handling and Shipping 



The handling and shipping of muskrats has, on a com- 

 mercial farm of the Mount Forest Company's proportions, 

 received considerable and close attention. Mr. Bangs has 

 explained in detail the manner in which they handle their 

 live stock, and it is incorporated here as a piece of very 

 excellent advice to be followed. 



"We do not handle our muskrats any more than is abso- 

 lutely necessary, but when we do we endeavor to handle 



