Influence of behavioral type of american mink on live weight of young mink at birth and in the postnatal period

In fur farming, one of the most important indicators is the live weight of animals. Therefore, studying it at different periods of ontogenesis has always been of paramount importance. The possibility of using tame animals in commercial production today is no less interesting. It is known that selection by behavior affects various morphological and physiological processes of the body. However, the issue of the influence of mink behavior on live weight at birth is raised for the first time in this study. The work was carried out from 2022 to 2024. Newborn kits from caged female American minks of the Standard dark brown (+/+) genotype from lines selected for aggressive and tame behavior were taken as the object of research. The growth of young animals obtained from parents with aggressive and tame behavior was assessed by live weight, average daily gain and survival of young animals from birth to weaning (45 days). It was found that the behavioral type of parents affects the live weight of the born young American mink. The live weight of males and females from parents with an aggressive behavior type at birth is 0.8 g (p < 0.001) and 0.7 g (p < 0.001), respectively, higher than from tame parents. It was also found that a lower live weight of females at birth determines a lower body weight of the animals at weaning. Thus, the average live weight of females from aggressive parents was 13.5 g (6.4%) higher than that of tame parents. At the same time, the average daily gain and survival rate of the young at the time of weaning did not differ significantly in either females or males.