What Makes a Better Pet? Mink vs Ferrets.
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- čas přidán 9. 08. 2021
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I live in Maine and we were having a burn pile, and we saw a mother weasel moving her babies from the pile that was burning, all the babies made it, but the weasel was insanely confident, even coming over and sitting on my grandfather's foot, no fear what so ever, so I consider myself pretty lucky to have expected that
Maine weasels are a special breed
How could you know that three or four babies didnt burn to death, the mom was probably grieving asking pops to put the fire out.
@@SunnyDaze-uq8ed don’t be so acute
@@SunnyDaze-uq8ed just speaking facts. this isn’t candy land and they don’t have the slightest clue if they all “made it” whatsoever.
@@poontangpirate1343Sad thought.
Mustelids, in general, are the most insane mammals. Stronger, faster and about as smart as anything else it’s size. Was once watching a short documentary about stoats and the biologist mentioned how if weasels were the size of a mountain lion, only large animals such as rhinos and elephants would be able to defend themselves. Crazy little critters!
Of course, anything as agile as mustelids would be formidable if they weighed more that just a few pounds
Why aren’t there bigger ones?
@@narrowpath9491 cause it gets rid of all of the things that make it a mustelid. A giant wolverine is basically just a bear and it would have to directly compete with bears, cougars and wolves which isn’t a good thing. Mustelids are good with what they got so it would be better in terms of survival to build up on that
@@achimpanzee9210 Makes sense, they have their own niche in nature
If it's ten times my size I WILL kill it and I WILL eat it and I WILL turn its skin into a carpet for my burrow!
And if it's weaker than I am I will be no less ferocious in my takedown of it!
You know, Joe......you are probably the mink expert of the U.S. You mention that some Russians have tried to domesticate them. I appreciate your erudite studies and experiments with these wonderful critters. Thanks as always and I'm now going to buy your book!! Jimmy
Great video Joseph! People need to be made aware just because something is "cute" doesn't make it a good pet.
I've raised and rescued ferrets for over 18 years. Just recently got to where I couldn't do it anymore due to health issues. Most of mine were free roam. So when I watch you with your mink even though body shape is similar that's as far as the similarities go between my fuzzies and your mink. Very different I understand believe me. I do love watching your videos. I've binged watch them all especially the rat catching ones. You come across on camera as having an amazing touch and energy with mink, oh and baby girls😊. It's extremely interesting watching you work with them. I will wait patiently for your next one.
"Comparing Mink to Ferrets is like comparing a Wolf..."
Me: To a dog?
"... to a Pug."
Mr. Carter you didn't have to DESTROY them. My gosh. The humiliation.
Oh boy... ferrets can be terribly threatening, you can get scared of them just because of their teeth, j have to agree though.
Yeah... I feel like that was a bad representation of ferrets though. Ferrets and polecats are better represented as dogs and wolves. Ferrets still can be aggressive and will kill if given the opportunity just like hunting dogs.
@@sonia9098 This. Even th he is correct that their main purpose during hunts are to drive out the rabbits they are more than capable of killing them by themselves. Even a domesticated Mustelid is still a Mustelid, they're absolutely fearless and should be respected regardless of their size.
@@IronFreakV Yes exactly! Not to mention the fact they were also used to kill rats and mice as well.
@@sonia9098 and @Mr Ville Agree. My father told us many years ago of talking to some exterminators who would get the job of cleaning out shipyards? warehouses? in Philly. This was back in the '50's or '60's. They used ferrets. Would turn the ferrets loose and go to the movies. Of course we were just duly impressed to hear that, but as time went by I'd wonder about how they got the ferrets back. I could imagine the ferrets killing everything, eating a couple, and denning up somewhere in the complex, dead to the world until they had slept it off and were ready to hunt again, except they'd have all that cached rat meat, so pretty much wouldn't need to care about seeing their humans again for a very long time. Either these guys didn't care and would just get new ferrets each time (seems unlikely) or they left out the part about how they got them back.
Whenever I see Washushe I get sad. Would have loved to see what he could have become.
I'm in Australia mate and currently have 6 ferrets which I use for hunting rabbits, all white males.
They handle well but when its time to work its GAME ON
I plan on getting ferrets and dogs soon and doing what Joseph does.
@@Pepino_333 As someone who grew up in an area where ferreting is common and partook in it, it's definitely a group venture. You need to get nets over all the burrow exits and you need to be prepared to dig ferrets out when they inevitibly get a kill down there and decide to chill out and have a lazy dinner where you can't reach them.
So what I got from this video is that Minks make for perfect house pets that you can totally trust a toddler with to handle them.
_Perfect._ You've aced the test. Darwin will be here shortly to give you his special award! 😆
🤔😂
I occassionally see stoat at my fishing spot. Always a joy to see the wee guy but I'm sure the local rabbits don't agree lol
“She’s accustomed to this...”
The mink: 🧍🏻♀️
LOL the way you are holding them is hilarious 😂 (8:18)
When you asked the question, "can minks make good pets?", the first answer that came to my mind, is also "NO". Ferrets are not the the most wonderful pets to have either, but they are definitely a lot better pets than minks. I used to have one years ago. She was a real sweetheart. I miss her tons :C
This is really informative :D We need more videos like this because people tend to humanize a lot of wild (semi-wild) animals, especially wolf-dogs, wild cats and other exotic pets, because of their cute appearance and not knowing the time and effort that their handlers do to work with them. And sometimes they forget that these kind of animals are, first and foremost, WILD even though they 'look' gentle from time to time. I see a lot of people getting large dogs and exotic pets but they don't know how to handle them and it saddens me that some people can be ignorant to their needs.
And the unspoken truth is this: a lot of owners of these big cats often gets killed by their pets. There's a channel here at youtube where some guy owns two tigers. One tiger appears docile, but the other one shows contempt for his owner (snarling, growling, scratching at the fence etc). One false move, and that owner can die.
Tigers are adorable, but they absolutely should not be house pets.
What I found deeply interesting is your mentioning of what makes an exceptional trainer. They adapt to the specific personality and traits of the mink they are handling.
You way of thinking would make you an amazing teacher because that's what teachers have to do in the classroom.
A mediocre teacher can just follow a step to step process, hand out work sheet after work sheet, and treat their classroom as a place to churn out robotic sometimes functioning students. While a exceptional teacher will adapt to the needs of the learner and utilize their strengths to bolsters their weaknesses and help their students adapt to be functional parts of society. The goal is to foster a new generation of people that are healthy in academics/social skills while also caring about their community and natural environment.
I've been following you for a very long time now and it honestly broke my heart again when I saw Washushe show up in this video. I still remember how awful it was to lose such a majestic and powerful animal. He trusted you not because he was from a mink farm and thus not wild, but because he was strong, bold, and saw in you an equally awesome spirit. He chose to listen to your training and honoured your patience with his ferocious hunting skills.
I still miss that little fella!
Its just fascinating watching your show. I will never own a mink, but it sure is a joy to watch you and your family work with them so well. Keep doing what you doing. Me and my daughter love your show.
Thank you so much for this educational video! I’ll admit I’ve had that moment of “aww i want one” when watching your mink, but that’s only because you’re so skilled at handling them and gaining their trust that we get to see their cute side
You made so many good points in this video and I think the ferret comparison really highlights the difference between their calm domesticated attitude versus the high energy wild mink! At this point honestly I feel like someone asking you if mink make good pets is the same as someone asking a zookeeper if lions make good pets just because they saw the trained handler feeding one
Anyway thank you for still making videos, I love learning about the animals you train and seeing them be so happy and respected for their nature!
Joseph, you're one of the nicest and most intelligent people I've ever talked to. We used to chat on the phone a bit years ago. I loved your book and your patience with answering my questions. I'm glad you're still doing what you do.
Seeing old footage of waschuche(?) kinda make me sad. What a savage mink. We will never see him in his full potential
You're like the Steve Irwin of Minks.. love how passionate you are about these animals. Truly awesome!
Your book is so good. I definitely recommend giving it a read.
Mink are like children, more fun when they are someone else's. I can not think of a reason to own a mink other than to train them to hunt for pest control.
I enjoy your channel. You have done such a great job training your dogs it is incredible to watch them hunt together. I am super impressed with your training of your mink and how well they return to their cages when you give the command. I also feel that using you packs to get the rats is much more humane and safe. I really can't say enough about your training and hunting skills. Keep up the good work
Great video Joseph. You put a lot of information in this video!!
i been thinking a lot about this things. thank you for sorting this out. ferrets and mink
I saw a mink at the grand river before, he was on the run. My dad thought that he'd be able to catch, but my grandpa said "do that and you'll get all scratched up"
this video actually helped the one question i had when my mother came across a certain weasel (she later found out was a fisher) of the differences of most weasels, now i can better explain the question she asked of me, the only thing i could explain was they are similar to a mink and not a ferret and even threw in a reference to an otter to help her understand
The video of the mink going psycho and biting the glove is hilarious.
The honey badger is my favourite mustelid. Angry, smart and tough as a miniature tank.
I’ve been a fan of yours for years! Keep doing what you are doing!
I was a ferret owner from 1986 to 2018. They can be the best pet you ever have though they're incredibly smart and you have to stay a step ahead of them. Cute as they are, I'd never own a mink.
Your videos are so informative and amazing. Thank you
This channel got me so interested in the weasel family! I always thought ferrets were cool but wow. Keep it up!
Great video Joseph,,I have used many a polecat n ferret for ratting n rabbiting,,,but I must admit Mink are in a league of there own,,👍👍🏴🇬🇧
Excellent video! You made a very good comparison. Your mink are really wild animals that tolerate people. I think ferrets even though they're domesticated are still a challenging pet. They're a step above caring for a cat or dog. I think they still have some wild weasel traits. Mine is OCD and determined to get into areas she hasn't explored. She also enjoys "killing" her toys. She bites them hard and gives them a good shake to make sure they're dead. I am glad we have a truly domesticated weasel because they are fun pets.
Saw a mink in the NC mountains the other week. Such an awesome experience
I discovered that Zeus polecat page the other day. It's fascinating and wonderfully filmed.
I’m glad you made this video I see this question in the comments all the time
IV hade ferrets and proper polecat over 30 years. Your spot on 👍👍👍👍
Hi Joe it's Carl, I contacted you a couple of months ago about my experience with mink and trying to cross breed them with ferrets. After experience in keeping both mink and ferrets together, I 100% agree with everything you've said in this video. Ferrets are a lot easier to handle and maintain, whereas mink are on a whole other level in terms of aggression, focus, and attitude - even down to their hunting ability such as their amazing eye sight. I loved my past experience with mink and I'd definitely have them again if I had the space and time, but now my mink days are over, ferrets are a perfect all round pet.
Incredibly happy you made this video. My kid wanted a mink after I showed them a couple of your videos, and didn't believe me that they are wild animals and take LOTS of time and energy to tame. Something my young kids are NOT capable of doing. Thank you. This made it easier to solidify my "No we can't get a pet mink."😂😅
I would love to read your book, but I certainly won't take up the challenge - I enjoy watching you lead the hunt.
Very well done video thanks and congratulations with all your success
This is EXACTLY the video I needed! I love ferrets, but they're too bitey and flighty. I was thinking, after watching your videos, mink might be the way to go. Thanks for saving me and a mink a lotta grief. Guess I'll just enjoy the mink through your channel. Thanks!
I admit I've only seen otters in person while at a zoo. But others I've seen thru nature shows. I've owned ferrets since 2003.
What a teacher.
Your honesty is refreshing otherwise I can see. a tonne of people thinking I want one to control my rat problem
I asked you last week about this ..and working these together one set for the mink then one set for the ferret .
Just to be able to call a mink back to the cage is a gift from the above...
Well done on that alone
That's the cutest image of a pug as a thumbnail ever 😍😍😍😍😍
Do you think it would be possible actually selectively breed mink to be more handleable or do you think that it would just be to difficult. Not saying you should, just curious if it's a situation of no one bothered to try or they are just to aggressive similar to how zebras are just to aggressive compared to their horse cousins.
Oh yeah, they did it in an experimental farm in Russia, but they are STUPID expensive and are only sold sterilized.
@@JosephCartertheMinkMan I thought that experimental farm was with foxes?
@@Sinaeb They did both foxes and mink, but no body cares about mink, so they only talk about the foxes.
@@JosephCartertheMinkMan ah
Are wolverines mustelids ? More power per pound than anything - like minks and martens .
Joseph , you are an excellent speaker and I thank you for sharing your expertise . I just LOVE this channel
I'm proud to say I have loved many ferrets. Ferrets are quirky, funny, and make great pets. Minks are kind of the working dog in the farm world. Mink are smart and ferocious but playful and adorable. I love your channel and it's wonderful to see minks at work. Ferrets were written about in Ancient Greece where they were called little smelly thieves.
I saw that pine marten. Those guys are my favorite.
The only mink I've seen in the wild was a few years ago, along the rocky shores of lake Ontario.
Very appropriate thumb nail, hey Maggie, girls, minks, dogs, lambs, ermmmm oh sugar I forgot about Joe! Hey Joe. You know I'm only messing!! Love from UK as always x
People should realize that Joe could likely go down as a pioneer in animal husbandry and if others answer the call of minkenry he definitely will. Mink owners 1000 years in the future will have him to thank
Thanks to your channel, I have been exposed to the fur farms, and the disasters of owning a mink as a pet, lol. You couldn't pay me enough to own a mink. Roflol. But very happy to continue watching your channel!
Great video mate. just putting my two cents in , I only work ferrets that kill in. Otherwise I’d always be leaving rabbits. We still breed ferrets to kill down the hole and tbh if you don’t handle a ferret from birth it will turn out just like a wild polecat. The ferrets I breed myself anyways and most people I know in England. We still constantly cross them back to eu polecats
Yeah, that kind of breeding would definitely produce a very different kind of animal than what most ferreters I talk to are after.
Great video, & even moreso because of the Washushe clips. Still miss him!
I love both of the animals
That looks so cool.
Amazing content. As usual. So cool.
He is spot on. I have had normal ferret and a Pollcat ferret hybrid and it’s a learning curve. They do not act as domestic and have a more wild streak to them. Now take a full poll cat or mink and that wild side is intensified. It like having a dog from a working line vs a dog breed for companionship.
I’m the same I have a ferret and a hybrid polecat and my polecat is much more antisocial she is lovely but she would rather go off and sleep in her own and she is so much stronger than my ferret and she can also skunk as well which is vile
Great video. Very informative!
Respect. And ty for making it very clear to me that I prefer to care for ferrets. I’m selfish and need to cuddle.
All my ferrets are full time free roam. I’d be willing to put in the time but it’s the location that wouldn’t suffice.
Joseph, have you ever considered renting or getting access to a high speed camera? It doesn't need to be a high end phantom, a solid 240fps-480fps at 1080p would be more than enough to capture some outright amazing footage of those minks in mortal combat with rats/mice/muskrats/etc. I would *LOVE* to see that!!
Hi Jo I'm a big fan and love your work and think you are very write in what your saying. ive kept ferrets for 20 years and worked them ferrets do seem a lot easier than mink I would love to try working a mink but I don't think it will happen. And zues polecats is amazing just wish he was still doing videos
this is stellar content!
First off, I love your channel!!
The mink is definetly alot harder to tame than a ferret. However as a owner of many ferrets, I can attest that the difference in personality makes alot of difference for ferrets as well.
Most can be bite-trained quite well, others not so much or not at all. And though I agree that the ferret is a lot slower and chilled out, they can sprint just as fast as your mink on land. And if You've ever seen 2 ferrets fight for real, it looks kind of like when your mink takes on a muskrat - A ball of rage.
Anyway my point is even though ferrets are way easier to handle than mink, I would never recommend a first time pet owner to get a ferret, unless they did some serious research.
*Also I had 2 brothers who were all black, only with the mask and looked just like polecats. Breeder said something about mixed in wild lines, but I never thought about it.
One of the brothers had more of a quick demeanor, if it makes sense, and worked alot more on instinct. He also had a very tight shiny coat especially in the winter. I always noted he reminded me of a mink :D
Awesome channel... Love it
PS: raptor on the hunt is .....I can't even think of words to say how awesome it is, how do you do it much much respect
I recognize some clips from zeus polecat!! Love both of your channels
always respect an animal that is wild for they are as unpredictable as nature intended x
Mink…basically Vegeta of the weasel family
This... makes so much sense
Good video. Dogs have been domesticated for far longer that ferrets and a lot of people still suck at taking proper care of them.
The thumbnail had me laughing
Excellent video 👍👍
I caught a mink when I was 12 (I was hoping to catch a racoon, but a mink decided to go into the trap). It was probably the second easiest wild animal to "domesticate" that I ever caught (first being the racoon). The mink did bite and scratch trying to get away, but after I gave him a few raw shrimp tails, he was like my best friend forever. Unfortunately, "forever" was only about a week as he ended up escaping. Not doubting what you say in the video as you have way more experience with minks than I do and my "evidence" is anecdotal at best. As a ferret owner for the past almost decade, I can say that owning a ferret is easy compared to what I had to do to catch a mink and keep it from trying to have me for dinner. :)
I used to work in a large greenhouse and one winter I kept catching a glimpse of something darting through the pallets in the warehouse. I never saw it clearly, but I could tell it was long and thin, so I thought maybe it was a gray squirrel. I told one of the managers there was some critter running around but he didn't believe me. We had set up a few rickety old tables on the edge of the warehouse for some older women to use for sticking plant cuttings into soil trays. The ladies usually sat on stools and laughed and chatted while doing this. Suddenly the whole greenhouse was filled with the sound of terrified shrieking and yelling. We all dashed to the warehouse to find the stools overturned and the old girls all up on a wobbling table, clutching each other and screaming. There was an ermine sitting on its haunches looking up at them, no doubt wondering what all the commotion was about. It was probably the cutest thing I'd ever seen, in its white coat with the little black tail tip; it certainly didn't look threatening at all. This was before smart phones, and too bad, because that was one of the funniest scenes I've ever witnessed and it should have been caught on video. The weasel zipped out a hole in the loading dock but it still took us half an hour to calm down the ladies and get them safely off the table. We never saw the ermine in the greenhouse again, the noise must have scared it off.
so wholesome seeing 0 dislikes and 500 likes so far :3
How awesome! I’m going to need you to work on a line of wolverines please. That would make a childhood dream come true, lol. I had some incredible and very loyal ferrets growing up.
There’s a classic CZcams video on what honey badgers do or do not give.
*me and my hamsters watching this* 😭😭😭
Honestly hamsters do something even worse you don't want to find that out but if you want to you can look up what do hamsters do to their babies sometimes it's not something you want to hear about and please don't look it up matter of fact because you're a sweet person I don't want you to hear all about that
My dad's albino-ish hamster bit my sister 🤣 her name was Jezebel (I think, it could be another hamster I'm thinking about)
@@GODMODETIGER they eat their newborn babies if they get stressed. Not a big deal, lots of similar animals do this. Likely is an evolutionary advantage in some way. 🤷🏼♀️
😍So cute mink😍
I'd have to prefer a ferret for hunting. Love that chaotic personality and my family has taught me the value of a family animal
💖Washushe forever💖
I've had working ferrets for 50 years. The mink and ferret are so so so so different. A mink would catch the rabbit in the set because of how fast they are a ferret will bolt the rabbit unless it goes into a dummy end then you will have time to dig and retrieve it.. There's alot of us ferret people in England..
Some day I will come to your side of the pond to do some ferreting! :-)
@@JosephCartertheMinkMan you'll love it.. 👍👍
Great vid, I didn't even knew ferret were a domesticated animal, I thought their domestication was really recent
Love the vids
You are the best
Curious because I was personally more of a cat person than a dog person, would do you think Ferrets lean into and what other animals you see that can be small but social creatures to play with? also love these types of videos as well its very cool learning about mink and other animals you mention in your videos!
Joe: and she's beyond tame
Also Joe: holding her up by her neck, not the scruff of her neck
Mink: wha-, why-, ok
I’ve had a friend’s uncle have pet mink. I am an owner of 2 ferrets and I can clearly tell the difference between the 2.
Doug Craig the ferret man, give his channel a watch joe, been following both channels for years
I love how when he picks up the ferrets there just like weeeeeeeeeeeee
teach me more about the mink
I love your videos
Fascinating! I love your videos and will definitely checkout Zeus Polecating. I have a sloven neighbor that is spreading rodents all over our neighborhood. Unfortunately, I have a pet cockatiel bird so am afraid to have any weasel type animal, but Im so interested.
I am a former ferret owner started owning them when I was 11 I'm now in my 40's and only stopped because I had to become my mother's care giver I miss having them. Had about 20 of them through the years all where great ,but every one of them where different, but the two I remember most are Mr Perfect Columbo and trouble maker Pancakes. She could get in locked cabinets and bullied a 111lb German Shepard. I am guessing a mink would be like Pancakes dialed up to 11.
6:59 it remember me of your brasilian ariranha, which loves to eat piranhas, and are very aggressive towards gators and onças (brasilian leopard).