FORMATION OF THE MAIN PRODUCTIVE TRAITS OF MINK PASTELS DIFFERENT SHADES OF FUR COLOR

Abstract

Live weight and size of Pastel minks were determined by sex and varied depending on the shades of fur color. It has been substantiated that during both the comprehensive evaluation and preparation for rutting, animals with medium fur color exhibited better growth and had a significant advantage in live weight compared to their dark and semi-dark counterparts. Males outperformed females in terms of weight and linear growth across both experimental series and age periods. Analyzing the obtained data, it should be noted that minks in all groups had already reached a sufficiently high live weight by the time of evaluation, ranging from 2637.1 g to 3360.0 g in males and from 1153.1 g to 1569.4 g in females. During the first series of studies, the live weight of males and females with medium fur color at the time of evaluation was 20.0% and 20.5% higher, respectively, compared to minks with dark fur color. With age, males not only maintained their advantage in live weight but further increased it, exceeding their dark-colored counterparts by 24.9%. In females, however, this difference was only 11.2%. Following the transition of all groups to diets designed for rut preparation, the live weight of medium-colored males decreased by 13.4% and females by 19.6%, while dark-colored males and females experienced reductions of 16.8% and 12.9%, respectively, compared to their live weight at the time of evaluation. Similar trends in live weight changes across growth periods were observed in the second and third series of studies. Minks with medium fur color were not only heavier but also had longer body lengths compared to their counterparts of other shades. During the comprehensive evaluation, the average body length of medium-colored males in the first series of studies exceeded that of dark-colored males by 4.2%, and in the second series by 10.6%. The difference between medium-colored males and their semi-dark counterparts was 3.1% in the second series and 4.9% in the third.

Minks with medium fur color were not only heavier but also had longer body lengths compared to their counterparts of other shades. During comprehensive evaluation, the average body length of medium-colored males in the first series of studies exceeded that of dark-colored males by 4.2%, and in the second series by 10.6%. The difference between medium-colored males and their semi-dark counterparts was 3.1% in the second series and 4.9% in the third. Medium-colored females also significantly outperformed their darker counterparts. In the first series of studies, the difference was 5.8%; in the second, 13.6%; and in the third, 8.7%. Compared to their semi-dark counterparts, the difference was 6.9% in the second series and 3.0% in the third.

It is noteworthy that, with a few exceptions, the relationship between the main indicators in mothers and their offspring is significantly stronger than that observed in fathers. Offspring with the same fur color shades as their parents differed from them in the nature of the relationship between live weight and body length, and vice versa.

Instead, the dominant and highly probable influence on the diversity of fur color shades in sons (17.4%) was attributed to fathers, while in daughters (17.9%), it was attributed to mothers. The impact of fur color shades on the formation of average indicators in offspring was also observed in terms of live weight and body length. However, it should be noted that sons, compared to daughters, were more influenced by the genotype of both parents, with contributions ranging from 10.7% to 18.3% for sons and 12.1% to 16.1% for daughters.