Q: "Do mink imprint on food the way ferrets do?  If so, when is the rough
    cutoff time for food introduction?
 
A: They only imprint well when you push them really hard into the clay.
 
Yes, they do imprint like ferrets.  In fact, most mustelids do.  All
species of polecats (European, steppe, and black-footed ferret) imprint
on food odors almost exactly like domesticated ferrets, at about the
same times.  Mink (American and European) also imprint, but at slightly
different times.  The various weasels do as well, but, again, at different
times when compared to the domesticated ferret.  The same is true for
fishers and marten.  It is not as pronounced in the more omnivorious
mustelids.
 
I do not have a specific length of time for mink food imprinting, but it is
acknowledged to be roughly the same as in ferrets; maybe a bit longer at
the upper-end cutoff time.  Ferrets start imprinting on food at the time of
weaning, then *REALLY* imprint during the next couple of months.  At about
6 months, they start winding down the imprinting, and at about a year or
so, they effectively stop imprinting on new foods.
 
The difficulty in food imprinting isn't just that the ferret doesn't learn
the smell is food, but that the imprinting process actually causes changes
in the structure of the ferret's brain.  The end of the imprinting process
occurs when specific changes occur in the brain, making the adjustment to
new odors all the more difficult.  The ferret becomes, in effect, hardwired
towards specific food smells, which is why it is so maddenly difficult to
get them to try new foods.  They almost have to be force-fed new stuff,
because the ferret simply does not associate the new smell to food.  Its
a brain thing, not an attitude.  They simply cannot help themselves.
 
Now, since ferrets are biological organisms, they have a lot of variation.
A few older ferrets will never accept new foods, regardless of how hard you
try.  Likewise, a few older ferrets will try anything at any time in their
life.  But, for the most part, most older ferrets *CAN* accept new foods,
but only after difficulty and strong effort.
 
The key, regardless if you are feeding a mink or a ferret, is in the
creation of a wide range of food experiences while very young.  I recommend
breeders feed a wide range of foods; kibbles, cat chows, chicken, beef
and liver (not at the same time; different feedings).  This starts the
imprinting process very young.  Then, once the ferret finds a new home,
the imprinting is continued by the caretaker for several months.  After 6
months of age, you can stop worrying so much about new food smells, and
start a secondary "weaning" of the ferret towards the foods you, as the
owner, prefer.  After a year, the ferret is essentially hardwired to the
food (smells) it has already experienced.  However, you should still
occasionally give some of the foods the ferret experienced while young; it
may not help maintain the imprinting, but it will probably be appricated by
the ferret.
 
Not all is lost if you happen to get a young ferret from a petstore or a
breeder who did not create a broad-based food imprinting.  Just start it
after you get the little fella home, and it should still work.
 
What this feeding proceedure does is prevent the ferret from hardwiring
towards one particular food.  You will be able to introduce foods much
easier down the road, so if a particular food manufacturer changes their
mix, you do not end up with a starving ferret.  If, God forbid, something
bad happens, the next caretaker of the ferret will be better able to
introduce new foods.
 
Besides, I personally believe ferrets are like people; I think they enjoy
variety in foods.  Of course, a few old cranky ferrets might object, but I
think new foods are part of a program of enrichment that helps stimulate
their physical and emotional needs.
 
Bob C and 18 MO' Feed Food-A-Holics
[Posted in FML issue 2846]