When the food supply has been well established, we are ready to stock up our ranch. The 'rats can be purchased or procured by trapping. As a general rule, 'rats will already be found at home in a prospective ranch, which boasts of plenty of water and food; they find such a place by force of instinct, though the nearest stream may be fifty miles away.
We need pay no further attention to them, except to destroy their enemies, which in this case are, chiefly, the birds of prey. Sometimes these pirates of the air will establish headquarters at some muskrat marsh, and remain for weeks at a time. Selecting some lofty perch from which they can scan every angle of their acquired domain, they will often remain perfectly motionless, for hours at a time, only to hurl themselves upon the unwary muskrat as it makes its appearance on the water.
These intruders must be caught — but how? Occasionally we may be able to "check" up on one of them, with our old scattergun; but this is the exception to the rule, as these birds are far too wary to be approached in the open. Therefore we must resort to steel traps for their destruction. This is not as difficult as it would seem at first thought. Knowing their habit of alighting on the highest point of vantage while awaiting their prey, we proceed to set up poles in our marsh, which are about eight inches in diameter at the top. On the tops of these poles we conceal our traps (preferably jump traps), by covering them with water-soaked chaff or leaves. Pegs are driven into the sides of the poles, upon which we ascend when tending the traps. These poles need not be very high when they are set up in the open; eight or ten feet above the water would be sufficient, when there are no higher objects near. The erection of one such pole would suffice for every ten acres of territory.
The animals must also be protected against poaching and free trapping. It is a good idea to post signs of warning against trespassing on the premises. There should not be much trouble on this point, however, because people, as a whole, respect the property and rights of their fellow men.
When the animals are thus protected, they will increase very rapidly. A marsh or pond which is covered with a mixed growth of aquatic vegetation will naturally support a greater number of muskrats than a deep water lake where such vegetation can only be found along the shores.
Good marsh land has been known to produce an average of one hundred 'rats per acre annually, and in some instances even more, but such a yield is above the ordinary. Statistics show the average yield of 'rat pelts to be about fifteen per acre yearly. This number of animals can be safely trapped without fear of encroaching upon the necessary quota of animals required as breeders. Of course there are some waters that produce a much larger yield per acre, and these must be trapped accordingly. In a marsh or lake of low banks the 'rats are compelled to build houses. The owners of such a ranch can closely estimate the number of animals present by counting the houses and then multiplying the result by four.
Though the muskrat will tolerate more crowding than other fur-bearing animals, the owner should prevent overcrowding, otherwise some of them would leave for parts less crowded. Some raisers, while gathering their annual crop of fur, make it a point to trap only two-thirds of their grounds, and when this is exhausted of muskrats they quit. This method assures the owner sufficient breeding stock for the next crop, and at the same time prevents crowding the animals.
'Rat ranching is a business which does not require much money or effort to build up, and when once established there is very little to do, except to trap the muskrats during the proper season. The best time, in fact the most profitable time to do this, is in the early spring, when pelts are strictly prime and the fur is at its best.
Judging from the ever-increasing popularity of muskrat fur and the consequent rise in value, "rat ranching" can certainly be considered a profitable undertaking. Let us, for example, take into consideration a fifty-acre marsh, producing the low average of fifteen 'rats per acre. This would represent an annual crop of about seven hundred and fifty pelts. To trap this number of animals would require about thirty days. For eleven months out of the year, the owner would be free to take up any line of endeavor he may choose to follow. Considering the small amount of capital and time required for the establishment and upkeep of such a "vivarium," is there any other form of farming or stock raising more profitable? We venture the answer without fear of contradiction — there is absolutely not.