By 35 days the young are fully homeothermic. By 7 weeks they have achieved 40 percent of their adult body weight and 60 percent of adult body length. A typical litter consists of 3 or 4 kits and ranges from 2 to 10. Neonates have higher survival rates in warm than in cold weather. The critical habitat feature for mink is water.
Mink are common where abundant downfall and debris creates cover for foraging.
More mink are trapped in wooded swamps than in marshes. Mink are adaptable in their use of habitat, particularly where prey are readily available. They are tolerant of human activity. The use of the home range varies in intensity with respect to varying prey availability. Usually only a small percentage of the average or overall home range is used as the core area.