SILVER FOX FARMING. 



11 



Sorne place it near the middle of the yard, where the foxes are sup- 

 posed to feel more secure. Others locate it outside the yard, in order 

 that the vixen may not jump to and from the roof and thus cause 

 abortion. All dens placed outside of yards should have an inner 

 door of wire netting if they open to an alley. 



YARDS. 



Although fox yards vary in size, shape, and construction, depending 

 on conditions on different ranches, there is a definite type now gener- 

 ally recognized as best adapted to 

 fox farming. Such a yard has an 

 area of from 2,000 to 2,500 square 

 feet. The majority in the recently 

 built ranches are 50 feet square. 

 Some breeders prefer long, narrow 

 yards, which give the foxes more 

 space for a hard run when they are 

 frolicsome, though the cost of fence 

 materials is considerably greater 

 than for square yards 

 of the same area. The 

 arrangement of a 

 series of yards de- 

 pends upon the space 

 they are to occupy. 

 When arranged as 

 nearly as possible in the form of a square the expense of inclosing by 

 a guard fence is less than when side by side in a row. Two plans of 

 four-yard ranches are shown in figures 13 and 14, the smaller com- 

 partments being for males. The expense for posts and scantlings in 

 building a ranch on the plan of figure 13 is less than for the plan 

 of figure 14, inasmuch as adjacent yards have a common frame 

 between them. But the extra cost of building detached pens as 

 shown in figure 1 4 is more than compensated for by the greater conven- 

 ience in caring for the animals and in controlling them in case they 

 escape from their yards. If a fox gets out of its yard, it is sure to 

 be discovered in one of the alleys, whence its return to its proper 

 quarters is a simple matter. 



The supports of a fence are ordinary wooden posts sot in the 

 ground at intervals of from 12 to 16 feet. The heaving effect of 

 frost, however, 1ms caused many fox owners to abandon them for a 

 framework of scantlings entirely above ground. The foundation 

 may be of stone, concrete, or creosoted planks. The posts of framed 

 fences are tied together by the netting and braced from the ground 

 shown in figure J 5. A durable and attractive fence support 



Fig. 6. — Exterior view of a barrel den (see figs. 3-5). 



