14 



BULLETIN 301, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



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Fig. 10. — Den improvised from a box. 



yards. It is advisable to have them roomy, as indicated in figures 

 13 and 14, in order to give the animals enough runway to make them 

 vigorous during exile. When allowed to be together the pair may 

 have the run of both yards. Although quarters for constant occu- 

 pancy should be roomy, those for temporary use, such as are required 

 by dealers and by ranchmen for isolating sick or newly arrived 

 animals, may be comparatively small. Temporary pens are often 



not more than 6 by 

 10 feet on the ground 

 and 4 or 5 feet high. 

 They are made with 

 netting on top, bot- 

 tom, and sides, 

 stretched over a 

 frame of scantlings. 

 The posts do not enter 

 the ground, but rest 

 upon sills, to which 

 they are securely 

 nailed. By means of braces the frame can be made rigid, and when 

 covered with netting is strong enough to be moved without weaken- 

 ing. The cheapness, security, and portability of these pens make 

 them a very useful adjunct. Foxes have bred and reared young 

 in temporary pens that were only 12 by 15 feet, but such narrow 

 quarters are not recommended for permanent use. 



When alleys are used between pens, as shown in figure 14, it is well 

 to have them closed at the outer ends to facilitate the return of es- 

 caped animals and 

 provided with over- 

 hangs. Entrance to 

 the yards should be 

 by way of these alleys. 

 Doors maybe made 

 entirely of wood, or 

 of netting attached 

 to a durable frame 

 which can not be 

 gnawed by a fox or warped (fig. 19). If they are divided into upper 

 and lower sections of equal size, much of the labor of clearing paths 

 when snow is deep can be eliminated by leaving the lower half of 

 each door closed. 



GUARD FENCES. 



The guard fence surrounding a fox ranch is generally constructed 

 like the yard fences already described. Where snow drifts badly, 

 the fence should be built of boards rather than netting, in order to 

 keep the snow from piling up in the yards. In addition to the usual 



Fig. 11. — Den improvised from a barrel. 



