THE DOMESTICATKD SILVER FOX. 



11 



be easily cleaned and disinfected. By leaving the door open on fine 

 days the interior can be exposed to the drying and purifying effects 

 of sunshine. The door and the opening to the exit chute should 

 face southward, and the rear end should be raised enough to give 

 the floor a slant downward toward the door. The entrance to the 

 nest compartment and the inner end of the chute should be about 

 4 inches above the floor to prevent the 

 cubs from getting out before they are 

 able to return. 



The corners along the floor and sides 

 of the nest compartment are filled with a 

 chamfered strip of board (figs. 7 and 8) 

 to keep very young cubs in contact with 

 the vixen and thus prevent their becom- 

 ing chilled. Toaccom- 

 modate a large family i 

 of cubs running about 



Ft 



- 



I 



HI 



Fir,. 7. — Ground plan of 

 a double-walled den. 



the yard, it is advisable to have extra dens improvised from barrels or 

 boxes, as shown in figures 10 and 11. Such shelters increase the di- 

 versity of the yard and afford the animals more protection from the 

 weather. 



As to the proper location of a den, opinions differ. Some place 

 it near the middle of the yard (fig. 12), 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. 





\ 



X 



















in 



i 





1, 



YARDS. 



Fig. 



8. — Vertical cross section of 

 double-walled den. 



Although fox yards vary in size, 

 shape, and construction, depending on 

 conditions on different ranches, there 

 is a definite type now generally recog- 

 nized 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 frolic- 

 some, though the cost of fence materials is considerably greater 

 than for square yards of the same area. The arrangement of a 

 series of yards depends upon the space they are to occupy. When 

 arranged as nearly as possible in the form of a square the expense of 



