SILVER FOX FARMING. 
19 
Fig. 17. — Fence extending 
into the ground. 
herself to the young, the male carries food to her and warns her by- 
sharp barks whenever he suspects danger. While sequestered, the 
males are usually kept in small pens which may adjoin the breeding 
yards, as shown in figures 13 and 14, or removed 
to a separate inclosure, where they may be 
allowed to run together in a large yard or con- 
fined in individual pens. Because of their incli- 
nation to fight, individual pens are preferable. 
The reproductive period in foxes is about 10 
years. Approximately 50 per cent of the females 
in domestication breed each year, and the aggre- 
gate increase is not far from 100 per cent for the 
total stock on ranches. Failure to breed is 
attributable to a variety of causes, among which 
are sterility, injuries, worry, and mismating. 
Females barren for two years in succession fre- 
quently become productive on being mated to a 
different male. Prolific vixens, run down by 
several litters in succession, sometimes skip a 
year in which to recuperate. Foxes breed more 
freely on the ranch where they were reared than 
amid strange surroundings. Their wild nature 
dominates most of their actions. They are constantly in a state of 
apprehension, and it is only by the greatest care that confidential 
relations can be established between them and their keepers. This 
fear may cause the female to refuse the atten- 
tions of the male; or she may become excited 
so as to injure herself and give birth prema- 
turely. But worst of all, even after producing 
a litter of healthy young, she may be so solici- 
tous for their safety as to maltreat or kill them 
in her efforts to get them out of imaginary harm's 
way. Often when her young are just born, or 
only a few days old, she will carry them about 
the inclosure all day, apparently seeking a place 
to hide them. Perhaps she digs a hole in the' 
ground and removes them one by one from the 
warm den to the cold earth. Thus the little 
things may be moved successively to a number 
of freshly dug holes and to and from these and 
the den until they die. From the time the cubs 
are born until they are two or three weeks old 
constant care must be taken to prevent losses in this manner. Any 
unusual sight, sound, or odor, by day or night, is liable to alarm a 
vixen and cause her to maltreat her young. The best way of dealing 
with a worried vixen is to shut her with her cubs in the den for several 
Fig. 18. — Fence turned inward 
at surface of ground to form 
a mat. 
