SILVER FOX FARMING. 
11 
Some 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 14 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 set in the 
ground at intervals of from 12 to 16 feet. The heaving effect of 
frost, however, has 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 
as shown in figure 15. A durable and attractive fence support 
Fig 
Exterior view of a barrel den (see figs. 3-5). 
