Artificially cultivated foxes include blue foxes (also known as Arctic foxes) and silver-black foxes, as well as a few foxes with wool color variations, called foxes. First, the main varieties of cultured fox 1. Blue Orphans, also known as the Arctic fox, are mainly found in the high latitudes of Eurasia and northern North America. The blue snout has a short snout with short limbs, a round and thick body, a thick coat, and a wide, round ear. The blue fox is 60 to 70 cm long and 25 to 30 cm long. It has two basic coat colors, one white in winter and deeper in other seasons. The other is usually light blue but has a large variation in coat color from light yellow. To dark brown. 2. Silver black fox is also called silver fox. Native to North America and Siberia, it is a hair color mutant of wild foxes. The silver fox is slightly larger than the blue fox, and has a dark brown coat on the back of the snout and both ears and the limbs. Silver Fox hair color is all white, black and white dry black, body length 60 to 75 cm, weight 5 to 8 kg. 3. The red fox, also known as the fire fox, is the most widely distributed and most abundant species of the genus. Weight 5 to 8 kg, body length 60 to 90 cm, body height 40 to 50 cm, tail length 40 to 60 cm. The red fox is long, with long cheeks, short limbs, sharp lips, erect ears, and long tails. The color variation of the red fox is very large. The standard subjects have reddish brown heads, torsos, and tails, pale yellowish-white coats on the abdomen, brown or brown hair on the limbs, and white tips on the tail. 4. The color fox is a hair color variant of the silver-black fox, the red fox, and the blue fox under wild conditions or under artificial breeding conditions. Second, the biological characteristics and living habits of fox Fox in the wild state mainly to fish, oysters, shrimp, crabs, crickets, rodents, birds, insects, small animals to eat, and sometimes eat some plants. The body temperature of the fox is 38 to 39.6°C and the respiratory rate is 21 to 30 times per minute. Adult foxes change their hairs once a year, every year from March to April, and from July to August. All new needle hairs begin to grow at the same time, and long and thick coats form in November. The life of the blue fox is 8 to 10 years, and the breeding period is 4 to 5 years. The red foxes are 10 to 14 years and 6 to 8 years respectively, and the silver foxes are 10 to 12 years and 5 to 6 years, respectively. Third, the artificial rearing method of foxes are adopted cage care. There are two types of cages: 1. The fox cage is 120 centimeters high, 90 centimeters wide, 180 centimeters long, and 90 centimeters high. At one end of the cage is a wooden open box (also called a bed) that is 90 cm long (that is, the width of the cage), 30 cm wide, and 30 cm high. The front of the cage has 120 cm high and 40 cm wide movable doors. A litter box is placed outside the cage on the farrowing fox. It is 70 centimeters long, 50 centimeters wide, and 50 centimeters high. A 20,2020 cubic centimeter compartment is used as a hallway, and the remaining 505,050 cubic centimeters are used as delivery rooms, aisles, and cages. The delivery room has a 20 cm diameter entrance. 2. The leather fox cage is 90 centimeters long, 70 centimeters wide, and 80 centimeters high. The cage has 70 cm long, 30 cm wide, and 30 cm high at one end. There is a 80 cm high door in front of the cage. IV. Feeding and management of mother foxes during lactation The female foxes are from lactating to littering and weaning. The shortest period is 35 days, usually 40 to 45 days. Silver Fox is concentrated in March to April, and Blue Fox is concentrated in April to May. The main tasks of this period are: feeding high-quality full-price feeds to allow the mother fox to secrete enough milk, maintain a quiet environment, ensure healthy growth and development of the fox, and increase the survival rate of the fox. Most female foxes have reduced food intake before and after their arrival, or have a hunger strike of 1 to 2 tons. At the beginning of the litter, the nutritional level of the late pregnancy is still maintained. The maternal fox's food intake rapidly increases in about 1 week after farrowing. For foxes with insufficient or no milk, feed meat eggs or milk tablets to promote milk. The mother's milk production law is: gradually increase from the farrowing, until the peak around the 20th day. It is necessary to gradually increase the amount of nutrients and feeds according to the proportion of the female fodder, the number of litters and the age of the fox, and to increase the proportion of meat, fish, milk and eggs, increase the proportion of fat and boiled broth, and provide enough clean drinking water to promote The secretion of milk juice prolongs the peak period of milk production. When the foxes start eating around 3 weeks of age, the foxes will feed the food into the production box. At this time, the feed processing should be thin and finely chopped and fully cooked. It is very important to ensure the quality and nutrition. The amount of feeding should be sufficient and moderate. Generally, it should be fed twice a day, and the number of litters should be increased at midday. Pay attention to add cod liver oil, liver, feed yeast powder, a variety of vitamins and mineral additives. After the mother foxes are born, especially when they are farrowing, their instinct nursery motherhood is very sensitive to the reaction to the unquiet environment. All abnormalities can cause the female fox to show varying degrees of uneasiness, resulting in bite, bite, and eating. The phenomenon of abnormal harmful behaviors such as breastfeeding, relegation, and abandonment was rejected. Therefore, it is very important to maintain a comfortable environment. Breeders should be more careful. During the farrowing period and after the farrowing period, it is strictly forbidden to have noise or outsiders to enter the fox house. Do not check the litter size prematurely or rough before 20 days. When the mother fox has a difficult birth, a litter on the outside of the production box or on the cage net for a long period of time does not break into the production nest, the abnormal fox of the fox, or the mother fox does not enter the feeding box for a long period of time, etc., take necessary measures and inspections. Means to guard against accidents. The main task is to do a "one look, two listens, three checks" A look: normal littering foxes have reduced food intake on the day after farrowing, nursing foxes in the birth box will not go out, and discharge coal tar in the second to third days. Fetus, appetite and spirit are very good. The coat around the teat is pulled out and the milk room is full. After feeding, the teat has traces of milk and it is ruddy and the milk room is shriveled. This is the normal expression of the feeding of the fox and the growth of the fox. If the mother fox is poor appetite for a long time or hunger strike for several days. Not pulling belly hair, not feeding into the box, for a long time outside the box, the spirit of high excitement, frequent access to the birth box and so is not normal performance. Listening: I mainly overheared the call and action of the Fox. Normal healthy bufo eat well enough to sleep after the full-fat, quiet inside the production box, until the next waking up to eat milk only issued a "quick" call, and bright, powerful. If the cry is not stopped and the voice is low and deep, consider that the fox is short of milk, weak or uncomfortable in the box, and sick. Three inspections: When “seeing and listening†finds a problem, it is necessary to lead the female fox out of the production box, insert a baffle, or try to avoid the mother fox to check it in time. It is forbidden to bring the odor into the production box and contaminate the fox. Feeding and normal development of the fox is uniform in size, well-developed, belly full plump, deep and shiny lanugo. The young fox opens his eyes at the age of 2 weeks. Where the fox is weak, loose and soft, the stomach is dry, the eastern part of the west is scattered around the crates, the size is uneven, the body is wet and cool, and he is struggling with weakness or injury. All of them are abnormal. Remedial measures must be taken in a timely manner. China Agricultural Network Editor