It is necessary to grasp the key period of fox breeding in fox breeding.

Fox is an animal with high economic value, fox fur clothing is very popular, and the northern province is the key distribution area of fox breeding. The estrus mating of foxes is mostly concentrated from February to March, and doing a good job of mating at this time of year is related to the benefit of fox breeding in that year. For this reason, farmers are reminded to improve their understanding, seize the opportunity, and take effective measures to do a good job of breeding in the near future so as to improve the efficiency of comprehensive breeding. Combined with our own production practice, the author suggests that we should focus on mastering the following six technologies:

First, strengthen the management and protection of feeding

Foxes should be fed with fodder that is fond of food, easy to digest and high in protein during mating to promote gonadal function. The feed formula is: sea fish 40%, meat 25%, animal liver 2%, dairy 5%, corn flour 25%, green vegetables 3%. Animal feed should account for 65%-70% of the diet, and adequate vitamins A, E, D, C and B should be provided. at the same time, some bone meal and salt should be added, and animal brain and liver, onion, garlic and malt and other aphrodisiac feed should be fed properly. Adding an appropriate amount of cod liver oil emulsion to the feed is beneficial to the normal development of female foxes and fetuses. The animals were fed 2 or 3 times a day. During the breeding period, each male fox is fed 100 grams of eggs or meat at noon every day to supplement physical exertion.

Second, create a quiet environment

In the fox estrus mating period to absolutely keep the farm quiet, try not to allow outsiders to enter the fox farm, to create a quiet and comfortable environment for the fox. At the same time, ensure an adequate supply of clean drinking water, and do a good job of heat prevention and cooling, cold protection and warmth protection. Secondly, do not catch foxes without special circumstances, so as not to cause miscarriage of female foxes.

Third, do a good job in estrus identification

Female foxes are in estrus a little later than male foxes, mostly concentrated in February to March, a few to April. The following three methods are used to identify the estrus of the female fox. only by mastering it flexibly can the identification of estrus be more accurate and the conception rate of the fox be higher.

1. External genital examination. The female fox in estrus begins to expose her vulva and gradually swells and valgates. Subsequently, the vulva is highly swollen, everted, pink or dark red, clitoris exposed, round or oval, secretion white, yellow curd, at this time is the peak period of estrus, the pregnancy rate of mating is the highest. After that, the vulva shrinks, the swelling decreases, the secretion decreases, the mucosa is dry, and estrus ends.

two。 Behavioral observation. When the female fox is in estrus, she is restless, exercise increases, loss of appetite, frequent urination, often dawdle with cage nets or lick external genitals with tongue. During the peak estrus, the expression is extremely uneasy, loss of appetite or abstinence, constantly making a hasty courtship cry. In the later stage of estrus, the activity gradually tends to be normal, the appetite recovers, and the spirit is stable.

3. Put it in the right way. When you put the female fox in the cage of the male fox, you can see the following situation: the female fox, who is just beginning to be in estrus, tends to be of the opposite sex and can play hip-hop with the male fox, but refuses the male fox to climb and mate. When the estrus is exuberant, the female fox is docile, standing with her hind legs apart, her tail tilted to one side, waiting for the male fox to climb across and mate. In the later stage, the female fox's libido decreased and she was hostile to the male fox.

IV. Rational use of male foxes

The unreasonable use of male foxes will reduce the pregnancy rate of female foxes. During the whole mating period, the maximum number of mating of each male fox is no more than 16 times. In order to ensure that male foxes have strong sexual desire throughout the breeding period, male foxes should be used reasonably in a planned way. In the early stage of mating, each male fox can be tested twice a day and mated twice a day, and it is best to use it once a day in the middle or later stage of mating. It should be rested for 1 day after 5-7 days of mating.

5. Check semen quality

Semen quality examination is an effective means to improve the pregnancy rate of female foxes. Semen quality examination should be carried out at room temperature of 18-20 ℃. The method is to insert a glass rod or straw into the vagina of the newly prepared female fox, take or absorb a drop of mucus, put it on a glass slide and observe it under a microscope of 200 to 300 times. The semen of good quality can be seen under the microscope: a large number of sperm, active movement, moving in a straight line, shaped like tadpoles, head and tail can be divided, uniform size, no deformity. If there is no sperm or very few sperm under the microscope, the motility is very weak, and there are many deformities, the male fox should be eliminated.

VI. Suitable way of breeding

Through the identification, if the female fox does enter the peak period of estrus, she should mate in time. The way is to put the female fox in the cage of the male fox (because the male fox is used to mating in his own cage). Put it right at any time during the day, but it is best when the weather is cool and quiet in the morning and evening. The fox is an animal that ovulates one after another in seasonal estrus, so its mating method should be repeated every day, that is, after the first mating, it should be remated once a day until the female fox refuses to mate. You can also mate again the next day after the first mating. For those female foxes with strong mate selection, multiple male foxes can be used to mate with them in order to improve the breeding rate.