Three key issues raccoon dog breeders must currently pay attention to

Entering mid-September, raccoon dogs enter the late fattening stage, a period of transition from the growth stage to the fur maturation stage. For breeders, this period until pelting (around November 20) is the most critical time in the breeding process; the quality of management directly affects the success and profitability of the operation, and breeders must not be careless. So how can one correctly grasp this critical period of about two months to maximize breeding profits? The years of experience of successful breeders tells us that one should start from the following three aspects:

I. Feed rationing At this time the raccoon dog already has the physical features of an adult raccoon dog (body length, coat color, etc.). As the climate changes and the weather grows colder, following the growth patterns of wild fur-bearing animals, from this time on it will instinctively grow underfur to resist the cold when severe winter arrives. But after being raised in captivity, the raccoon dog's bodily functions change, and it is not very sensitive to external climate changes. Thus, it is necessary to use artificial feeding methods to prompt underfur growth, in preparation for pelting (a pelt without underfur is a defective or waste pelt). Because fur prices have fallen sharply this year, some breeders have lost confidence in the prospects of raising raccoon dogs, and many breeders have cut costs by reducing feed and food intake, so that up to now the growth of many raccoon dog pelts is not very good. Little do they realize that doing so is counterproductive. The reason is simple: the worse the market year, the higher buyers' quality requirements and the pickier their selection, and the more breeders must feed the raccoon dogs they raise well so that their pelts reach excellent standards, and only then can the pelts finally produced be sold or fetch a good price. Otherwise, they may be worth nothing at all. Therefore, in the time from now on, breeders should increase feed input, that is, feed generously. At the same time, supplementary foods should not be reduced (such as chicken racks and other animal livers, etc.), to guarantee the raccoon dog's nutritional intake and ensure that at pelting time the underfur is complete and the guard hairs are neat. Only in this way can breeders guarantee relatively ideal returns in a lean year (according to market rules).

II. Fur quality From this period on, for various reasons, a few raccoon dogs will eat their fur (self-bite), so this should be taken very seriously. As to whether a raccoon dog eats (bites) its fur, breeders should, when feeding, carefully observe the underside of the neck and both sides of the belly of each raccoon dog. If it is found that biting has indeed occurred, measures such as putting on a neck collar (using net floats or small wooden sticks strung together), fitting a muzzle (woven from iron wire), or removing teeth (removing the front teeth and the teeth on both sides) should be taken to prevent the "eating" behavior from developing further.

III. Selection of breeding raccoon dogs For breeders who intend to expand their operation next year or to reserve breeding raccoon dogs for others, now is the last time to decide which raccoon dogs to keep as breeding stock. After you have decided on the breeding raccoon dogs through external appearance (body length, coat color), internal examination (whether the reproductive organs are complete, etc.) and comprehensive factors (whether they eat happily, whether the facial features are well-formed and harmonious, etc.), you should choose a day to raise them separately. In this way, feeding methods suited to each raccoon dog can be adopted for the breeding stock. For breeding raccoon dogs that are relatively fat (body weight above 7 kg), a feeding method completely different from that for pelt raccoon dogs (commercial raccoon dogs, i.e. those to be pelted) should be adopted, so as to avoid the situation where self-regulated body condition is unsatisfactory, while manual condition adjustment, because the physique is too strong, cannot bring them to the body condition for estrus and mating (at which time the individual weight is about 6 kg).

In addition to the above three points, breeders should also prevent the occurrence of the phenomenon of mutual fighting causing "injury" when multiple raccoon dogs are raised in one cage. In the period after autumn, raccoon dogs are already adults and have acquired corresponding immunity, and diseases that have a major impact on the growth and quality of raccoon dogs are no longer common. If a raccoon dog shows reluctance to eat and listlessness, it can basically be determined to be a bodily conditioned reflex produced by seasonal changes, and it will regulate itself within a few days, so there is no need to give treatment.