Key Points and Methods of Fox Farm Sanitation Management
Sanitation and Epidemic Prevention Measures for Fox Farms
Formulating effective sanitation and epidemic prevention measures for fox farms to reduce or eliminate the incidence of disease in foxes is of great significance for improving fox pelt quality and economic benefits. Therefore, in daily feeding and management, the principle of prevention being more important than treatment must be adhered to.
I. Sanitation Measures
Feed sanitation. Purchasing feed from epidemic areas is absolutely prohibited. Many infectious diseases are shared between livestock and foxes; if foxes eat meat-based feed made from diseased livestock, it will cause outbreaks of disease.
Control feed mold. Do not feed stale or spoiled feed. Practice has proven that when foxes eat rotten and spoiled feed, in mild cases they develop anorexia, refuse food, and become infected with disease; in severe cases it causes death.
Remove harmful substances from feed. Before processing, fish and meat feed must have impurities removed, such as sand, mud, and spoiled fat, then be thoroughly rinsed with clean water before further processing and use.
Drinking water must be clean and free of contamination. Water sources must be strictly managed; sewage and harmful substances must not flow into them. Drinking water utensils must be frequently rinsed and disinfected to prevent mold growth.
Cage and housing sanitation. Manure beneath the cages must be promptly removed daily, and the ground must be rinsed. During the fox whelping period, the bedding straw in the wooden boxes must be frequently replaced. The bedding straw is used for cold protection and warmth retention and must be soft, dry, free of contamination, and free of mold and rot.
Sanitation of feeding utensils. Feeding utensils should be frequently disinfected. Use a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution to scrub feed buckets, water basins, and processing utensils, etc.; they can also be disinfected by steaming or boiling.
II. Epidemic Prevention Measures
Cut off all transmission routes. When introducing breeding foxes, a veterinary department must be asked to conduct quarantine. To prevent the introduction of sources of infectious disease, newly introduced breeding foxes must, after arriving at the farm, be kept separately in isolation for about half a month for observation; only after confirming they are disease-free may they enter the farm for rearing.
Other animals such as dogs are strictly forbidden from entering the farm. Other animals must not be kept mixed with foxes on the same farm, to prevent mutual transmission.
Regular vaccination for prevention. Regular vaccination to enhance the specific immunity of foxes is an effective measure to prevent epidemic diseases. Vaccination must be carried out 2 times per year (in December when keeping breeding stock, and in July 2 weeks after cubs are separated from the litter and weaned), such as canine distemper vaccine and viral enteritis vaccine.
Drug prevention. Adding some drugs to the feed can effectively prevent the occurrence of certain epidemic diseases. For example, adding 1 oxytetracycline tablet per fox per week to the feed can not only prevent feed from turning rancid, but also prevent the occurrence of intestinal diseases.
Regular disinfection. Disinfection is one of the important measures for preventing or eliminating infectious diseases. Therefore, the farm must use Baidusha or peracetic acid to spray the entire farm for preventive disinfection every month, in order to control the occurrence of epidemic diseases.