Research Article

THE INFLUENCE OF BIRTH DATE AND LITTER MATING ON PRODUCTION TRAITS OF POLAR FOXES

Jacek Zawiślak, Bogusz Łaski, Stanisław Kubacki

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 7(2), 2008, 31‒38

Abstract. In the paper, the analysis of the influence of the birth date and the delivery sequence on the production traits of blue polar foxes is presented. The investigations were performed on the animal farms in the kujawsko-pomorskie voivodship within the years 2003–2005. The following numbers of foxes were analyzed: in total 1252 individuals, on farm A – 845 individuals and on farm B – 407 individuals of foxes. It was shown that the date of birth of a fox puppy, depending on the year and the farm, encloses within the period between May 9th and 21st. An early date of birth had an advantageous influence on the number of delivered and the brought up fox puppies from one litter. There is no unambiguous influence of the time of birth on the size of an animal (in cm).

Keywords: correlation, date of birth, polar fox, production traits