Farmed juvenile blue foxes were housed either singly, in pairs, or in quartets at a stocking density of either 0.6 m2 or 1.2 m2 per animal. The effects of group size and space allocation on physiological, behavioural and production-related parameters were assessed. The results showed that the larger space allocation, although having only minor effects on the measured parameters, allowed the foxes to maintain their individual space even in the larger group sizes. Social tension within the groups affected the behavioural and production-related parameters to a greater extent than did space allocation. The sex-related dominance order, with males having easier access to feed than females, and females having more bite scars and higher serum cortisol levels than males, appears to be the major factor affecting the general performance of mixed-sex group-housed farmed blue foxes. These results suggest that group housing of farmed juvenile blue foxes could be considered as an alternative, socially enriched way of housing these animals.

Densities up to 100 downy brome m2 were established in winter wheat in southeastern Wyoming and west-central Kansas to quantify wheat yield loss from downy brome interference and to approximate economic threshold levels. A quadratic equation best described wheat yield loss as a function of weed density when downy brome emerged within 14 days after wheat emergence. Densities of 24, 40, and 65 downy brome m2 reduced wheat yield by 10, 15, and 20%, respectively. Wheat yield was not reduced when downy brome emerged 21 or more days later than wheat. Economic thresholds varied with changes in downy brome density, cost of control, wheat price, and potential wheat yield. In a greenhouse experiment, dry weight of 72-day-old wheat plants grown in association with downy brome was not affected by the distance between the weeds and wheat, whereas downy brome plant dry weight increased with increasing distance between the weeds and wheat.