Red Fox Gestation Period: How Long Is a Red Fox Pregnant?

How long is a red fox pregnant?

A red fox carries her kit for an average of 52 days, or about 1 month and 3 weeks. Counting from the breeding date, birthing is normal anywhere from day 49 to day 55.

Key checkpoints across the 52-day red fox gestation, measured in days from breeding:

Estimate your red fox's birthing date

Enter the breeding date for an estimated birthing date at 52 days.

Red fox gestation stages, month by month

Signs a red fox is pregnant

• Loud screaming and barking at night during the winter mating season
• A pair of foxes seen together more often in late winter
• A rounder belly and visible teats in the last few weeks
• The vixen digging or cleaning out a den

Signs of approaching birthing

• The vixen spending most of her time in or near the den
• The dog fox carrying food to the den for the vixen
• Contact your vet if labour stalls, if the animal strains without progress, or if there is abnormal discharge before birthing begins.

What affects red fox gestation length

• A red fox is pregnant for about 52 days, roughly seven and a half weeks.
• Red foxes breed once a year. Mating takes place in mid to late winter, often marked by loud night-time calls, and cubs are born in spring.
• Breeding is earlier in the south of the range and later in the north, so cubs in colder areas tend to be born later in spring.
• Litters average around four to six cubs, but can be larger where food is plentiful. Cubs are born blind and dark brown or grey.
• The vixen stays in the den with the cubs for the first couple of weeks, while the dog fox, and sometimes non-breeding helper vixens, bring her food.
• Cubs first come out of the den at around four to five weeks and are usually independent by autumn.

Red fox gestation chart

Every fifth breeding date across the year with the matching birthing date, calculated at 52 days. Find the row closest to the date the red fox was served; because normal gestation spans 49 to 55 days, plan for a window of a few days either side. Filter by month, or print the chart for the barn wall or breeding record: navigation, buttons and adverts are hidden on paper.

Sources for red fox gestation figures

Figures on this page are drawn from state wildlife agency and university extension information on red foxes, and published studies of red fox ecology and reproduction, and checked against the references below. Averages describe healthy animals under normal management; individual animals vary, and nothing here replaces advice from your vet.

• State wildlife agency and university extension pages on red foxes
• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) — species husbandry and animal care manuals
• Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute — species fact sheets
• Published zoological studies of captive births