fleshing around the heads

[greenhead_killer]

just looking to see how in depth you guys go in the head area. not much fat if any on the water critters. if a little of the meat is left(i dont think its meat, i think its membrane), is that a problem? if i were to prep a few hides for the tannery(personal use), will salting heavy on the head save it from rotting or going bad if i missed a small piece here and there? if any of you more experienced guys have pics of a finished beaver or otter head, be greatly appreciated. just gauging if my work is on the right path or if i need to modify my approach for better long term product. thanks

[lewy]

I usually go back to the head area last with a havalon and spend a few more minutes on it after I知 done fleshing, but it痴 never perfectly clean and all my stuff comes back from moyles real nice

[greenhead_killer]

ok thanks. i feel like if i go too hard at it, i end up tearing the ears and make extra holes. trying to keep it the cleanest i can but im still learning. hows the tannery process go? salt, box and ship? you call ahead of time to let them know whats coming to them? ive got a few leftovers from last year that im prepping, mostly off youtube videos, but figured id ask here too about the process. thanks for the reply

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

greenhead,
Everything you send to a tannery MUST be fleshed completely, which includes 'turning' of the lips, ears, eyes, and nose. Fleshing is a little different from the trapping vs. taxidermy aspect but really work at getting all the flesh removed. If the fleshing isn't sufficient no amount of salting is going to keep you hides from being tanned properly or rotting for that matter. If you leave areas or membrane unfleshed or removed you run the risk of the hide will slipping either during the tanning process or afterwards. The reason why is you have not gotten down to the follicle layers of the hide, and therefore the tanning agent (whatever tannery you are going to uses method) will not permeate the area and decomposition will occur. I'm not sure where you are located at but I would be happy to show you what I mean by demonstration on a cape.
Also, there are only a few tanneries that will accept hides from private parties, all notifications of capes coming to them and paperwork is different so check with each tannery you are looking into, which they will also tell you their requirements with fleshing and turning of capes/hides.
Best of luck and get a hold of me if you want more information. The other organization to check methods and tannery information on would be the Washington State Trappers Association, good people and highly knowledgeable. They have a trapping class coming up in the end of November...highly recommend it and I will be there as well. I see your already a member ( in your avatar).

[Born2late]

I send all my furs to moyles in idaho. They come back beautiful. I don't go super over board around the face area on my beavers or otters and everyone has come back thinned and nice looking. I usually use a knife and by hand try to clean up the face so i don't destroy it.I board and dry all my fur.No salt.
Last year when i called moyles and talked to them about a cougar hide i was helping a friend with they said no salt please just dried.Then they gave the disclaimer that the hair might slip in spots when tanning. Don't know if thats true or not.
He had skinned the cat,got it tagged and salted it and put it in the freezer.Thats what i had comunicated to them what i was working with.
Might be worth calling them to see what they say they want.

[lewy]

They will accept salted or stretched and dried

[greenhead_killer]

Thanks for all the info guys. I知 still learning, going to make mistakes, but I知 picking it up quickly and am a quick learner. Don稚 want to be a waster though and lose out because of negligence on my part. @brtaxidermy, thanks for the info and the offer. I知 in Ellensburg but if ever down your way, will look you up. Just trying to learn as much as I can and become as efficient as possible. I値l look up moyle lewy, thanks for the info. Thanks guy for everything. Just getting ready for this season and ironing out a few last minute details. I知 sure I値l have more going forward.

[Humptulips]

Moyles does garment tanning which is fine unless you are doing a mount. Typically we just remove the lips except on smaller animals.
If you want the feet tanned for a wall hanger you have to do something with the pads or they will turn out hard. Some tedious fleshing there.
It doesn't take much work to flesh the head but I would add you should turn the ears if you want them not to slip.

[Okanagan]

Salt and freezer work against each other and sometimes create hair slip.  Salt retards freezing, so do one or the other but not both is what a tannery I used for years told me.

I am good at splitting the lips but always struggle with turning the ears.  Both need to be done or those sections of the hide on fur critters eventually crack/crumble/fall off.

 A YouTube video on skinning lynx showed me a fast and easy way to skin feet on bobcat, cougar etc. He hung the animal, or at least the unskinned foot so he could pull down.  He pulled the hide down to the base of the toes, then used a Phillips screwdriver to push between the toe bones and pull down.  Use an exacto knife or other small blade for the fine detail skinning.  I'm not very ept at computer links or would try to link it here.

[greenhead_killer]

thanks for the info guys. its just for garment purposes. personal use so im not overly worried. still want to do it right and figured you guys would point me in the right direction. thanks again