This is our first year trapping and we got our first animal yesterday, a gorgeous raccoon. Trapping is hard on the soul, even if we’re only trap local nuisance and overpopulated wildlife. The death of each animal is a hard pill to swallow, but makes for a much more healthy population overall. This raccoon was taken as humanely and quickly as possible and we used him to the fullest. We’re utilizing the fur, bones, meat, and even fat! He had so much fat on him I rendered it down and made dog treats and candles. You can see the whole process in my photos. The candles burn with no smell except for the peppermint essential oils I used to scent them. Because of the nature of raccoon fat these candles are softer in texture at room temperature, unlike the more solid candles made using cow fat.
@cdawgdraws yeah I would love to! I'm pretty busy with school right now but sometime in the future I would love to work as a guide or do lessons of some sort
It was like day of the bizarrely injured yotes at work this afternoon. Saw these two in the same box of skulls. Both were trapped years ago, and the injuries had healed on their own so neither was directly killed by their injuries.
Hey Ella! Quick question: What do I do when I don't have the budget for tanning solutions or chemicals but I don't want my hides going to waste? I'd hate myself if I had to throw the beautiful red fox hide in my freezer out. I heard egg yolks work, but I can't find instructions or a tutorial anywhere. Maybe you can help? How do I best remove the excess tissue from the hide? Do I have to salt it in advance? What does the pickling do? I'm just so clueless and moneyless. Anything helps! Thank you
Well, if you salt the hide you can store it for long periods of time without tanning it, which would buy you some of time to save money up for tanning supplies. Egg tanning is also a viable option, I have never done it myself so I can’t give you much specific information on the subject, but I do know there are plenty of youtube videos and online resources on egg tanning if you do a little digging. Brain tanning is also an option, you could try looking gin to that as well.
As for removing tissue, sometimes salting it and peeling tissues away once its dried a bit can make it a bit easier, but honestly without a fleshing board and some kind of fleshing knife its a pain and you just gotta sit down with a couple different knives and pick away at it until you find the best method with what materials you have available.
There has been some debate in the taxidermy community regarding the importance of pickling, but what I’ve come to understand it that it both plumps up the hide making it easier to shave (if need be) and also reduces non-essential protein structures, facilitation the adherence of tannins later on in the process. Not all tanning methods us pickling.
Here are some resources that might be of some use to you!
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