BEFORE TAKING HOME,
make sure it's legal
because I don't know about there, but around here it's highly illegal to even breathe around deer without permits and stuff. My laws state I need DNR permission and a permit to take up deer roadkill, they closely monitor how many die and where, so they get really pissy if you mess with anything deer related, and aren't afraid to heavily fine you. So check your laws about the animals you want to mes with.
SIDE NOTE,
Deer are usually riddled with all sorts of fun things like ticks and fleas, so if you do take something, put it in the freezer for a week to freeze and kill those buggers.
Pertaining to those buggers stated above, ALWAYS USE GLOVES. Carry around garbage bags in your vehicles because you never know what you're going to find! I always give my dead animals a good bath with dog shampoo to get buggers and blood off before I get working, my tannery always thanks me XD
DECIDING WHETHER TO TAKE IT,
look for these things to indicate it's "too far gone"
really bloated
fly eggs/maggots (if you get there early and there aren't that many, you should be okay.
Heat. If it's hot out, is it worth it? XD Unless there's fresh blood to tell you it hasn't been there long, you don't want to go there.
Smell. If it smells like roadkill, that's not a good sign. If it smells like animal/blood, you should be okay. (don't mess with roadkill raccoons, they carry airborne diseases. Getting sick just from breathing around it? No, thank you!)
If you handle it and the fur slips, it's not worth it. The heat from your hands will just make it worse if you try to skin the thing out. *some exceptions would be if the head or legs or tail still seem okay, you can use it for extra parts*
make sure it's legal
because I don't know about there, but around here it's highly illegal to even breathe around deer without permits and stuff. My laws state I need DNR permission and a permit to take up deer roadkill, they closely monitor how many die and where, so they get really pissy if you mess with anything deer related, and aren't afraid to heavily fine you. So check your laws about the animals you want to mes with.
SIDE NOTE,
Deer are usually riddled with all sorts of fun things like ticks and fleas, so if you do take something, put it in the freezer for a week to freeze and kill those buggers.
Pertaining to those buggers stated above, ALWAYS USE GLOVES. Carry around garbage bags in your vehicles because you never know what you're going to find! I always give my dead animals a good bath with dog shampoo to get buggers and blood off before I get working, my tannery always thanks me XD
DECIDING WHETHER TO TAKE IT,
look for these things to indicate it's "too far gone"
really bloated
fly eggs/maggots (if you get there early and there aren't that many, you should be okay.
Heat. If it's hot out, is it worth it? XD Unless there's fresh blood to tell you it hasn't been there long, you don't want to go there.
Smell. If it smells like roadkill, that's not a good sign. If it smells like animal/blood, you should be okay. (don't mess with roadkill raccoons, they carry airborne diseases. Getting sick just from breathing around it? No, thank you!)
If you handle it and the fur slips, it's not worth it. The heat from your hands will just make it worse if you try to skin the thing out. *some exceptions would be if the head or legs or tail still seem okay, you can use it for extra parts*
Also you can ignore some of those if you're really desperate to save something because I've done it and it was a miserable process, but I salvaged it so it was sooo worth it.
SKINNING,
Always wear gloves, damnit. Not just for safety reasons for you, but the warmth of your hands takes a toll on the skin of the animal, and fur WILL start slipping. Best you can do is touch things as least as possible and skin in a cool area. Also I can't tell you how many times I would have cut my hand if I didn't have gloves on. I did once, and if you do, just make sure to THOROUGHLY wash that sucker, apply pressure as soon as you can, put Neosporin on it, don't just put a Bandaid on like god that stuff is your friend, don't avoid it. It did nothing wrong.
The only thing more terrifying than a sharp blade is a dull blade! If you're worried about scalpels and such, go to Menards and get some of those nice boxcutters, they work great and the blades snap off so you can easily have a sharp one handy! They also sell flat and wide razors which work fantastic for fleshing. Fleshing is your friend! I know it can be scary because there's a lot of opportunity for knicking the skin, but taking the extra flesh/fat off the hide will make you very happy mounting it, and some tanneries will take off prices if you do a good job! For fleshing, this is my baby: www.menards.com/main/kitchen/k… we've been through a lot together, and I wouldn't have it any other way. For a cased cut, start at the base of the pawpad on a back leg and make your incision. Pull your blade down to the gentiles, pick what way you want to go around them. Do the same cut with the other back leg until they meet. Just keep cutting connective tissue, don't be afraid to put some elbow grease into it, skin is stronger than you think. If you send it to Shelby, leave the tailbone/paws in. She will even skin out the head for you should you wish. (more money, but hey, it's professionally done). Otherwise to skin out the paws just keep cutting connective tissue and tendons DO NOT CUT THE PAWPADS, THAT IS NOT FUN TO FIX LATER. Just be patient and pull with all your might XD It helps to have an assistant hold legs for you. When you get to the last knuckle, cut it. The claws are embedded in the bone, so if you try to skin the whole paw off, your pelt won't have claws. The head pull the nose up so you can see the front incisors Cut up into the nose area (there's a little piece where you start out that I don't know the name of. But if you put your tongue up behind your upper lip and feel that separating piece of skin, that's what you cut. Cut all around the mouth, making sure to leave sufficient lip skin for mounting. I'd suggest just keeping close to the muscles, you cant put a hole in your pelt that way. Just keep cutting up until you get near the eyes. To make sure you don't cut them wrong, I always stick my finger in the eye from the outside and push around. This gives you an idea of where everything is so you don't cut up the eyeholes. I'd also suggest not trying to turn the ears at this point, touching them too much will cause slippage and it's just better to not risk that and turn them after it's tanned. Just cut the bases of the ear from the head, plain and simple. Then Come up from the back (body) and keep skinning until the two places you've finished meet. Then take the skin off like a sweatshirt! (favorite analogy). I'd suggest turning the paws (I've you've skinned them out) the normal way because that's less fun to do when it's tanned
. Set the pelt out and put the legs in the middle of it, then the head, then roll it up. Double bag it and LABEL IT. For real, just do it.
MOUNTING SIDE NOTE,
Don't cheap out with materials, taxidermy is an expensive hobby! You get what you pay for, so if you put in the money for good materials, you'll end up with a good output! REFERENCES ARE KEY. DO NOT WING IT. Invest in a reference CD, they have all the pictures you need and you don't need to spend forever trying to find them online. They're all there for you and they're made for taxidermists. Read up, don't be afraid to ask questions!
SKINNING,
Always wear gloves, damnit. Not just for safety reasons for you, but the warmth of your hands takes a toll on the skin of the animal, and fur WILL start slipping. Best you can do is touch things as least as possible and skin in a cool area. Also I can't tell you how many times I would have cut my hand if I didn't have gloves on. I did once, and if you do, just make sure to THOROUGHLY wash that sucker, apply pressure as soon as you can, put Neosporin on it, don't just put a Bandaid on like god that stuff is your friend, don't avoid it. It did nothing wrong.
The only thing more terrifying than a sharp blade is a dull blade! If you're worried about scalpels and such, go to Menards and get some of those nice boxcutters, they work great and the blades snap off so you can easily have a sharp one handy! They also sell flat and wide razors which work fantastic for fleshing. Fleshing is your friend! I know it can be scary because there's a lot of opportunity for knicking the skin, but taking the extra flesh/fat off the hide will make you very happy mounting it, and some tanneries will take off prices if you do a good job! For fleshing, this is my baby: www.menards.com/main/kitchen/k… we've been through a lot together, and I wouldn't have it any other way. For a cased cut, start at the base of the pawpad on a back leg and make your incision. Pull your blade down to the gentiles, pick what way you want to go around them. Do the same cut with the other back leg until they meet. Just keep cutting connective tissue, don't be afraid to put some elbow grease into it, skin is stronger than you think. If you send it to Shelby, leave the tailbone/paws in. She will even skin out the head for you should you wish. (more money, but hey, it's professionally done). Otherwise to skin out the paws just keep cutting connective tissue and tendons DO NOT CUT THE PAWPADS, THAT IS NOT FUN TO FIX LATER. Just be patient and pull with all your might XD It helps to have an assistant hold legs for you. When you get to the last knuckle, cut it. The claws are embedded in the bone, so if you try to skin the whole paw off, your pelt won't have claws. The head pull the nose up so you can see the front incisors Cut up into the nose area (there's a little piece where you start out that I don't know the name of. But if you put your tongue up behind your upper lip and feel that separating piece of skin, that's what you cut. Cut all around the mouth, making sure to leave sufficient lip skin for mounting. I'd suggest just keeping close to the muscles, you cant put a hole in your pelt that way. Just keep cutting up until you get near the eyes. To make sure you don't cut them wrong, I always stick my finger in the eye from the outside and push around. This gives you an idea of where everything is so you don't cut up the eyeholes. I'd also suggest not trying to turn the ears at this point, touching them too much will cause slippage and it's just better to not risk that and turn them after it's tanned. Just cut the bases of the ear from the head, plain and simple. Then Come up from the back (body) and keep skinning until the two places you've finished meet. Then take the skin off like a sweatshirt! (favorite analogy). I'd suggest turning the paws (I've you've skinned them out) the normal way because that's less fun to do when it's tanned
. Set the pelt out and put the legs in the middle of it, then the head, then roll it up. Double bag it and LABEL IT. For real, just do it.MOUNTING SIDE NOTE,
Don't cheap out with materials, taxidermy is an expensive hobby! You get what you pay for, so if you put in the money for good materials, you'll end up with a good output! REFERENCES ARE KEY. DO NOT WING IT. Invest in a reference CD, they have all the pictures you need and you don't need to spend forever trying to find them online. They're all there for you and they're made for taxidermists. Read up, don't be afraid to ask questions!
ALSO
adding this because it REALLY bothers me
when you're stuffing a soft mount, like pull apart the clumps of stuffing so it's fluffy rather than clumps of stuffing. Because clumps will result in awkward bending in awkward places
that is all
Created at simplydevio.us
