borax

Just don't use borax in place of or with salt. Especially if your going to send it somewhere to be tanned. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
 
Mainly used for the preservation of birds . Drys the skin out and makes it hard and brittle(does the same to animal hides, but not the same as tanning). Helps prevent spoilage and decay of bird mounts as bird skins arent tanned.
 
woops! I coated my entire coyote pelt with it. Should I wash it off and use salt? Also, do I need to completely tan the hides I get just to sell them to a fur buyer? I'm kinda new at these bigger animals. Trapped some muskrats as a kid, but nothing more. What's the minimum I need to do just for the purpose of selling the pelts?

Thanks,
TC
 
Borax works good for preserving roe sacks too! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Used it for years, roll sacks in it and bottle, lasts for years!
 
labonte43, you don't have to tan or borax your skins to sell them to a fur buyer. In fact I bet most wouldn't even want them if they knew it was done to them.

Also...I don't want to give the impression that borax doesn't work. I'd just like everyone to know that it's not a tanning method or alternative.

All it really does is deter insects and bacteria from the hide. Not a thing more.
Years ago taxidermists used to use nothing but borax. Yea some of the mounts may even still be around, but their hard on the eyes.

Every year I get folks who have boraxed their hides before sending em in to be tanned. I'm forced to send em right back. That stuff will not mix with any tanning agent I've ever seen.

If your just selling fur to buyers, all you really need to do is freeze them until your ready to sell.
 
Borax works well on reptiles. I use it to dry copperhead and rattlesnake skins since salt is a no no for reptiles. Then coat with glyserin to soften it.
 
If you are going to sell to a fur buyer I would HIGHLY suggest learning how to properly flesh and dry the pelt. Once you flesh it you put them on stretchers. Different sizes for different animals, some are fur in some are fur out. Borax does have another use once you are drying your fur. If you get really greasy fatty hides borax dries them out really well, and takes all the grease out of any fur before you sell. I have always used sawdust in the past but will try using borax as I have a friend who uses it and it does an amazing job.

If you want info on fleshing and stretching pelts there are alot of books and a few videos out there you can buy to teach you. There is NOTHING more rewarding than putting up your fur and admiring it before you sell it. I almost get sad when I sell my fur.
 
labonte43, to learn more on fur handling, go to www.trapperman.com and read everything that has to do with fur handling BEFORE you ask questions. There is a colledge education on this subject there and it costs nothing for the course!
Take your time and learn this stuff. A frozen pelt is a green pelt and only brings 30% to 50% of a hides value. Muskrats take 10 to 15 seconds to flesh and put on a stretcher, coyotes take (me) 10 to 15 minutes.
Good luck!
 


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