coyote fur primeness

G

gowy

New member
I suppose this gets asked every year but here goes.
When in southeastern Wyoming would coyotes be considered prime? Would they prime up earlier in the mountains than on the paririe? How much does the cold weather have to do with it? Thank You
 
I was told by a very good trapper friend of mine that the coyotes prime up about the middle of October. The cold has nothing to do with it. Like all animals that grow longer hair in the winter (cats, horses and the like) it is the amount of sunlight they recieve each day that determines hair growth. Of course this probably varies with lattitude.
All it means to me is that I only have to wait another month and a half to start calling again! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
First of all welcome to the board gowy. Coyotes get their fur in relation to the time of year like huntingal stated above, but it does also have alot to do with elevation. I have shot coyotes up in northern montana in late september early october that were fully primed. Around here in utah it is usually the middle or toward the end of october before they all have their silver tips!
 
Fur primeness consists of two basic parts. First the fur thickens as a result of the shorter days, i.e. it is not neccessarily a response to colder weather alone. Next the skin or "leather" becomes thicker to accept the added roots of the fur that have grown. When you have a pelt that is fully furred and has thick leather it is a fully "Prime" pelt. you can tell when you have the right leather because it will change from a dark "blueish" color to a milky cream or "white" on the indside of the skin. This is very obviuos in raccoons. You may have a valuable pelt even without the leather being fully primed up. I suggest you go hunt some and then skin them and observe the color of the leather.
I just realized that I said a whole lot with out answering your question directly, maybe I should run for politcal office! good Luck!
 
Primeness is determined by most photoperiod (ie---length of daylight), however, elevation and more importantly temps do also contribute to primeness as well.
 
I understand the light controls when the fur primes, but why do the coon out in the open prime before the ones in the sheltered valleys?T.20
 
well i shot 2 yotes sat. one at 2600 ft and he was reddish/brown in color temp was 100 during the day. 2nd was at 7000ft he had turned winter color but he was thin coated.Temp at night is 40 to 50. I used to trap and I liked the thickness of the coats in mid nov till feb.
 
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