Fair price for tanning a pelt?

A

ArkyFatherSon

New member
New at this and I may not be using the correct word "tanning". Feel free to correct my terminology.

What is a fair price to pay to get a skinned coyote pelt tanned so it is suitable for a rug or hang on the wall?

Fair price for a bobcat?

Are a taxidermists qualified to do this job?

Do you have any sugguestions on who I could use in DFW area, Oklahoma or Arkansas? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Fair price for you, or the taxidermist? lol Kidding aside, if you have a pelt that you have properly skinned and prepped to be commercially tanned,here in the northeast it would run you a little less than hm1996's area. If you required the animal to be skinned and prepped,it would run a bit more.Now if you're looking to turn the hide into an actually rug,with the head mounted and hide lined and backed,plan on quite a bit more.Also,if you plan on one day turning the hide into such a true rug with mounted head,let the taxidermist know before tanning,as the head area of the hide will require a bit of extra prep work to leave a tanned skin that can one day be mounted.
 
That's true arky,but on the same token the last year I did taxidermy full time I was getting $425 on a whitetail shoulder mount and I cant get that much selling them on e-bay either,lol
 
soreloser,
I'm very familar with the cheap tanneries in the business.There are some hidden costs there that you're not considering though.In the case of green frozen hides, figure on adding $20-30 right at the getgo for overnight, or at very least 2nd day shipping, also factor in standard ups charges for return shipping.Most reputable commercial tanneries will not accept green frozen hides, and no tanneries that Im aware of offer any garentee of the end results because of the many variables involved.About 10 years ago, I decided to a bit of a survey myself, and broke a shipment of about 120 whitetail capes into smaller shipments to a dozen or so tanneries throughout the country.I was gaugeing turnaround time,price and quality.To say that there was a big difference between the lowest priced tanneries, and the more expensive tanneries, would be a huge understatement.If you're just looking to have a hide garment tanned as opposed to taxidermy tanning, the cheapest way to do it, is to skin and prep the animal yourself,stretch and dry it,then ship it out to a tannery.Moyle is a good choice for something like that, and your final cost considering shipping will probably be in the area of 50 bucks or so on a yote, a little less on a cat.Doing the same in this area and working through a taxidermist will likely run you about 70.Keep in mind though,this will not be taxidermy tanning and the hide will not generally be mountable when it comes back,though it will be plenty soft to throw across a chair or hang on a nail.Not knocking a guy that likes to find the cheapest way out,he11, Im tight as they come lol, but in comparison most guys that have called for a few years can call in plenty of predators with the reed out of a $3 squeeky toy,yet we choose to spend $30,40 or $50 on a fine crafted handmade call.
 
Try these guys, Wildthingsfur.com. They are making me mountain man hats from some pretanned coyote and fox pelts for $35 each and they even put eyes in them. I'm also having a coon super trooper hat being made for the same amount. It requires 1.5 fox for a mountainman and if you want more than a Daniel Boon type coon hat it requies the same amount with coon. With the left over fur hes making me ear muffs for ten bucks a crack. The owners are Don and Brenday Biermann, ph(608)625-4181. The last tme I checked, I think they charge around fouty five bucks (and do an awsome job!)if you send your salted/dried pelt to them for a yote.
 
I have to agree with Mickthetaxidermist . The cost of doing hides will vary, but the bottom line is, if you want a decent job done you're going so spend a bit more. I'd say $100 plus/minus is the average.
 
I've had champion tannery do some pelts for me. He's very much under $100 for a pelt and all of my stuff has come back great.
 
I just got a yote back I sent off last year. My furbyer holds them frozen until he gets enought then sends them off. It took 10 months to get it back and cost 35 bucks.
 
I sent one to Moyle Minks up in Heyburn, ID last year and it was arount $30 and I had it back in about 2 or 3 weeks. Turned out reallly nice too.
 
Moyle is popular for non-taxidermy tanning, and Champion is one of the better that I tried.You have to remember though, that if you choose to go through a middleman such as a taxidermist, his time is worth money as well, so even if you've done the skinning and putting up the hide, you're still paying a little more for someone to box up and ship your hides as well as shipping to and from the tannery.Additionally if you'd like to have the head mounted one day,there is additional work involved in prepping the hide prior to sending to the tannery.The ears have to be completely skinned out and inverted,the lips and eyelids have to be split and turned, and the nostrils have to be opened and split.Unless you're dealing with a new hobby taxidermist that is working for mcdonald's wages,this additional prep work is going to add as much to the bill as the tanning cost itself. Though it may seem that the taxidermist is trying to rake a guy over the coals, the reality is that most full-time professionals would prefer not to handle tanning jobs at all,and it's offered strictly as a convienence to our customers.
 
I agree with Mick- Though I have had good luck with Moyles also and will be using them again for cassed hanging pelts. If I was to do a rug I would most likely spend the money for a taxidermist to do it right. But if you're cheap like me, that might be after I tried doing the rug myself with one of the kits you can get from trap supply companies like the Snare Shop. If it messed up I would then pay the money and have it done right. I can always get another yote!
 
If you want to have a coyote tanned for a hanging pelt (tubed out), do you still need to split the nostrils, eyes and ears?
 
Predatorsniper is correct.You don't need to worry about splitting or turning anything for a wall hanging pelt.Those areas are splt and turned for taxidermy so that the skin may be positioned over a mannikin,and in the case of the ears,have earliners glued in place to replace the cartilage that is removed.While coyotes arent too bad, anyone who has ever tried to invert the ears on a thin skinned fox,knows that to do it without shreading the delicate ears is a time consuming process.That's what drives up the cost for taxidermy quality tanning.Sure you might be able to skin a fox for a stretcher in 10 minutes,but without a good deal of practice, figure a couple extra hours to prep out the feet and head.Do be sure to remove all of the tail bone and split the underside of the tail open all the way to the tip though,or you'll risk hair slippage.Once the hide is tanned, you'll never even notice that the tail is split to the tip,unless you spread the hair and check.If you leave your feet on the hide,try and skin the toes down to the last little bone that connects to the nails.Though the little bit of flesh in this area will tan,if left in the hide,it may one day be a draw to dermisted beatles,sometimes called carpet beatles.
 
Thanks for all the info.

Moyle states "All skins must be fleshed, cleaned, and dried" before being sent.


Champion states "Hides must be shipped salt dried"

What does that mean? If you know of a web site that describes how to clean and salt dry, please provide a link.
 
Arky,
Salt dried is the preferred method for most professional commercial tanneries. By salting the skin heavily with a fine grained white salt,the salt will act to pull the moisture fom within the actual cell structure in the skin layers.This creates a much more favorable condition for when the skin is rehydrated prior to the acid pickle bath.The pickle bath creates a chemical charge within the skin structure,that will later draw the tannins from the tanning solution and create a permanant bond.Ultimately it provides for a softer more plump and supple, as well as a long lived tanning job.Though any salt can be used,most directiuons will call for a non-iodized salt.Truth is, it's much more important that you use a fine grain salt,rather than a rock salt,than wether it's iodized or not.You can get white evaporated salt in 80 pound bags from most feed supply stores for 7 or 8 bucks.Skin your beast and completely cover the flesh side of the hide with salt.Don't just sprinkle it on, we're talking handfuls.Lay out the hide on an inclined piece of plywood and let it sit overnight.The next night shake off all the wet nasty salt, and resalt the hide,letting it sit another 24 hours.After that,shake off the excess,and hang your hide to dry.When it's completely dry,it's ready to be shipped to the tannery.Good luck.
 


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