thawing out frozen fox

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fishermann222

New member
I have been snaring fox, and when I get them and they are warm they are very easy to skin and flesh. I have had some problems with the frozen ones though. How long should I let them thaw before attempting to skin them? Anyone have a good idea? I have been leaving htem for about 18 hours and then skinning them, but they are still really frozen and extremely difficult to skin out the front feet. How long can I let them sit out at room temp?
 
When you say that you are leaving them out for 18 hours does that mean at room temperature?
I'm having a hard time believing they aren't thawing if this is the case.

If your thawing them at room temps (65 to 75) degrees fahrenheit, I'd try not to let them go much longer then 24 hours.
Especially due to the fact that they are fox.
You may start experiencing problems with slippage on the ears and the tail, since I am positive those two areas are more then thawed at this point.
 
Thanks for the response. It suprises me also that they are not thawed out in that amount of time. The fox up here are REALLY fatty so i am assuming that has something to do with it. Yes i am thawing them out at room temp.

Is it possible to start skinning out the thawed areas, like the tail, rear legs, and pull down to the rib cage and then let it sit for a bit longer?

One other question I have is once I have them on stretchers and i turn them the fur side out, how long do they have to remain on the stretchers to get good and dry?
 
Oh you bet!....skinning what you can when you can, will be a big plus. Getting it off the carcass will definitely help the areas you can get to.

If you clean some of the fat and meat off the skin side it shouldn't take more then 48 hours if they are in a dry climate.
But...
wondering.gif
you'll want them on the stretchers fur in.
 
What I do is put them on the stretchers fur in for 24 hours or so, until they are very dry.

Then I turn them fur side out. Is this wrong? The man who taught me how to trap does it this way and then sells them. He would leave them on the stretchers just as I said. he had ALOT of stretchers and left them on until he sold them. I dont have enough stetchers to do that yet. Am I doing something wrong?
 
Nope, that will work.
I got the impression you were stretching and drying em flesh in, which would take considerably longer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 


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