WHAT CAN I IMPROVE ON??

THANKS!

Looks about right...

Looks good. You left some of the saddle on, some guys flesh off the whole saddle which is a mistake.

Why do you leave the saddle on ?I've always done it cause "your 'sposed to",just ddon't know why . Sorry for the de-rail.

I would suggest keeping them outside so as not to allow your home to become imbided with that fresh mink smell. Otherwise they look great, smaller one may be slightly off center.

You need to catch bigger mink. Then they will look better.

Good job!

LOL

It's in our basement, the only place left in our house where a man can be a man and not get nagged at....too much

Would you give me top dollar Mark? lol

One thing you can improve on is moving from your 3lb dumb bells to maybe 10lber's. I think you can handle it. It may be a struggle at the beginning, but just stick with it. Mink look fine.

Looks good Nick.

Your hired! Be here at 7:00 am.

looks good, I am no expert and i put my first mink up this week too. It looks like you can straightn the tail out on the right one a little bit.

I'd go back to the rainbow pins that they gave out at the PFLAG convention.

Look good......you know, other than that.

Honestly Nick, from what I see there I would say yes. However, without examining the mink in my hand it is hard to say. From the pictures it looks like you put them up well. It is obvious you paid attention to detail in the process and removed only that which has to be removed. I would look at my "centering" a little closer, but that is a minor detail.
From what I see I would be proud to have them hanging over my beer cooler (which just happens to be in my shed).
Now, let's see some of your coons and beaver, those are the true test in my opinion.

Nick they look fine.
as far as leaving the saddle on is concerned. It should be left on if there is not to much grease under the saddle. If you catch one that has loads of grease under the saddle, you can remove the saddle without any reduction in price, if you do not cause the hair roots to become exposed.
I remove the saddle on all greasy mink and have never been docked for it.
A mink with to much grease under the saddle can taint. You can try all you want to get all the grease from under the saddle , but without removing it, I just can not get the job I want to see.
Once again, it should be left on unless you have a very greasy mink.

The shiny/sparkly NAMBLA pins won't work?

Thanks Mark and Don, You're the guys who I wanted to hear from! Truly assets to the forum!

Thanks everyone else too!

Nick what am I,CHOPPED LIVER??????????????????

On a GOOD Day!!

I've been using my "Member's Only" pins from them for years, but just not the same.

Looks like the one on the left is a female. If it is it is a big female or you have a small male or you may have cut to high on the belly.

Small Male on the right Don.

I was always told to leave the saddle on because it is indicative that it is a North American mink when it hits the auction house. There is no other reason that I know of. I too remove the fleshier parts of the saddle to prevent spoilage, but there is always some saddle there. I can see some of it on Nicks but he has removed the thicker parts.

Nick,
They look pretty good. I don't know if these are tips or not but push up the "meat" on the top of the saddle to make look better and cut the legs off with a sharp scissors instead of cutting with a knife. I'm no pro, but some VERY good minkers told me how to put up fur.

Here's is a few from the first couple days of trapping in early November. Any critiques on these would help as well, I know it's not the best picture either.

Pretty sloppy job,but I forgot you are a rookie.

Yeah K9, and when I was in Alaska, Dean Wilson told me to turn my mink fur out as it showed the mink was Alaskan. Dean was one [Please excuse my language... I'm an idiot] of a buyer, and no one I can think of knew more about fur from that region and what the furriers wanted. That being said, leave the saddle on unless (like Don said) forced to remove it.

K9 I like to leave some saddle also. The problem is, these dang big old bucks in Indiana seem to get more fat under the saddle that a coon has on it.

I try and remove as much as I can under the front legs "under the saddle" and scrape without pulling off the meat. Then push it back up there after the fat is gone for the drying process.

Great Post Guys, Some great mink putting up info! Thanks

What do you mean by "dont flesh the saddle"?

What can I say, I'm an idiot...

If you don't have to remove the saddle (because there is a lot of fat under it) then don't. That is what we mean.

You flesh off the meatier parts, but you leave on the red saddle. No furbuyer can tell me why other than it is the symbol of the North American mink when they hit the auction house.

One other thing that helps is to wipe down the mink about every two days to take the oil out until it's completely dry!

Does anyone know if NAFA has any special ways that mink have to be put up to be sent. I have never sent any, and was thinkin' on doing it this year. thanks.

The way nick has put them up is about the way NAFA wants them done, But they will not dock you if you don't put them up that way.
As long as they are fleshed and stretched properly, you should be able to get top price for your section goods.

Thanks Don, my only concern was the tail. Does it have to be pleated or not. I don't, my buyer like mine perfectly flat as shown in my picture. ?????????????? That's what I was curious about.

The tail does not have to be pleated. I don't pleat mink tails, because I don't have the time to mess with them. If I just did 5-10 at a time and had nothing else to do, then maybe I would.

i tuck the front legs in myself

Pleating the tail of mink and coon is basically cosmetic. It makes the fur look nice, and shows a buyer that you really take pride in your work. But like Don said, it isn't necessary and can be time consuming.

nick gutter guard would save you some time on the tails