I just got finished skinning 3 coyotes. They seem to have a lot of blood in the fur. Should I wash them before I flesh or let them dry and try brushing the blood out?

You can use borax to clean fur, especially with regard to dried blood stains. Previously I had always washed bloody hides before drying them. In this situation using borax I simply hand wash excessive blood clot areas, wiped the area as dry as possible with a rag then board the pelt as usual. Once the skin has dried and the fur turned out I work considerable dry borax powder into the stained areas, let set for 10-15 minutes and then comb, brush, and shake the borax out. Using this borax treatment method works extremely well as can be seen in the following before and after pictures. As well as removing blood stains the borax also cleans and brightens the fur.

I'm pretty new to trapping, but I'd suggest fleshing before washing. Washing the pelts tends to make the inside slimy, which seems harder for me to flesh. (Then again, I'm bad at fleshing.)

Thanks for the response

I wash them after fleshing little dawn dish soap,soak 5-10 min agitate by hand,rinse couple times.have a ringer washer i'm going to try.

If it is plenty cold outside and you have snow, wash after fleshing as described, wring out excess water, then take outside and roll the hide in snow fur side out. As you do the water will absorb into the snow and freeze. Snap the hide to pop all the ice crystals out of the fur and take it back inside. If done right it will be almost completely clean and dry. Hang fur side out in a well ventilated location as needed until completely dry then board.

I use to do basically the same as you describe and put them through a wringer. You like to do a lot of extra work, aye.

Same here - but don't use a wringer - just ring them by hand, use snow or wrap them in some old towels until almost completely dry, then board.

I think you missed my point. I totally quit washing coyote pelts, unless extremely dirty which seldom happens up here during trapping season. Saves lots of time for doing more productive activities.

Gotcha - I don't really "wash" most of them, just a little dawn and water on any blood spots. That said, if we get some rain, some are a muddy mess so I have to give them a bath. I don't like to do that because as your said, it takes time for the fur to dry before I can board 'em and throws everything behind.

I have been washing my fur in plain water before fleshing. I let them drip dry(partially) over night and then run them in my dryer tumbler with corn cob bedding material. I don't put up a lot of fur, but very happy with the results...

I wash all coyotes, I have a wringer washer. Let hang overnight to drip. Then flesh, tumble and board. Just what I do.

Wipe off as much blood as you can. Then put up the fur. Once the fur Is dry and off the boards you can take a stiff brush or fur comb and get most of the dried blood out.
If there Is still some dried blood use a Clorox product called Oxi Magic. Just spray It on the effected areas. Let sit for a few minutes and then wipe It off. It does a pretty good job.

Stop shooting them! Use alternative methods like Lee Steinmeyer's Death Ray or other tactics...really reduces your work in the shed.

Beav read your bottle of Clorox again. All I could find was oxy-max, two different kinds! Thanks

You ever tried to run down a coyote on a 7 foot snare and try and get a choke stick on It? Let me know how that works out. LOL

I have that cleaner right In front of me and It say's.
Clorox
OXI
Magic

But anything In that In that brand that removes a bunch of stains will work.

In the fine print It say's Chlorine and Bleach free.

I stand off about 25 feet or so and shot them In the head with a load of 4s out of my 410. Most of the time there Is very little blood to deal with.
The problem starts when you toss them In the back of the truck. At times I will wrap up the head so I don't spread blood all over.

Thanks Beav! Never thought about a 410 good idea.

You're not afraid of a little old coyote are you? I just walk down the cable or chain and turn it's lights out.

I don't know what kind of coyotes you have, but 90% of my coyotes just lie down when I walk up to them, no snarling or anything. I've found it's easier to dispatch at close range because they stop moving so much once I'm close.
I think talk of dispatch might be against the rules, so I'll just say that my method is instant but leads to a lot of bloody pelts, so I wash them in cold water. The biggest issue I have is getting the fur dry afterward. I suggest using a fan for that.