I caught a beaver today that has the fur pilled up in balls around the legs and some on the back and belly. Some are the size of a finger nail. How do I get them out of the fur. I have a comb but I don’t believe it will work because they are balled up so tight. If I cut them the it’s gonna look pretty bad. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I definitely would not cut them out.

Hopefully Don Wolf will chime in. He buys a lot of beaver for the hatter market and he could tell you if thoseBalls of fur will hurt the grade or not.

Sounds like pitch, and if it is, I use a little wd40 to dissolve it, but even then , you may find that fur cleaned up, might still look crappy .

I used to trap an area where the beaver all had those little dreadlocks. They were a bugger.

I tumbled the heck out of them. But, I still had to rake a lot of them out w/ a comb.

Do what ever you have to do soften the fur balls. WD-40 or some of that no tangles baby shampoo may help.
Then work them apart with a small bladed screw driver or an awl. I wouldn't try combing until I had them separated to some degree.

My son In law In Alaska has some beaver hides that have silt deposits built up In the fur. And It's Impossible to remove them.

I have seen that on beavers that have damage to or are missing the split toenail on one of their back feet. There is no way to comb it out.

Use detangler for hair. You can get it at any local drugstore in the shampoo isle.