when drying yotes well any fur is their a advantage to drying fur nose up or down? I ask because I hang mine nose down and it seam to take awhile for the head area to dry enough to sell

On really greasy critters like coon, I prefer nose down to help keep grease off the skirt. Heat rises but if you have good air circulation like you should have, head up or down should not make much if any difference in drying time.

Here's how I do yotes.

Once they are on the board fur out I let them hang nose up for no more then 2 days. Or until the hide will hold It's shape with the board removed.

With the board removed you will get better air flow and get a better drying job through out the whole hide. With the head being the most important. With a board In the hide you will never get any air flow In the head area.

The other thing I do Is replace the belly boards. One goes In from the nose end and one In from the tail end. You will have to pin the one that goes In from the tail. It's very Important to place a wedge In from the nose end so you can open up that area. Never understood why trappers place a wedge In from the tail end It just doesn't accomplish anything. I even place my wedges In from the nose end on my rats. And us e a decent sized belly wedge on those yotes. The big end should be at least 2" to 3" In width.

No need to hang the coyotes from the tail end. I only hang coon and rats from the tail end. I don't want to have grease running down the skin and collecting on the fur In the skirt area.

IMO it makes no difference how you hang them. When the bodies dry take them off the board even if the head area lips and ear area may be damp. It will generally dry with little if any serious warping as long as you have reasonable drying conditions of low humidity and temperature of 50-60 degrees F.

When I put wolves and cats on the board fur out,besides the key in the belly, I use two dowels in the back(3\4 inch for wolves and 1\2 inch for cats),one on each side of the tail,and shove them up to each eye hole.This will give you a good airspace all around inside the skin between the board and the hide and they dry overnight if you have them well scraped and good drying conditions.The head will dry at the same rate as the rest of the skin.This also makes them easy to remove from the boards without sticking if they were turned a bit early.

I doubt that your getting any actual air flow with that method as long as the hide Is still on the board. That Is unless your forcing air between the board and the hide.

Yep it works.

thanks guys I see the era of my ways now! I've been leaving them on the board till the ears get hard.2-3 weeks for that to happen with two fans running constantly! it really ties up a lot of boards that way! I figured I was doing something wrong! I can have half a dozen beavers complete before a yote! Does the hide curling up in the lower back area hurt the grade? By removing the board so quick?

What about a good dusting of borax from ear butts to nose before putting on the board, plus
the extra wedge or dowels to open things up for extra circulation? I live in the humid part of
Texas where we have a good many 70+" days in between wet fronts. Been using borax for a good
many years on more than just the heads. Never had any complaints from buyers, but maybe
there's a reason not to use it?

Tony.F, how are you preping the ears? If you leave the ear butts and cartilage in, they will take a long time to dry and you risk taint. Both auction houses recommend removing the cartilage of fox and coyotes for selling to the fur market. Like most things trapping, there are various ways to accomplish this. These links show a couple of them

https://www.furharvesters.com/pdf/earcart.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqwYzh9UZzM

I don't remove the cartledge they don't seam to dock if the ears aren't turned but they do if you rip one off! I would imagine they do dry considerable faster if turned. My country buyer prefers the ears not turned. im just getting accustomed to nafa I've tried borax it didn't seam to speed up the time any

I always remove cartilage. I send all furnto nafa and have never been downgraded for a torn ear.

If you are getting downgraded for a torn ear, I would find another buyer. What did your buyer tell you they were using the ears for?

There are a few fur processors that just cut off the ears from the get go. And I'm told It will not down grade your fur. But so far I haven't done It.

Get the board out as soon as possible It just speeds up the drying process.

No need to remove cartilage or cut off the ears.Run your thumb between the back of the ear and cartilage to separate them,then cut off the meaty part of the butt.Leave it inside out when the skin is fur in,and turn it back fur out when you turn the skin.They dry overnight as long as they have been fleshed properly and the humidity is low for drying.Turn skin next day,use the dowels in the back,and your boards are freed up the next day,and the pelt will be perfectly dry,head and all,the next day to take off the board without shrinking or wrinkling.If your humidity is high use a de humidifier and a couple of fans to keep the air moving in the fur shed,especially if drying a large amount of fur at the same time.

lol yes I know the ears are useless in the fur industry! I'm basing my knowledge from hear say its dang tough to know what to and what not to believe when it comes to trapping rules! I'll start turning my ears this season and see for myself I guess. The real truth will be in the check. My country buyer told me the effort on turning ears isn't worth any $$ only self satisfaction. Again do I call B.S or take it as truth? He gives fur handling demos at conventions so I like to believe hes telling the truth but what if its a ploy to buy them cheaper. Myth busters need to become trappers! In all aspects. Being the best is not my intention but I know I don't want to be the worst either. Proficient and consistent are my goals! Im at consistent the other is what needs tweeking. This forum has helped me a lot everyones points and views keeps a humble guy thinking

Thanks boco that's pretty much in a nut shell how I do mine!

How long does it take for a hide to set? I like to pull the stretcher out as soon as possible to allow for better drying. I don't know if it matters but coyotes are my main target.

TONY.F,I'm new to trapping but I have ran into the same issue as you have with your county fur buyer. Here's my 2 cents worth, I think some times they get locked in on an old idea and just don't change I don't think there always trying to get more. I had a veteran trapper tell me last year I was wasting my time with removing cartilage and using borax was a big no-no. I got five dollars more per pelt than he did. This doesn't mean I don't listen to him I just try and weigh the old with the new and what little experience I have.

I like to leave coyote and cat pelts on the board 3-4 days after turning pelt fur out.

After i`ve flipped the coyote fur out, i leave it on the forming board for a good 5-7 days, just to make sure its good and done.
i do remove the cartilage from the ears, little effort but that way i know it wont taint, i`ve used a little borax against the head when the ears are pinned on the innital drying as well under the arm pits, not a lot, but seemed to work well.
Just my 2 cents.