How long will a beaver hide remain good when the beaver is left in cold water? Six days ago I had a beaver pull an 18 inch rebar stake and shred the feedback full of rocks. Today I found the beaver, about a 50 pounder, tangled up and drown in some feed bed sticks. I’m not certain when it drowned, but after retrieving it, the hide appeared to be fine. No slippage, and it skinned up the same as any beaver.

The strip mine pond water temperature was only slightly above freezing, and half the pond is still iced over. There’s no current, and very little sunlight reaching the water. Anyone have any experience with how long a beaver could remain submerged and still be good?

Your probably good to go.

"Your probably good to go."
x2

I did a test this year, and in 45 degree water out of sunlight it took 8 days before noticable slippage

Thanks for the input fellas. I went back to the pond today thinking that a beaver with a 12 foot 1/8 inch cable, trap, and stake would probably get hung up. And I was right, it did. I was hoping to get my gear back, but got a bonus when I found the beaver was still good.

you should be o.k. it'll probably be waterlogged but not rotten.

the skin on the tops of their backfeet will start to slip first.pinch that and see if its slipping then do a pull test on the fur.

Good deal the beaver was still good. Now you can afford that orange drink and a moon pie. You will however need to walk to the store since you won't have enough left over for gas.
Just messing with you. Good on you for trying to do the right thing.

Auto correct Canuck style.
cold water beaver....10 days check in ice water. Sunlight is the killer on the hides. Tug some hair will tell.
The graders can tell because there is a sandpaper feeling in the hide when they run their hands over it.

Had a otter get into a 160 bottom edge set and found it 11 days later when the river dropped 6' in two days.Water was just above freezing . It was about 30' down stream on a flat rock just below the surface. It was dirty full of river silt . I washed real good and checked for slippage, good to go. Skinned fleshed and boarded like normal.

Most beaver end up sheared for the hatter market anyway so no worry about slippage.

pull on his whiskers and if you can pick him up off the board a little to let air to both sides i would.

I had a beaver under the ice for 10 or 11 days once, and it was water logged, but the pelt was fine, and you could have eaten that beaver, and in a subsistence culture, I am sure they would.

What is your definition of 'slippage?' I just want to ensure I understand what you mean by that term as it applies to this thread.

Green as grass...and not the stuff you smoke in Canada. definition of slippage.

Ok, got ya, thanks. So until it's cut into, a person wouldn't really know if slippage damage has occured.

Our state law doesn't require checking under ice traps, but after reading some posts on here once about a similar issue, I like to check them once a week. Maybe once a week is over kill at times, I'm not sure. We had some nasty weather once February rolled around this year...sometimes making it a challenge to get out of the driveway much less to trap.

Two reasons for fur slipping-destruction of the keratin holding the grain-rotting(physical breakdown) or chemical(alkali soak in de hairing for leather).The other way is from overscraping and damaging the hair roots(cutting) or grain(excessive pressure).

Not to derail the thread, but what about in time limit in cold water (ice out) for consumption?