I know I have seen a post on here in the past about what's the typical pay rate is for help in the first shed but I can't seem to find it. Due to Limited time this year I would like to have more time to focus on catching fur and not be out in the first shed until midnight. LOL I'm trying to figure out what the general range is for paying someone to skin and flesh. I know there were two different prices from what I can remember. Thank you for the input I mostly deal with Coon muskrat and a few coyotes.

Another option is if you have a local buyer,,sell in the round.Do the math and see how you would make out better.

If I wanted to job out fur handling, but wanted to keep my costs down I would do the following.
I would do my own rats as they are easier, faster and you get a good return on your work. You could put up smaller and lower grade coons and job out the bigger better coons as they will return you a profit over the cost where the poorer coons may not cover handling. As to canines if you don't have time or experience and you can't find a fur handler, selling skinned makes sense.
You usually make money having fur put up but in your case time is money and you need to find the option that best fits your situation and it may not be the maximum value of the pelt. There are logistic issues working with fur handlers as well.

Bryce

Another option would be to invest in some equipment to make your efforts more efficient, i.e.; make a skinning machine out of a hoist and gambrel for coon and yotes. Also, when I talked to Groenwold this year he said that selling coons green will bring the same dollars as put up coons, selling green will bring you more than selling in the round, skin and freeze.

I don't know how many animals you're catching in a day but I found the best return on my investment was skinning and freezing. I can either sell green at the end of the season (or anytime during the season) or take my time putting fur up after traps are back in the shed. With today's fur prices, you will likely lose money on your average coon if you pay someone to scrape and board for you. Definitely recommend a skinning winch for coons and coyotes.

Not sure how far you are but I'd be interested in your put up if we can come up on a price. I am a hobby trapper so don't do huge numbers myself. I enjoy the fur shed and
am very picky with my finished work!

Eagleye, I hope your right about Groenwald paying same for green coon as put up ones. I haven't seen that in the past. Did he explain why the change?

He's got a machine that can flesh 2000 coon a day, and he wants to make trapping easier for new kids. Selling in green is easier than putting up. The market has also changed and the end buyers want suppliers with more control over the entire process, so GFW can flesh them all the same to offer more uniform skins to buyers.

He gave a real good talk at the WI convention about the current market. He stressed selling green and did mention less difference between put up vs. green.

He also stressed waiting til Nov 10th to trap coon.

did he say how much less difference?

Not exact numbers, no.

Same here- I always put up all my own fur. Guy mentioned that the investments they made in capital equipment for fleshing has taken a lot of labor out, to the point where it's cost neutral. He also mentioned that they're using wire on all their coons so they pack tighter in a bundle for shipping. On coons, he said to spend the time trapping and not on put up.

Same with rats, he wants them on wire. He said if you are spending more than two minutes stretching a rat you are wasting time.

Sounds like a sales excuse to me. But they have been at it alot longer than me sooooo.

Thank you for all the replies. I do have a skinning machine which helps a lot. I think the entire process takes me about 20 minutes per coon from start to stretched. I also give each one a good brushing prior to fleshing...idk maybe I'm slow but seems like a decent average for a run of the mill trapper. I've never used the machine on yotes always afraid I'm going to tear them...ill have to look into it more.