Hello!

Been awhile since I posted but I have something in I thought I would consult you guys on. I have many muskrat carcasses and a way to cook them (slow cooker that I also use for cleaning skulls). Would you think it would work to cook them up so the meat is "fall off the bone" and then use it as bait at that point. Then would I then taint it for a while or would I just try to preserve right after that with one of the multiple ways to preserve bait. I also have different glands and such that I could add in form other animals for the smell or I may be going too far at that point haha. This would primarily be for coyote, a some rare fox, raccoon is going to happen no matter what as are opossums around here.

Grind or cut up raw, add sodium benzoate and use. You might want to try tainting some. Adding other things is all trial and error. Put out some test sites and your target animals will tell you what they like.

don't cook it as 20 said
I'd taint a batch and preserve another batch fresh
add different glands/testing is the time consuming part (and uses glands you coulda traded for a commercial bait solution known effective)
Jamesons, Blackies, Dobbins, Locklears, Weisers, Marsyadas are just a few available that've been working for guys for decades.

If your bent on using your own glands, etc, then it'd be wise to get all the bait/lure making books available FREE from loved ones. How?, just circle those books in a few catalogs, give catalogs to loved ones to purchase your upcoming Easter or birthday or anniversary or even Christmas gifts. Worked great in this family and many others!

I have cooked meats for baits and it will produce a good bait for me in the ADC field in the hotter temp work. Cooking from what I understand brings out the sugars in the flesh and can make it a desired product. Test on your dog a small piece of cooked meat and a raw piece, many times the cooked is taken first then the raw. The problem with cooking is it does not have the harder draw odor that is needed when used in the colder temps. Even though there may be more of a taste factor to cooked meat, you will need a way to get the animal to the set and the odor coming out of a frozen hole. Cooked and preserved works well in ADC warmer weather temps.

I toss them in my cages for bait and to keep the mice busy between checks. Some I cut the tails off of and bag them up for cat cubbies I just freeze a bread bag full the perfect amount to carry, you need less just break the bag in half.