For Moyles, hide needs to be properly fleshed and dried, correct? Whereas Sleepy will do fleshing, and even skinning, for a fee of course. I’m not skilled nor have the time to do a full put-up (sorry Boco!), so I have used Sleepy for beaver, muskrat, coyote, otter and gray fox. And will be sending them a coon, grinner, and bobcat this year. Hides are nice and soft when they come back, my only complaint is the ears seem to get flattened and deformed, not sure if that’s me doing something wrong or just the nature of the beast with the tanning process? Curious if anyone has thoughts on this?
You need to rehydrate those ears and reshape them.
Get yourself some "soft spring clamps" like these:
https://www.menards.com/main/p-1444...ntent=2442268&utm_campaign=Tool+ShopTake a clean rag, soak it good, and squeeze out enough water so it's not sloppy wet. Use a spring clamp to clamp the rag around the flattened ear. Allow to set for overnight.
Next day, remove clamp and rag and see if you can "pry" the ear up and into its normal position. If it's still too stiff, wrap that damp rag around what you have again and clamp, giving it another 12 hours or so.
Once the ear is pliable, take clothes pins and pin the ear so it's standing upright. Another trick is to take a cleaned plastic milk jug and cut the bottom corners to fit into the ear as a form, then clothes pin that in place.
Give it a day or so to dry, and then you should have your ears standing upright.
If they're flopping around or out of position, get a leather needle and some dental floss. Sew the base of the ear into the pelt so the ear stands up.
Maybe you've noticed the lips come back from the tannery stiff and squashed up against the face. Do the same with this area. You shouldn't need to sew these into place.
With a little practice you can make those tanned pelts look real good having the ears standing upright. Also, sew any "big eyes" closer together or holes in the pelt also.
