Hey guys have a question for you. I had a dozen muskrats from last season that were fleshed dried and frozen in a bag. They look like they oxidized a little being frozen from last year. There’s no hair slippage just not the reddish color of this years. Can I still sell them this year or not any help would be appreciated.

I have a dozen like that bagged up tight that I forgot to ship and I will worry about it next time around, no big deal.

Rub down with coon fat before you sell

They may be freezer burnt. It's better not to flesh any fur if your going to freeze it for any length of time.

After fleshing some freezer burned, rough skinned otter I have to disagree with this advise.

The trick to storing finished rats is to pack them TIGHTLY together. I use paper grocery bags with 50 in each one. I have stored them like this for 3 years with no ill effects.

There is a big difference between a muskrat and an otter.

Vacuum sealing finished fur before storing in the freezer will keep it fresh. For that matter, vacuum sealing unfinished fur will help prevent freezer burn if you are storing for long periods of time. Rolling up fur in and squeezing all the air out of the bag will help without a vacuum sealer, as will not fleshing.

Humptulips, I fleshed a couple of freezer burnt, five year old cats for an old guy last year, and have to agree that fleshing freezer burnt hides sucks. But leaving the flesh on and tightly rolling them fur out will help prevent freezer burn in the first place.