Who's washing coyotes this year?

Back when I sold green I used to wash my coyotes in a bucket of water with a splash of woolite. I stopped doing it when shipping to NAFA because they were being drummed anyhow. With NAFA gone, who's going to wash their coyotes this year? Tells us your method and pro/con either way.

I wash all my coyotes before fleshing and boarding. I wash in cold water only, snap several times to get most of the water out, then hang dry over night at 55*-60* , lastly the pelt goes in to my tumbler made from an old dryer. I tumble in corn cob bedding for 10 to 15 minutes , shake and brush. With our weather coyotes can be very dirty to plain caked in mud, not to mention blood.

I quit washing and just use borax and a dog brush to clean them. Works pretty good and you don’t have to deal with a wet coyote.

If a guy can drum great
Bucket of Lukewarm water and soap then rinse hang drip dry, flesh, board, comb or brush ,comb and brush ,comb and brush.........

I use to wash all my coyotes, but went to using a death ray. And fur buyer said my average would go up at least 10.00 . So last 2 years ive just washed the really muddy one's only. And the one year average was 11.84 more and last year had a 12.02 higher average than when i washed all of the coyotes. I myself would just prefer to wash them all but a higher average speaks for itself.

After I skin them , I put them in the freezer in shopping bags till I can work on them , then I defreeze them and then I wash my in only cold water before I flesh them. I hang over night for the fur to dry out and then flesh and put on boards to dry. That is what I do with all my skins. I do not put anything in the water to wash them. When I use to ship to NAFA I got top lot on some of my furs for it not only coyote but coon and mink and rats.

I wash all of my coyotes. My furbuyer complimented on how nice they looked. Although not bloody, I also use a DR, it's amazing how dirty they are. I feel it just brightens them up.

What’s a death ray???

I think a death ray is a dispatch device/tool.

I wash all my coyotes. They always end up bloody. Somehow I always seem to be gushing blood all over during skinning. It leaks from where I cut the ears or a spot on the face or something like that. Heck, last night I skinned an opossum that was caught in a body grip trap. For some reason it started leaking blood from it's back where the trap bars had clapped on it - running all over the place. What a mess. I don't know why I stink at it so bad. Skinning and fleshing in my shack NEVER looks anything close to what it looks like in demos or videos.

I only wash shot coyotes, period. Used to wash every one of them. There is no need, unless they are a total mud ball, or been laying in a pool of blood. Washing takes a lot of underfur out of the yote, yes they smell better, but my yotes look just as good as washed, and eliminates a lot of work.

Mine get a rinse cycle cold water. Hang over night with fan to dry. Flesh and board or in freezer. Same with coon
J

Yesser

Hand wash heavy clots only then board and dry.When dry rub in borax, let set 10-15 minutes then brush and shake out.

If you ever have seen NAFA drumming coyotes you wouldn’t count on that to clean them up it was a joke maybe in there a minute probably less! That was a money maker for them!

Whats NAFA?

I saw a demo by one of the FHA guys once who said not to use borax because it can cause the hide to break down before tanning. He may have just been referring to the "skip the flip" method

On a suggestion I washed the first couple this year. Never again. Takes to let n to dry and I don't see the need. As some else said washed may smell better but it more work than it is worth. I may rinse a blood spot out but not complete wash for me.

Same way I do it, without the tumbling. This year I washed everything. It's really not that much more work. Wash it...wring it out...and hang up over night. Next day bag it, and into the freezer until time to flesh and put up.

I know they skin easier when warm, but I usually let mine hang a day after being caught alive to set up, I hate the blood all over worse than a hard pulling coyote.

Agreed Castormound. All things are a LOT less bloody when the sit awhile. Coyotes especially.

That way you can just wipe off any blood with a wet rag. No need to wash them. Stinky soaked coyotes. mmmmmm NO!

i wait a day before i skin not much blood that way,do it when first catch lots of blood.

For the guys that wait to skin what aboit the green belly

That's what I' wondering too!

That green belly thing is overblown. I've bought coyotes before that when skinned, they were green from head to tail. Yup, they stink, but very few ever lost a hair. Keeping them out of the sun is the most important. Now, leaving a yote to skin till the next day is not too much fun in warm weather, but when the temp drops to the twenties over night, I either hang by a front foot over night (so the blood runs into the body) or lay them on a cold frozen ground or pavement over night. Next morning I put them in the fur room so they unthaw and can be skinned that night. Only a few drips of blood around the eyes, ears and mouth, it ain't running down your arm like a fresh one does.

On the green bellies, I just skin the next day. 12 hours if it's warm. Lay them on their backs (like you do rats) and that helps as well. All depends on the temps of course. You get a feel for it.

I wash almost 100% of them

I wash almost 100% of them

Green belly is not a serious defect until it turns really dark brown or black, then you will start to see some slippage of fur. I have often had coyotes hanging for 2-3 days (even 5) in the shop at 40 - 60 degree F temperature with no problem. The initially frozen coyote in this picture was hung face down for 5 days and was perfectly fine re fur slippage. If you’re worried about it, wiping the area with vinegar or 3% hydrogen peroxide solution will kill the bacteria causing the rot.

What's your process

Just an FYI, the vast majority of slippage happens in or after the rehydration process. You’ll never see it, it happens at the tannery. Wiping with anything like vinegar doesn’t do anything. And using borax will ruin a skin if a small time tanner ends up with it. Large tanneries work with huge pickling tanks,’so the odd skin with borax will usually be okay. But I wonder how many furs get get thrown out because of handling practices people are told will work, when they actually don’t.
I’ve tanned a lot of skins and coyotes and fox will teach you in a hurry what will and won’t work.

I skin it then run water in a mop bucket, rinse wring it out with mop wringer, maybe rinse again and wring, then snap fur to shake a lot of water out of the fur
One I snared this year died right away, no blood or dirt on her, so I didn't wash it

If they were alive when you caught then, if hung up in a cool dark place, green belly will not be an issue. If it was a problem, I wouldn't do it. I would think the problem for you Wisconsin fellas, would be to keep it from freezing over nignt!