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Washing coyotes

Posted By: 3togo

Washing coyotes - 12/30/21 01:26 PM

Yes, I've watched the videos. Great idea. I have one on the stretcher that I rinsed with the hose a few days ago before the cold and snow showed up. But not totally satisfied, the neck still is too dirty. Skinned one yesterday that is quite dirty. My only temporary answer to that is to put in the freezer today and clean/flesh/stretch later. But, moving forward I know I need a different plan. For you folks that do wash pelts can we go over the sequence of steps after skinning that seems to work the best? Pros and cons.

I know some wash with shampoo and rinse with softener. I know some just run a rinse cycle. Coon Creek refrigerates his after hang drying before fleshing. Is there a problem with the fur clumping after being soaked in the washer?

It's possible I could come up with a used washed at auction and install in my basement where I dry fur before next year.

Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks.
Posted By: Bob Jameson

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/30/21 01:59 PM

I wash a few coyotes every season that have been caught in sets made in plowed or harvested bean fields. I now try to avoid these locations and set in hay or grass areas if possible to avoid these muddy animals as much as possible.

I just dry rub the bloody coyotes with borax in a dusting plastic garment container I use for that purpose. Then comb out as needed.

Some times it just can't be helped in getting muddy animals if you keep using the same catch circle to set up again and again. I spray a little simple green cleaner in a 5 gal bucket and fill as needed with water. I have a second bucket with plain cold rinse water that I use after a good washing in the first bucket.

I bought an old self standing hand wringer washer used in the old days for laundry work at a trappers convention years ago.. It has an adjustable spring tension setting that allows for the thickness that you need and that does a good job at removing excess water.

After wringing out well I shake and hang the hides until dry. Sometimes I hang outdoors sometimes indoors with a fan running on them. Depends upon the weather and temps. I do have an old dryer with the heating element removed that I run when I have several hides to dry. I keep some old towels handy that I run in the tumbler to help absorb the moisture works well.
Posted By: ShawneeMan

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/30/21 09:30 PM

I just rinse them off a few times in a bucket, dry as well as possible with some old bath towels, hang up fur side out, then flesh and board the next day.
Flip them the day after.
Posted By: Monster Toms

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 12:22 AM

I have a plain old in your house washing machine in the shop. Flesh, sew, throw in the washer with Sullivans livestock shampoo, little borax, regular cycle. Downey in the fabric softener unit. Take out, put in the fan box for 5 minutes or so and on to the board.
Posted By: curtisd

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 12:46 AM

i think coon creek just puts his coons in fridge overnight. i do same thing. sets the fat to where it not as greasy or runny.

as far as washing everything i catch other than beaver, otter, or rats get a wash in cold water rinse only with downy fabric softener. hang it overnight to dry and flesh next morning.
it does make a difference.
Posted By: bearcat2

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 02:33 AM

I wash my coyotes by hand in the utility sink with cold water and Dawn dish soap. I used to do the same to bobcats but the last year I just washed/rinsed them in water, no soap and was very happy with the results. I always wash after fleshing, although if I have a mud caked coyote I will rinse the chunks out of his fur so that I don't have any bumps when fleshing to cut a hole on.

I just hang them outside on a nail and starting at the head, squeeze all the water I can out with my hand, let them hang for a bit while I am doing the next one, squeeze what additional water has collected at the bottom of the hide out, then snap them dry (grab them by the nose and snap them like snapping a towel, a half dozen or dozen times) then put them on the board.
Posted By: Golf ball

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 03:03 AM

For muddy coyotes I wash them in a tub with clear cold water, then rinse with a garden hose until completely clean. I then hang them by the nose and start rubbing from top to bottom , pushing the water off. If it’s windy I will hang over night and skin the next day . If it’s not windy I will use the air hose and run from top to bottom and then let it hang over night. [Linked Image]
I do get a few muddy ones every year .
Posted By: LDW

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 11:28 AM

I wash all coyotes in a old wringer washer. The first wash is with just cold water to get most of the sand out. Then the second wash I use Mane and Tail. Its a shampoo used for show horses. Let drip dry, flesh, then board. The shampoo really makes them shine, plus gets most of the funk smell off. I don't put up hundreds a year either.
Posted By: Hern

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 11:34 AM

Drying wet fur- Leaf Blower works

[Linked Image]
Posted By: jabNE

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 12:16 PM

I dunk my coyotes after skinning, in a five gallon bucket of clear water...if really bad I add a little dawn dish soap and rinse. I can't seem to skin coyotes without getting a lot of blood on them so the rinsing works best for me after skinning to get them all cleaned up.
Squeeze out as much water as possible nose to tail then give them a good snap or two out in the yard, like snapping a towel, holding by head while snapping them, to get a little more water out and puff them up a bit. Hang by nose with a fan on them.
Flesh after a day of drying with a fan and give another snap or two to fluff em up more, and board em up.
Jim
Posted By: 3togo

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 12:33 PM

Thanks everyone.

Golf ball, I remember seeing that picture before. So far I haven't had any THAT bad.

I have sprayed/rinsed before and hung in the back yard tree previously. Works good on a sunny, breezy day. Not so much with snow on the ground.

I will come up with a plan and be ready for next season. Lasy day for me is today.
Posted By: Boone Liane

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 01:18 PM

I avoid washing coyotes at all costs.

If I absolutely have to wash them, I do it after fleshing and initial leather out drumming, cold water, purex or woolite with a dash of vetrolin, double rinse cycles, hang leather out for a spell than drum leather out a second time.

Pain in the keister.
Posted By: Dirt

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by jabNE
I dunk my coyotes after skinning, in a five gallon bucket of clear water...if really bad I add a little dawn dish soap and rinse. I can't seem to skin coyotes without getting a lot of blood on them so the rinsing works best for me after skinning to get them all cleaned up.
Squeeze out as much water as possible nose to tail then give them a good snap or two out in the yard, like snapping a towel, holding by head while snapping them, to get a little more water out and puff them up a bit. Hang by nose with a fan on them.
Flesh after a day of drying with a fan and give another snap or two to fluff em up more, and board em up.
Jim


This seems to be the advantage of a washing machine. Don't spend all the time trying to keep blood off the pelt when skinning or handling. Just let them get bloody and dump them in a washer to clean the blood out. Drying would be the negative, but if you have the space and ability to let them hang dry with out a lot of fuss it seems washing in a washer would be less work than constant blood control and/ or spot clean up.
Posted By: bctomcat

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 07:27 PM

I use to wash my coyotes but no more unless extremely filthy. I find it to be a waste of time and effort as any dust/dirt in the fur from the animal’s day to day activities that can’t be easily blown out with a shop vac after they are boarded fur out, the auction house will remove it in their drumming process. As far as blood stains go, they are easily taken care of with minimal hand washing of heavy clots and then with borax after the pelt has been boarded and dried. I have never seen where washing gave me a better price and I most always do better than the sale average.

Re the borax treatment, once the skin as dried and the fur turned out I work considerable dry borax powder into the stained areas, let set for 10-15 minutes and then comb, brush, and shake the borax out. Using this borax treatment method works extremely well as can be seen in the following before and after pictures. As well as removing blood stains the borax also cleans and brightens the fur.
The pelt drumming process will further clean the fur and bring out some luster to it.

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
Posted By: 3togo

Re: Washing coyotes - 12/31/21 11:09 PM

I have used the borax treatment on smaller areas before.

But clotted mud is a whole different problem.
Posted By: Pawnee

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 12:41 AM

I wash them all with a dash of mane and tail horse shampoo. Spin them or snap them a time or 3. Hang them over night and throw them in the freezer the next morning.
Posted By: red mt

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 12:48 AM

Well what reason not to wash them then???
Or the reason to wash them ???
I think is a place to start.
Not how to wash them
Posted By: Pawnee

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 01:18 AM

I think the Mane and tail shines them up. It’s not going to turn a crap coyote into a top lot but in my opinion it’s pays me back. I’ve sold a ton over the years that I didn’t wash but it’s part of my system now. To each his own.

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Posted By: LT GREY

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 01:46 AM

Nice work on some of those skins , guys.
In the old days, dawn detergent and warm 'soapy' water.
Quick, easy, worked.


( still , I can't wash an Ohio coyote and make it pretty as a Montana pale, no matter how hard I try ) lol laugh
Posted By: yoteguts

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 01:57 AM

My buyer uses a washing machine on most yotes. I wash muddy yotes with a hose then air dry or leaf blower before skinning. Wash in cattle tub with mild detergent before fleshing.
Posted By: Old coy

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 04:29 AM

I wash all the coyotes after fleshing using the 5 gal buckets. 5 buckets, 1 for prerinse, 2 soapy, 2 plain rinse. They are set up in a line and each coyote goes thru the cycle. Change the water in the prerinse for each coyote and the water in the other 4 after 2 coyotes go thru the line. Hang the hides and let drip until all the coyotes are done getting washed. Squeeze out excess water and snap them several times. Hang up overnight to dry fur enough to board. Put them on the stretcher hide out and flip next day. It’s a process that works for me!
Posted By: TRAPPERKRIS

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 04:54 AM

Old Coy,

Interesting process. Similar to what I do. How do you squeeze out the water? I use a mop ringer. Do you have a heated room to hang your pelts to dry?
Or are you running fans to help speed up the fur drying ? I do use a window fan to dry the leather side when boarded. (dry to the touch then flip),
Posted By: Boone Liane

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by red mt
Well what reason not to wash them then???
Or the reason to wash them ???
I think is a place to start.
Not how to wash them


That’s the real question.

I can make very strong arguments for washing, and very strong arguments to not wash.

Coyote quality and market. No sense putting to much time into turd coyotes in a poor market. I’m much more apt to put more time in a good coyote than a turd.

Coyotes snared off snow that are cared for properly probably won’t need washed. Weekend warrior contest coyotes blown to smithereens and piled in bloody heaps, coyotes trapped in wet muddy conditions, washing is a given.

Convenience. If you have a real, plumbed in washing machine that does all the work for you while you do something else, has spin cycles to remove most of the water, by all means wash em all. Reading some of these time and labor intensive bucket methods, I’m thinking screw that!

For all but the bloodiest and muddiest, I can accomplish most of what a water wash accomplishes, with a proper, final fur out drumming recipe and procedure.
Posted By: Old coy

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 03:26 PM

TK - Hand squeeze, wood heated garage with fans to help dry, not a constant climate control like you have.
I don’t use a tumbler to finish before sale. If a coyote gets skinned they go through the same process. It’s just a personal preference for me, not for everyone.
Posted By: red mt

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/01/22 05:23 PM

Boone I tend to agree with you,,, I still use buckets to wash 30 gallon drum warm water and soap wash or more like let sit for 10 15minutes stir take out and rinse. Let hang and dry a bit. Then go on from there. But I do not trap and put fur together it's one or the other lol.
Posted By: MuddyMike

Re: Washing coyotes - 01/03/22 06:08 PM

i just let the wife know i have a few really bloody or muddy critters and she takes them and throws them in the washer. i dont know what she uses but they come out nice and clean and actually smell good. my wife is not like most wives so i dont suggest you just borrow the wifes washer when you need to best to ask first or do it while she is out for the day lol. she washes after i skin.
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