Skinning for taxidermy??? How

Hey yall I'm wanting to skin my furs for taxidermy but I have a few questions, how do u turn the ears? What do they mean by split the lips/eyelids? When skinning the feet how far do u go? To the toes? And what do you do around the anus area what do u leave attached and what not? And any other hints that would help. I've skinned many animals and the last year I shiped to auction they wrote a note on my receipt saying they were handled very well but I've never skinned for taxidermy can yall please help

On the feet, you should go down to the last knuckle, just before the claw.

As far as the rear end goes, better to leave too much than not enough. Excess tissue can always be removed.

If you google turning ears, etc or go to You- tube, you should find plenty of helpful videos.

Thank u so much wissmiss you have been a tremendous help

So I've been reading a lot and well I'm still confused about the ears,and nose the lips make sense tho. I'm shore its simple I am just struggling to picture it it may be easier once I have the base of the ear in my hand I've skinned a lot of critters but this will b the first ear.so do u get the cartlige out does it still have the skin from inside the ear hooked to it or does or is the ear completely skinned? And on the nose how far do I skin the nose out

I would get a video, its easier to show than explain.

I am a taxidermist. How are you going to sell your skins to a taxidermist. If I were buying them I would want them frozen and unskinned. I agree with the video idea it is hard to explain but if you watch someone do it it will be much easier. Also when I skin my animals I use a dorsal cut not the way you would skin for the fur market.

I'm only planning on doing my canines and mink I'm hoping to go with a different buyer I'm emailing about it but they said they wanted the ears turned lipssplit and nose turned or split can't remember witch it said right this moment. I found a post in the archives that said turning ears u left cartilage mostly intact to skin but separated the skin on back of ear from cartilage and turned inside out to dry. Does this sound right? If so I think I understand, most the videos I found were on deer and just wasint shore if it was the same.and on the nose is the tip split at all or just skinned out to the black nose skin but that left whole/intact. I'm sorry I just want to make shore I get the best product my dad all wAys insisted anything worth doing is worth doing the right. And I don't want to send inferior product I would be embaresd. Also I no some of the best trappers and fur handlers in the country are on here so I new yall would not steer me wrong

You would be best to ask the guy who is looking to buy your animals.A lot of taxidermists prefer small animals like mink to be frozen whole.Separating the cartilage from the back of the ear,and leaving it attached to the front skin of the ear will allow the ear to dry without problems.Trim off meat and fat from around the earbutt cartilage after it has been separated.Make sure you separate it right out to the tip but be careful not to punch thru.
For the nose,leave about 3/4 to an inch of cartilage attached to the front nose skin(black).when splitting the lips leave plenty of inside the mouth lip skin for the taxi to work with for an open mouth mount.
When doing the feet,leave all the pads intact and turn the entire foot skin toes and all.Nip the toe bones off at the last claw joint,and use poultry shears to trim the fat from the pads so the feet will dry without problems.
Be careful to leave all the eyelids intact.
And when skinning keep all the initial cuts symmetrical.Some taxidermist may require a dorsal cut for skinning,so clarify that sort of thing with the taxidermist before you go to town with the blade.

Thanks a ton boco I emailed them and asked for clarification but they said turn the ears so I'm prety shore I understand now, yall have been a lot of help,
Thank you

It's not simple at all.It takes skill,a lot of practice and most don't get it without hands on training.Most experienced taxidermists would never ask inexperienced people to do that work.That prep work is the foundation for all that comes after.If it is botched,it creates extra work or at worst,can ruin it for taxidermy.

The ear cartilage is separated from the head,at the ear canal.You should only see a tiny opening in the bottom of the cartilage.Then the ear is turned,inside out.You are separating the ear cartilage from the skin of the back of the ear.The cartilage remains attached to the front ear skin.You need to turn it to the edges and ear tip with no tears.Canine ears are very thin and this takes great care and you can't get in a hurry.It gets thinner toward the edges and tip so the closer you get,the slower you go.If you rip the ear edge,that is one of the most difficult places to sew and not have it show on the mount.

The lips and eyelids need to be split.When you skin,you leave as much inner eyelid skin and inner lip skin as possible,on the hide.Now,to split,you have to work a scalpel between the inner skin and the outer and keep lightly slicing till you reach the eyelid rim but don't cut it.When done properly,the inner eyelid skin looks like a tube,attached to the eyelid.Nick the eyelid and you've caused the taxidermist another repair which devalues the hide for you.

The nose is done in a slightly similar way but is much more complicated due to the shape of the cartilage.Here again,you want to leave plenty of inner skin attached but you have to skin out cartilage and when properly done,all the cartilage will be out and the inner nose skin will look like two tubes,still attached to the skinned out nose pads,hopefully with no nicks.

It is not simple and a person really needs to be hands on trained and then months of practice to learn to do it right.I hate to discourage someone wanting to try something new but that's exactly what I'm trying to do.That type of prep work for taxidermy is nothing like trapper prep work.Very little that you do to prep for a fur buyer,will help you in taxidermy prep your,except fleshing meat and flesh off the body.

In the north we have species that we catch like wolf, wolverine, and bears that mostly go to the taxidermy trade.We learn how to skin for taxidermy so the skins will grade complete and bring a premium price.
Some trappers sell directly to taxidermists.Myself,I do up some lynx for taxidermy that are handled complete.Like any other fur handling techniques,it takes practice.If you are going to skin complete for the taxi trade,practice on skins of no value.

Well thank you for being honest, I don't no why there requesting ppl do such a complicated task but I will just have to practice until I get it, trust me it takes more than that to discourage me, all I can do is get better. But thank yall I do understand what is being requested

Good write up Taximan!!

When I deal with a taxidermist, they can skin the critter anyway they want to.

Yes,but I think in this case,he is sending them to sell.If you ship a whole animal,you will spend more than you get.

Zach,I found this "How To" that shows the facial work on a deer.It is pretty good.I use single edge razor blades for the splitting,where he is using scissors.I also use a scalpel to start skinning around the base of the ear and for some of the nose work.I don't use the ear openers.You can rip ears with them if you aren't careful and furbearer ears are too thin and delicate.After scalpel work on the lower 1/3 of the ear,I pry the ear open with a tool I made from a butter knife.I cut the blade off to about 2",radiused then serrated that radiused end with a 30 line checkering file.That gives the end grip.I'll try to get a picture of that,later.

http://www.animalarttaxidermy.com.au/files/Ears,%20eyes,%20nostrils%20&%20lips.pdf

Here is one,doing a wolf.It also is excellent and shows foot skinning.I would use a scalpel with a #22 blade instead of the knife he's using.I use a small snare for holding the foot,where he uses a hook.I have also used a noose made of nylon chord for that.All work well.A swivel helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_65mC2hEIAc

Thanks so much guys this helps a ton way do u think about smashing a baby spoon flat and using that on the ears? Maybe sharpen a little on grinder

I would use the one made out of a butter knife.Much of the ear work I do is holding it 90 degrees to the cartilage and pushing with the side of the blade.This helps keep from busting through the skin.The serrations can also be used to cut through a little bit of connecting tissue,as you go.


Zach,PM me your address and I'll send you the one in the picture.

Zach don't be scared off. All Alaska Hunting guides are supposed to be proficient at this. Some animals are more difficult than others, especially critters with long skinny ears or big noses. Small feet could be tough too. Most animals are not too bad.

Thanks guys yall have been such a big help I feel like I stand a chance of being successful now. And I sent my address your way taximan I really appreciate you the tool will help me a lot

Thought I might give this a try on a pelt or two myself. One question I have though is should all taxidermy skinned critters be turned fur out?