Long term fur storage?

I have looked around for this but haven't found exactly what I am looking for. I'm sure this has been covered and if anyone can point me to it, that would be great so I don't waste anyone's time. My predicament is I don't catch a lot of fur. I don't want to take in a tiny lot of finished fur so I am hoping to accumulate some from a season or two and take it in. Not to look like I had a better season than I did, I would just rather have some amount of fur worth selling before I take it in. First problem is the only "storage" area I have for finished fur would be my garage. Finished garage, attached to house, but not conditioned. I know finished fur isn't going to keep forever. Could I flesh, dry, stretch and carefully freeze it again if it is laid flat? Or should it just be frozen initially all the way up until it is all fleshed, dried, and stretched at once? What would be the best solution? This is a stupid question I think, but I really don't want to screw up and waste any fur. Thanks guys.

The safest way to hold fur over is to stretch,dry and keep in a frost free freezer.

It Isn't a stupid question.



If It were me I'd finish what you have and sell It. Lots of things can go wrong by sitting on finished fur.

But If you are bound and determined to sit On It then I would do this. Skin your catch roll It up and bag It and then freeze until next season. Don't flesh any of It. roll so the nose Is inside. And try and keep all raw edges rolled or folded Inside so you can protect against freezer burn.
Then about a month before you start trapping start putting up what you have. No need to keep It In the freezer any longer then necessary.

What about seeing if there's a furbuyer coming through your town? The one I sold to doesn't care how many coyote hides I bring. I'm sure a middleman means you take a cut, but a little cut probably costs less than having a freezer going all summer.

There is no sure way.
Power goes out for a few days,fur is wasted. Best bet is finish it and sell it. Even a little fur sold buy's a few things for next season.
Rotten fur buys nothing

^^^^^^^

The Beav method has worked for me. I have kept 'coon, 'cats, coyotes that way for a long time. When putup they looked like fresh caught. Recently I've only held beaver & coyotes & skunk for a year & then scrape & stretch, can't tell them from fresh caught.

I see what you guys are saying. Thanks for the info. How long can finished fur hang in an unconditioned garage with a fan going. I know humidity and temp plays a role in the equation too. The garage is unconditioned but generally stays pretty cool until it gets really hot outside. The only issue would be that it is humid in there at times but I will get a dehumidifier. Just looking for a ballpark on this one. Thanks a lot for the help.

Boarded and dried fur in the freezer has a few advantages.It protects the pelts from bugs and other vermin.It slows down oxidation of the fur and leather,and if the freezer goes out the pelts wont spoil(frost free wont have melted ice in bottom).Another advantage is the pelts are ready to sell as soon as you have an opportunity,or offer without rushing to thaw and finish for a deadline.

I hung about a dozen coyotes & one 5x coon in a building here in SE PA for 13 months. I then send them to a tannery except about three of the coyotes that I sent to NAFA. NO PROBLEMS at NAFA or at the tannery.

Holy mackerel my ignorance is becoming more and more apparent! I would’ve guessed people would say like a couple weeks. Thanks for the response!

I would not be pushing my luck, especially with the possibility of insect damage. There is plenty of oil left in dried pelts to attract wild dermestid beetles and they can make a mess of your hard work pretty quick.

The reason for the furs in my shed; I was going to try to home tan them. I have a few coyotes & coon that I fleshed then salted about five years ago. Those hides look like they would tan-up OK.

But you don't want to salt any hides you intend to sell for the fur market.
And I can see salted hides hanging like that for awhile but not just dried furs.

Dry salted hides will keep for quite a while,as long as the humidity is low.But there is a bacteria,called the halophilic bacteria that will attack dry salted skins.You will know it when you see pink in the skin.The spread of the pink discoloration is the live halophilic bacteria.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will go ahead and do my best to finish what I have. I may end up just tanning some and keeping them. I have never even handled fur so I dont want to take in any bad work. Going to the March auction in WV. Never been to one of these either so I am hoping they have a demo or something.