Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: RidgeRunner on February 09, 2010, 12:33:34 pm
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Daddy just called.
He ran over an Otter just a few minutes ago.
The Otter is now laying on the top of daddy's well house.
I plan to skin the Otter when I get home from work.
Is there any thing that is different about skinning otters that I need to know?
David
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I would skin it like a muskrat.
Regards /Uwe
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Just case it out. They have scent glands near the anus like a mink or skunk, so don't poke a blade in there. :)
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Case Skin =
1. Cut through the hide just above each of the four feet.
2. On the belly side, Cut up each back leg to the middle.
3. Remove the hide much like taking a sock off.
Are the above steps correct?
How is the tail skinned? Do I split it or try to case it out intake.
Will be on the lookout for the stink bombs Hillbilly.
Thanks
David
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Tails you skin by rolling it off, but once its skinned you split it, if that makes sense :)
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Yep, cut it from back heel to back heel and peel it off like a sock. With the tail, you skin up to it and put a stick on each side of the tailbone just below the hide, grab them firmly while squeezing them together, and pull. It'll strip the bone right out of the tail.
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Wish me luck. :D
Will let you know how it works out.
David
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HEy David,
You're lucky dude, cause otters have beautiful pelts. I found one last summer that was a fresh roadkill, so I case skinned it. I also just sliced the tail from the butt hole to the tip, and carefully skinned it with a sharp stone flake. Be careful not to slice the hide.
Otters have pretty thick skins, so after I got it off the otter I put it on a fleshing beam and scraped off all the fat and meat. I left the skin inside out, put small sticks inside it so the skin was an open tube, and put a fan on it to dry it as fast as possible. You'll want to dry the skin quickly..it helps to "set" the hair. If you leave the skin wet for too long the hair will begin to pull out.
I haven't finished tanning mine yet, but I'm gonna make a killer quiver when I do.
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Get some GOJO, you'l need it. And lemon juice to get the fish smell off your hands.
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Well, how'd it go?
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easy skinning skin like anything, case. just like coon or fox.
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Well it was not to bad. ::)
Could not get to it Tuesday Afternoon... Life happens sometimes and we have to stop playing caveman for a while and deal with life.
So I left Mrs. Otter out in the cold Tuesday night. It went down to 25 so she froze quite well.
When I left to go to work Wednesday morning I covered Mrs. Otter in a pile of chopped up leaves from the compost pile.
Wednesday afternoon she was still frozen.
Got to work on her about 5:00 PM. It took me most of an hour to case skin her out.
Could not strip the tail out. It was "FULL" of fat and, at it's base, as large as my wrist. So, the tail was split down it's lenght and flat shinned. I did manage to case skin the rest of the hide off. Found a bit, not much, of the stink glans. Smells just like a skunk only in far less amounts. Could not get the head to skin out very well as all. It was just about completely dark so I cut the hide off just behind the ears.
It is quite cold thesedays and I did not know it the hide would dry or not if left outside. Inside drying is out of the question. Me wife would see to that. :D. So, I froze it in the deep freezer. Sheeee, The wife does not know that. :o The hide is inside four Wally World shopping bags. Each inside the other. I am going to place the whole lot inside a ziplock bag when I get home this afternoon.
Cut through the very tip of the tail just a bit. Really disappointed in that. Took off loads of fat with the hide but very little flesh.
The hide will need lots of fleshing out. Don't think I cut through any where else.
After the weather warm a bit I hope to tan this hide. Don't know nothing about that yet. Very soft yet strong hide. Most soft fur.
Quite certain that It can be made into something very nice.
David
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David, don't cut into the musk glands on a mink in someone's basement right next to the air intake on their central heating system. It could cause quite a spectacle. Don't ask me how I know this. ::) The hide will be fine in the freezer for awhile. My wife won't go near our freezer anymore. I don't know why..............
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Cool,should make a nice skin,Hillbilly mine won't either,she opens it up and will say what dead stuff do you have in here now. ;) :) I just smile. :)
Pappy
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I think it will make something nice as well Pappy.
Say.... You know how to brain tan a hide don't you....
May have to ride up some day when Jesse is going to be around.
Wanted to come up this weekend but have got far to much to do at home and no money right now. :'(
Me wife will still go to the freezer. She has no idea what is in it. ;D
David
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Cool,should make a nice skin,Hillbilly mine won't either,she opens it up and will say what dead stuff do you have in here now. ;) :) I just smile. :)
Pappy
Just tell her dead cow, dead pig, dead chicken, dead.... ;D
I'm lucky, mine wants to see learn how I process the critters I shoot and butcher.
Swamp
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My wife will help process and cook farm raised animals and deer. She will cook wild rabbits. She will not touch anything else.
David
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My wife helps me butcher and process deer and other critters. She just finds too many things that look back at her in the freezer. ;D ;D
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if u don,t tan it yourself look for fur a fur dealer in your area.The 1 in my area is very reasonable for price.I just dropped off a red fox and it was only $18 to have it tanned.He sends a bunch of stuff to NY to have done and its a good quality tan.I do taxidermy part time and the tanneries i use charge a lot more (example-that same red would cost $45-55 bucks plus shipping both ways.We,ve had just about everything possible tanned and it all comes back nice.Be careful around the ears and eyes when u skin the head-good luck and have a great day-Lloyd