I was wondering if anyone had ever tried skinning an animal that was still frozen. I had a bobcat a few months ago that I was in a hurry to get skinned. I had let it start thawing for a couple of hours but for the most part it was still frozen. The skin itself was thawed but the meat underneath was frozen solid. It seemed like it was actually easier to get the skin away from the meat this way than if I had let the whole thing thaw. Has anyone else done this and did it seem to work better for you? Just wondering.
Return to Beginners Taxidermy Category Menu
I have done the same thing only let the skin thaw out and it was easier to do I thought, but heck I'm a newbie so I thought you were supposed to do it that way....lol
When ever i'm to work on something I have frozen I take it out of the freezer and hang it if its a deer or horned animal, the night before. Small mammals just lay it out on the table. By morning its ready to skin. Trying to skin half frozen critters means lots of holes. Once you can move the skin on the whole body your ready for the knife.
Hank the frozen specimen from the ceiling at night before going to bed. Plug the nose and any holes with cotton to avoid seepage on the fur.
Then wrap the head and paws in a damp rag or towel... as these parts will thaw quicker since they are smaller in size...you don't want them to start drying before starting the skinning process.
Next morning it's ready for skinning...even though carcass itself may still be partially frozen.
Reason for hanging the specimen is so that it thaws evenly. If it's left on a table the underside will not thaw evenly as the rest of the body.