Have a deer that I got in and they hang it by it s rear legs with a bag of ice in the neck too help cool it down the problem is it didnt drain real well and the skin got puffed up even to the point that the eye lids swelled shut. I caped it out but the skin is very slippery and slimy tried to flesh with scalpel but it puffed to much and didnt want to put it to the fleshing machine just yet. Is this cape ruined or can I salt it down to get some water out of it? It doesnt appear to have hair slipping yet .Please give some advice thank you!
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My advice would be to rough flesh as well as you can and salt it immediately. The longer you wait the greater the chance that it will slip on you. Salt the cape, let it drain for a few hours and salt again. I'm assuming the that this specimen was hanging in weather that was appropriate to hang a deer. If it was too warm, even putting that bag of ice in the neck to help cool it would have been a bad idea. I allow my hides and capes to cool gradually by themselves, forced cooling can give you bad results and lead to extreme slippage.
It may take several saltings to get that much fluid out of the cape. And one last thing, don't disturb the hair too much during the salting process. As a rule i just salt on a board that is angled and let it drain. You can fold the cape, skin on skin, and allow it to drain but if its questionable, i would just leave it flat and allow to drain.
Hope this helps
Angelo G.
I get several like that a year. Ive never had one slip, but they are a pain to work with. Like the other post said, salt well. I usually salt these particular hides three or four times. Good Luck
Apply some of it around eyes, nose and ears atleast.
youall have a happy thanksgiving
paul e
Thanks for the responses much appreciated