shot a deer on sept 9th. caped it the next day and turned the lips eyes ect. I have been salting for over a week now and it still is barely getting dried out and hard. what would be causing this and what would the remedy be. I have never encountered this before.
Thanks
Return to Deer Taxidermy Category Menu
Ferd or Fred?,
Try using a fan,better yet if you have a dehumidifer try that it will make a world of difference,good luck!
do both fan and dehumidifier should see quick results, however, did you resalt at all within 24 hours shake off wet salt and put new salt on? did you remove most of the meat and membrane before salting?
Right you are Jeff; yes the humidity in the air will make the salt wet and less affective. Make sure that you use lots of salt up front, as cheap as salt is, pour it on, don't sprinkle, heap it on to wick away the hide juice. Two days of salt is sufficient, and then the fan. But after a week of salt, you will only need the fan to finish the job to dry it out. Try to find a room with no or low humidity though. Ditto on the de-humidifier if you need one.
Here's one more twist. What kind of salt are you useing? Rock,fine mineral, ?. The above suggestions are fine but, try useing very fine (like table salt) noniodized. Might not need the humidifier, fan, etc. This works superb for me and we have high humidity also. My studio is also A/C'd.
Roger
Is your cape elevated so air can get underneath it? I think a pallet works good for getting decent air flow and drainage.
I place milk crates on the floor and lay the hides on them , and when your done salting the crates stack up in the corner.also try elavating on one end to help drain of fluid , use at least 10# of salt at a time for a deer cape
Thanks for the tip! Milk crates seem like just the ticket.
nt