okay i know i am going to get laughed at but for other newbys out there they need to lesson up never ever ever ever use a road kill skunk o my god it is so nasty me and my g/f went driveing some back raods last night so i could find something to work on we where driveing along when i saw the biggest skunk i've every seen in hit on the side of the road it had not been dead to long not even realy stiff yet it stunk but not to bad but mostly what was runing threw my mind is how cool it was going to look but man o man it will never happen again my house stinks i can smell it from 3 miles down the road i even sniped off the glands and put them in a tupa wheat thingy my g/f gave me from in the house i was way form the house at leat 100 yards but its stink from high heven i do not stinck thank god well just thought i would give use new bes a heads up good luck to all that try and god bless the ones who do lol
Jimmy
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Skunks are exceptionally beautiful creatures to mount, BUT you have to have the stomach for them in order to tackle them properly. I pulled the same trick you did a lotta years ago and quickly learned that it might be in my best interest to transport it on the roof rack until I got to a pond or a stream and then skin it there with a strong wind in my face. Then I washed it with Dawn until I could get it to the shop and treat it properly.
Don't give up so easily. You're bound to have a customer or two who want them and you can certainly charge accordingly. Just don't forget the rubber gloves. LOL
The smell will be gone from your house in 3 or 4 weeks. LOL :)
I mounted one years ago. I was soo careful to put it into a double-bagged ziplock back, using gloves, not touching the sides of the bag on the outside, etc. (Had someone hold the bag open.) The smell not only escaped through the bags, it landed on us and we reeked of it! So did the freezer for a looonnnggg time. Seems the odor molecules are smaller than air and could pass through the sealed plastic bags.
I spent a fortune on items purported to remove skunk smell. NONE worked. A couple helped, but nothing took out the smell completely, but time. A lot of it. I even used Febreeze. It worked better than the taxidermy-aimed products I bought.
IF I ever attempt one again, it will be one I buy that is already skinned out and odorless or tanned and odorless.
I found out the trick of skinning them in a creek too late...but I still don't think even that would have worked on a skunk that had released its weapon!
o i am not giveing up it is to perrty of a pelt to let it go to waste but I have had it in a res i got from the forum now for over and hour it still stinks out sied of cours but i know my g/f is not goin to let me frezz it what can i do the res was tammto juice,lemon juice and vinger i do not want to have to threw it away
thanks for any help
Jimmy
I use 3% peroxide, Dawn and baking soda. It works. Newton Supply (Epo-Grip) also has a hand cleaner that works and probably would work on the skunk itself as well. WASCO markets the product.
can i add that to what i have or do i need to re mix
This is about as funny as "T pins don't rust". My dad was from Mississippi and it scares me that we might be related.......lol
well my g/f tryed to talk me out of it but i did not lesson brought it home any way well it not that bad now but the hair is falling out a littel so i stoped flehing it and pickeld it i usaly do it twice once befor the after on everything els but i can say i will nevre try a skunk again as far as doing it for a customer hes goin to clean it or it is not geting done good news is the stink is gone out of the house still smells a littel out side and i have no stink on me the running water i think did the trick took the oils away from me and the res georoof gave me worked good o the skin it self thanks again if any one could tell me what or why the hair is falling out i would like to know only thing i could think of was i left it in the water to long and it was lose
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thanks Jimmy
P.s. being from MS is something to be proud of !
I guess that just goes to prove I can't even mix peroxide, Dawn and baking soda correctly! I never got the stink gone until after the tanning.
And after skinning 3 at once, I could smell them for daaayyyysss! But it was a little difficult to wash out the nose, where I beleive it had saturated the whole interior! I kept asking everyone, "Do you still smell those skunks?"
Fortunately, for them, they didn't!
And the tomato juice thing, my daddy got sprayed when he was in high school. He got off the bus after a basketball game and had to walk the last 2 miles to the aunt's house. Along the way, he encountered a bobcat, a skunk and a few other things. He ran into the skunk as he was trying to run to the house and avoid all the other critters out there. They met him at the door of the back porch, as they had run him back out the front! He did the tomato juice bath and a few other things.........he still had to sleep outside on the back porch that night!
If you are going to freeze it, put it in a freezer bag and seal it with as little air as you feel comfortable squeeezing out-then have a larger(gallon size) freezer bag to put it down in, and fill it up with water.You want to form an ice envelope around the skunk to keep it from staanking-up your freezer! If you got the patience to persevere-as you skin that skunk(front to back) carefully tie-off the scent glands with string to prevent getting "odorized".-Good Luck! Susan