I hope no one gets mad at me for asking this question before I look through the archives, but I really need a QUICK answer. I always use the search button first, but this is an exception. I've got a roadkilled grey fox, which was in really good condition and did not smell. I skinned it as soon as I got it, and salted as I skinned. I am going to split the lips in about an hour, and my question is, should I continue with a normal salting procedure or put it straight into a pickle bath to kill the bacteria. Obviously I'm trying to avoid slippage. Wish I had some stop rot! A quick answer would be greatly appreciated! Also, I did begin to smell the "stomach" smell as I skinned it, and noticed that the belly skin had a bit of a greenish tint.
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Go back down to 12/25 and read coyote green belly.
A fox is a waste land of bacteria,especialy dead.If it was me I would not salt it because if you salt you must wash.Bad call,skin it ,freeze it ,or better yet flesh D.P. and mount as soon as possible.
Split the lips, turn the ears and get the tail taken care of, salting as you go. I know the tanning experts dont like this, but I always throw it into a clean pickle after an overnight in the salt. They prefer to salt it dry, but again, this is just my opinion. After a day in the pickle, with degreaser, I would shave that skin right down right away, and return to the pickle. Then just final prep/shave, neutralize and wash, then tan with your fav tan, and freeze till mounting. Then thaw, a quick tumble, and itll be a good fox, no slipping. Ive also had some pretty good luck with Krowtann on fox, but I really stress degreasing and shaving that membrane off.
save the dp for cleaning the blood after skinning.
I agree with Yox of course, however, I would add spray it down with stop rot first before I started skinning and then i would wera double latex gloves... 2 reasons. First it protects you from some nasty stuff. Second, it kills the heat passed from your hand to skin.
DaveT
Thanks alot for the great info. Bill, what kind of degreaser would you recommend? Is degreasing necessary for a fox? Thanks!
Also, Bill, when you say shave the skin, do you mean in the same manner as a deer. The skin seems pretty thin already. Just wanting to clarify!
Youre getting alot of good advice from everyone here so far...I like the Tannery Degreaser sold by McKenzie, as well as SuperSolvent by Bruce Rittel. Yes, fox MUST be degreased. I do shave them, as it seems like that last layer of fat is almost a part of that first skin layer, under the membrane that feels almost like cellophane. I do them right on the fleshing machine, although you certainly could do so by hand, or beam. I would NEVER mount a fox without washing it, as they have to be degreased, and the buggers stink too much to not wash!
I noticed when I skinned the fox that it had almost no fat on it. Is that unusual? Also I already have it in a pickle solution, but I don't have any degreaser on hand. Should I pull it out of the pickle and freeze it until I can get some degreaser, and then procede? Thanks so much for the advice and all of the good answers!
Go ahead and pull the hide, take a fairly sharp blade and shave the back of the neck. What do you see? Yep, a neat layer of...greasy FAT! Thats why I say to always degrease them no matter what. I suggested you check for yourself, as this is the best way to learn, rather than just trusting my word. As for whats next, Id leave it in the pickle, order the product of choice from WASCO or McKenzie or others, and go on to degreasing from there. Good luck.