Two foxes this week and hair has slipped on ears of both!
Used stop rot and ice pack while removing ear cartlige too.
Any advise from you small mammal guys would be appriciated.
The hides where both krowtanned
What is the best way to remove the eat cartlige (what a pain)
Any tips on "fixing" hairless ears
Thanks guys
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I just got told a day or two ago that using Krowtann and Stop Rot would 100% guarantee that not happening. I found out long ago, with canids, NO PRODUCT can make that statement. I use DP so that I can mount them right there on the spot and be done with them. As far as repairing, I'd suggest what's in the archives. Let the mount dry and then paint the bald spot with #30 Paste from Epo-Grip. Cut hair from places that you can't see on the mount or from another fox. Layer it in starting at the bottom and working to the tip. Once everything dries, take scissors and clip the hair to length. Then finish it up with your airbrush to recolor the hairs.
Two foxes this week and hair has slipped on ears of both!
1. The obvious is something was done wrong. The question is what?
What was the condition of the ears on bothe of these foxes before you started them? Frozen, salt dried, freezer burned, air dried, mishandled right up front? None of that information was in the original thread.
Used stop rot and ice pack while removing ear cartlige too.
2. Counter-productive. The proteins of the living system are "designed" to operate at a ball park of 100 degrees F., mammal, bird and count humans in on that.
Chilling DOES slow down molecular activity, and that includes STOP-ROT. It doesn't stop it, it slows it down. When you did that, consider it a boo-boo.
Another overlooked aspect is that once this system is clinically dead, physical science can take over where biochemistry WAS working.
Once cooled down, the structural proteins of the skin and the cartilage contract. 64 degrees F. and lower will bring that into play. Another counter-productive move. The contraction can also prevent the STOP-ROT from moving through the skin in the same places that the body fluids have been moving. Think of it like a sponge, when squuezed down and held, it ain't gonna suck in any more water.
Any advise from you small mammal guys would be appriciated.
The hides where both krowtanned
3. skip to next statement
What is the best way to remove the eat cartlige (what a pain)
4. Painful removal of the ear cartilage tells me that perhaps the animals weren't dead?
Just kiddin'. But it does tell me that the ears DID NOT either have enough STOP-ROT used on them, OR it did not have a long enough work time.
Gory details! Gory details! Give us some facts.
Glen they where both dead. I tryed a live fox once and he bite the ¢rap out of me.
These foxes were frozen fresh.
I just think when thawing out because of the way they were wraped up the ears thawed WAY before the rest of the body and hence my problem.
I am a big SR fan and see your concern about the ice and SR.
Probably should just stoprot alone.Really ruins the day when you see the hair just peeling away from the ears (and a foot).
I'm with George on dp for small animals but really do like the K stuffs for deer heads.
And how the hell do get those tiny ears skinned out to the tips?
Thanks for responce guys
RB
I've got to get some sleep. I'm turning into a real woosie.
If you haven't already seen these two articles, you might want to read them. There is a ton of loaded applications pointed out. They will probably answer some more questions before you think to ask.
www.hidetanning.net/STOP-ROTfreezer.html
www.hidetanning.net/DeerSkinTanning.html
G' night all!
I have tanned several fox this way and no to little slippage. I also try to keep a few spare tanned ears around in case of the need to repair.
First off I HAVE done fine with frozen then thawed foxes. Try to not do thawing and the prep work when its blazing hot first of all. Do all prep, flesh as much as you can, stop rot the ears after turning and also put stop rot on the inside of the ear before turning. I don't usually do all this unless I think the skin is iffy. The SALT the hide and let it dry till its totally dry and hard. Now this part George may not like LOL. When I go to soak the skins back up I use some salt and some alum sulphate in the soak. I have yet to get a bad slipped ear or even more than a small slip spot using this in the soak up. I also use bacteriacide in the water too, since I am not using enough salt and alum to make a pickle. I use about 1 pound of the alum, about 2-3 pounds of salt, to about 10 gallons of water. The hides soak up at a normal rate, when all but the feet and ear butts are full let out, I remove, wash in dawn, rinse well, then place in a pickle of safety acid. I then proceed the rest of the way using the ez-100 system, and I use a wire wheel to fine flesh the skins. I have been using an auto tanner to wet drum skins in 3 hours, no pressure added to the tanner. The ear fur and the rest of the fur for that matter is tight tight tight. I wet tan and freeze the skins for mounting later, so possible acid rot is no issue.
The only skins I have trouble with are if I skip the alum/salt in the soak, don't salt dry till totally dried hard, or if they were already slippy when green. In this case, I now stick them right into a fresh pickle, green, to lock the fur down.
I tried krowtan on a grey fox once and got some slip on the body, granted the fox was a roadkill, but I refuse to do foxes in krowtan again. I reserve krowtan for coons, mink, skunks, and stuff like that. I have a small beaver in the stuff now.