Green Porcupine

;D Are you afraid of getting poked? Porky's are one of the few critters that repeatedly get you back even after they are dead. ;D

 

I swear, some of you people on here crack me up to no frigging end!

You don't want to "mess" with them? What are you 12? You had better start learning how to "mess" with everything if you want to be a Taxidermist, or you best prepare to do something else!

Porcupine are one of the few mammals I take in that are handled start to finish "in-shop". This includes fleshing their greasy little skins, washing them, toweling off the moisture, salting them, pickling them, then tanning them ... using Lutan-F.

You have a lot to learn, and the first thing should be ... don't take in anything you are not prepared to "mess with!"

To start, lay an old, thick towel on your workbench, then lay the skin on top of it, quills down on the towel. The towel will protect the quills from being broken. Yes, the quills need to be protected.

Then take your time to flesh the skin. Be careful and be aware that the actual skin is thinner than it feels due to the quills beneath it!

You can use a serrated fish skinning knife to scrape the skin. The serrations will help get around the heavy roots that hold the quills, removing the fat, and breaking up the thin membrane attached to the skin.

Breaking this subdermal fascia will allow the salt to fully penetrate the skin, and also allow the chemicals easier access to the skin during the pickling and tanning processes.

Work slowly, deliberately, and carefully!

And if you think our North American Porcupine are tough critters, then you will be in for a treat if you ever get to work on and African Crested Porcupine!


Good luck!
John.

 

I do it all in shop. prepare to learn a lot when doing these critters.

 

I just did my first one this year. It is kinda like fleshing a turkey. I sent mine to the tannery.

 

I use a bird fleshing wheel on porcupines. It works for me. I also wear a leather glove on the non skinning hand just because I feel better with it on. I just mounted two up and the only pokes I got was in finishing around the face.

 

You didnt say if you have one already, but if you havent tried, go for it. Id put them on a smooth hard surface, as theyll stick to everything and pull the quills if you dont. Youll find them so greasy that youll soon learn to quickly prep and salt them, and then get them into a pickle WITH degreaser in it. I suggest a waterbased degreaser, but opinions vary. Then like these guys say, shave/prep slowly and by hand, and the bird flesher is smart too, cuz the quill bases are heavy and will poke through the back of the skin when shaving conventually. One other thing...I have ALWAYS worked on porcupines while STANDING UP...no sitting! Think of where those loose quills might end up and use your imagination. Been there, done that.

 

John Bellucci :

I guess Deadhed isn't the only one who doesn't want to mess with everything! ;D

 

Wild prairie: X2

and DEADHEAD, I'd be totally screwed if it weren't for the great people on Taxidermy.net! There are some douchebags, and they make themselves known, but a great portion of the people are here to help!

The jerks just make themselves more obvious then the rest of us!

 

fun little buggers to play with lol, one I did a few years ago





when he was still drying

 

I WON'T be of any help ,had a guy call me up about one then never showed ,neat animals saw quite a few in Colorado ,appeared unafraid an was amazed at the size of them ,hope you get the answers you need!!

 

Don't let the negative attitudes run you off, some are just that, some are negative sounding but if you listen they do offer great information, then some are just great guys here to help. Hang in there

 

Ok now I got a porky question to add. What are some good ways to get the quills to stand? I have one that is TOTALLY covered with quills, head to tail to feet. So what can I put under there, it's almost ready to mount...

 

good hide paste and back brush will get them to stand up

 

BESIDES, I THOUGHT PORCUPINES WERE KINDA BLACK, NOT GREEN ;D

 

Hang him upside down while he's drying....this will make the quills stand up nicely. I've done it several times and it works very well.

 

I wondered about that, Tim, since I knew some people did that with strut turkeys. Thanks, guys.