Removing the ear cartilage from fox & coyote

[Gibb]

How many of you remove the cartilage from fox, coyote and cats?
www.furharvesters.com/FOXears-handout.pdf
Cheers Jim

[trappnman]

it looks cool when done, but the extra time doesn't pay any more. I think its more a Canadian thing- many here from there, do the ears like that.

[thebeav2]

I once made this mistake and had my fur garmet tanned. well when It came back the nose was cut off the ears were cut out and the feet were gone. They don't use these things In the manufacture of fur coats. So In my opinion It would be a waste of time for us as trappers to do this.
Now If you were going to have a wall hanger made out of your fur then It would be the way to go since the ears wouldn't come out all shriveled up and hard.

[Stef]

thanks Gibb... Yes I do it.

There's many ways of doing it and to me.. its not a waste of time... it takes so little time compared to skinning the hind legs or even pulling the front legs...LoL

To me... Its the way to get ready for the market well handled furs.

Simple as 1-2-3

[trappnman]

do you get more for feet and ears?

[Zagman]

I am considering doing this, though with Borax, I feel it MAY not be necessary.....

Funny, furbuyers who dont use the head or feet are always pulling on the canine's ear hair to check for slippage.....if they can pull it out, CLEARLY, the rest of the hide must be no good either.......and they dock you accordingly.

Not sure why, but in MY fur shed, I have more trouble with fox ears drying quickly/correctly than I do with the coyotes.....which makes ZERO sense as there is much more biomass in a coyote's ear than in a fox's......

Zagman

[mountainman]

Trappnman, I actually have at times got a $5 or more difference on cats by leaving all the feet on. On yotes and fox I cut the feet off and trim the front legs short. I trim all ear butts close so they dry better, but dont take off so much that the ears dont stand up.

[17HMR]

Thanks Gibb, That looks easy, Im always looking for that little extra to improve the final product.

[trappnman]

I understand on cats and display type pelt- but on regular fur sales, I don't leave the feet on.
Interesting aobut the furbuyer pulling o nthe ears.

I've only ever sold coyotes for fur to one buyer, and what he does is look at the back, and then flips them over and rubs his hand over the belly. On rare occasions, he looks at the leather.

[Gibb]

Interesting replies, it is important to remove the ear cartilage when drying fur. This method is fast and works great on fox and cats, needs more elbow grease when doing coyote. Speeds the drying time up and prevents taint around the ears. You can usaully smell the ones in the pile before you get to them. This method is very simple and fast. Darcy Alkerton learned this method from fox trappers in Australia. Darcy taught me this method a couple of years ago.
Cheers Jim

[trappnman]

why is taint a problem? humidifiers, fan- standard equipment- makes that not an issue.

I can see it in tanned items, but only for the look, not the durability. I've got 4 tanned yotes hanging, and the ears while hard, have zero signs of slippage, as do the pelts my friends have boughht and had tanned.

[Gibb]

Only a problem when trappers rush out the product or do not have a good system or room to properly handle their furs. This is a bigger problem in wolves and bears when the trappers do not know how to handle the ears. Lots of good quality skins are ruined because the ears slip.
The method of removing on the carcass for fox and coyote ensure no problems and is simple.
Cheers Jim

[trappnman]

`makes sense- thanks Gibb.

[TrappingAddict]

Does the front, inside hair on the ear stay on the carcus or does the entire ear fur come with the pelt?

[cowman]

Thanks Gibb! Looks like a simpler way than the wayI have been doing it!

[HappyPlumber]

I always take the cartilage out, but I'm wondering because the ears aren't used anyway, why not cut the whole ear off, cartilage and all? HP

[Stef]

Does the front, inside hair on the ear stay on the carcus

Yep

[trappnman]

always take the cartilage out, but I'm wondering because the ears aren't used anyway, why not cut the whole ear off, cartilage and all? HP

VERY good question

[bobwendt]

probably leaving the ears on lessens chances of large tears in tumbling or tanning would be my guess. similar to giant eye holes or gaping mouths or huge front leg holes. I`ve never removed the cartlage and almost always top the sale for the region and size. never had a rot in tanned goods either. maybe some guys are slobs and don`t skin freash ( true) or other drying faults to where the stink is a bad deal. personally I`d be a heck of a lot more worried over dead snared anuimals with green bellys on multi day runs. even in the winter on sunny dayts animals can go south on a guy. when those baldys come back from the tannerys we all pay the price the next time that chinaman goes to a sale. just because something gets by the graders doesn`t mean it gets by the end user. I see green belly sellers same as shoplifters- they get away with it but we all pay for their greed. just another argument for timely ck. laws.

[mountainman]

I agree Bob. I spent $65 on a good weather radio so I can get updates in the field. That saves on getting caught too far out in snowstorms and I know how to manage the lines ahead of bad weather. I have at times in the past ran 23 hours straight on 300 miles of mink sets to get the catches out ahead of a storm and went to the floodplain areas along big rivers first. I get the predators skinned asap. It dont take long at all for them to get green bellies and they are much easier to skin fresh anyway. I get the water animals brought in with enough time to hang them to dry if they need it with no problems. Theres nothing wrong with running longer lines if they are managed right. So many times I have heard jealous trappers say longliners are greedy period. That always makes me angry and figure its about the end of the conversation with them. Its good to be here where trappers have the longline mentalitly and also the ethics to do it right. To do it to the point of having spoiled fur outside of unforseen and unavoidable accidents is to me being a slob or greedy. When I was down with kidney stones my dad got directions from me in the hospital and ran my wilderness cat line without missing a single set. IMO its much better to stay on top of it and allow a reasonable safety margin to insure having quality furs. To me that is part of being a trapper.