Finishing coyotes

[Bristleback]

I use 100% wood.

How many use a SOLID board for coyotes? All of mine are hollow, adjustable.........hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[wheelie]

I use solid yote boards........I really like them.

Don't know why I do it......I guess cause it may make our $13.00 coyotes $13.25

I believe it make the yote look fuller.

I also use wire when my limited wood yote boards are full. I can tell after drying what coyote was on wood and what was on wire.......a noticeable difference.

[17HMR]

Adjustable wood for me, I like the little gap to help speed the drying. Im going to put up some left overs from last year today.

[trappnman]

Two years ago, bought some wood fox stretchers to try. Loved them. Nicer put up, and you could see the difference when finished- so we decided to put up "all" of our fox on wood.

So figured we try the same experiemnt on coyotes.

was not impressed with wood on coyotes. I bought a doz boards to try last fall, and didn't see an iota of difference in the finshed coyotes. So- tried them, found wire, to be the same. For me.

just not worth the extra time and effort in my opinion.

[17HMR]

I think wood has gave me a little higher $ avg. A buddy that traps the same area and more or less the same groups of coyotes, used wire, and year after year my avg is higher by $4 to $8, both localy and last year the auction. His dont look bad they just look like they were put up on wire.

[bobwendt]

100% wood, difference of night and day in my eyes.

[Bristleback]

Think there is a difference in solid wood stretchers VS adjustable?

Only thing I hate about wood is storing them and my fingers get SOOOO tired of all those pins! Played with staples a few times.......you probably heard me when I ran one under my finger nail.......I think the stapler may still be in orbit.

[trappnman]

the biggest fur buyer in this area, used my hides to show how MN coyotes should look when properly put up.... so we are doing it right.

$4 to $8 higher on wood- if I could get that- I'd do it- but thats not true here. The prices were the same, and they sohuld be the same- because you cannot pick out one over the other as saying this is wire, this is wood. No day and night difference- no difference.

but- I do wash, dry and fluff cooytres befoer stretching, and drum them before selling (so to speak)

I do see the difference in fox at the shoulders- but I don't on coyotes.

thats not to say that if you do you are wrong- because everyone has their methods and opinions- all I'm saying- its not worth the extra time for US.

[Zagman]

....with adjustable wood I can use Borax and a large male mink board up in side and perpendicular to the board, and never turn the hides......

Not all wood boards are created equal.....if you can see a noticeable difference in your fox and NOT your coyotes in the shoulder area, you may have the wrong boards. Being canines, logic dictates that you would see similiar results.

Trouble is, you have to buy a few different types from different guys, so it is a learning process.

I sold half my coyotes at a late February sale and had a few go in the $45-$55, helping in bringing my sale average up into the mid-$30's. Pups and rubbed coyotes helped bring it down!

These were all late October coyotes, as I did private sales for my Nov-Dec-Jan super primers...... except for a few damaged and rubbed individuals from December.

The auctioneer actually stopped the auction because people were no-selling all their junk fur and leaving, disgusted. They singled me out and my coyotes and said that if everyone handled them the way I do, there'd be no problems. Most people were getting offers of $7-15 each for theirs coyotes......this was after the market dropped and all fur except greys was much lower than expectations held....

Not bragging, just stating what happened. Honestly, fur handling is a learning process and I know that the fur I put up in high school in Ohio looks nothing like what I do now, 25 years later.

Now, at $35 coyotes, I am far from rich.....but might as well get as much as you can out of the stinky SOB's. Handling fur correctly takes some time, and while I am not compensated well for the extra time I put into them, I take great pride in the end result.

Some day, when they go to $100 each, I will be ready!

Zagman

[bobwendt]

zag, I remember selling RED indiana coyotes for over $100 each at nafa. they graded " red fox red". at the time normal colors were doing maybe $35 at nafa, avg net take home. we had about 10% reds then. now it is lower yet.

[Jeffrey]

Last year we averaged $26 for our Maine coyotes all caught in late October or the first week of November. They all went on wire and none were boraxed all were turned. This year we are going to try the NAFA board sizes and borax. We have some FHA boards but they are a funky one size fits all and my partner won't use them unless we have one over 60 lbs.. All our coyotes went to FHA auction.

[shagnasty]

what color is wanted on the grade? ab or c, which is better? had a c grade go for $20 dry washed in borax and boarded, a va coyote. does that sound about right for southern coyotes or should i be getting $35 or higher?

[bfflobo]

Zagman- agree with you 100%. Averaged around $45 last year on coyotes, when the sale average was around $26. I see coyotes and cats that are better critters than I have, but not handled right. The price drops fast. Average for cats at the sale was $191. I got a $325 avge. The easiest way to make money trapping is proper fur handling. If the buyer lookes at a fur and has any doubt that it might slip in the finishing process, the price drops. If he looks at a lot of fur and he can tell that they were all put up by the same person correctly it will take the gamble out of his job and will be more willing to do business. I remember back in the late "70's" I sold 15 coyotes (all that I had for the year) for $101 average. Man was I rich.

[bobwendt]

you did good at $20. va coyotes aren`t much account, no where as nice as northern stuff. on just one tho it could have been nice. now a days they want "A" colors and cd`s and reds are bottom dwellers.

[shagnasty]

got an ab grade then went unsold, so maybe it will do a little better, but really dont matter as peanut numbers dont make or break a guy.

[walkercoonhunter(Aaron L.)]

ALL OF THIS TALK ABOUT FINISHING FURS....ok the stretch is very important.....but what about the care and handling AFTER they are streched.....this is when the guard hair would be most exposed and have the greatest chance of making a hide look like crap...i see so many photos with hides stacked on top of one another and see so many people after stretching just throwing hides round...floor,table,where ever they land...getting fat,grease,saw dust,dirt and what not all over the hides....i for 1 when the hides come off the stretcher they get hung and stay there till im ready to sale...i handle my finished fur as little as possible after the normal prep like brushing,wiping down,trimming excess leg length off,etc....im still in the learning curve here and want to do my furs as best i can and i take alota pride when i do it....even thinking about building a tumbler....i always get compliments on my fur at the district auction from some major buyers,but im always looking to take it a step further and make my furs stand out so much that when they look they say"we want those" as soon as they see them....so what percent would you guys say the stretch is in a finished fur....60-70-90%?
i know there are alota variables here to my question but lets just take it from here....i know the basics and know the hide has to be centered on the board..pin ears,cut legs etc...after you get the hang of the basic put up how much importance is in the stretch?

[trappnman]

bottomline- there are different ways to do things that are correct, depending on the person and the circumstances

NO way is better for all-

[Bristleback]

Once I get a coyote on the board, pinned in place.....I let them dry upside down.....comb the fur from the tail to the nose.....let them dry this way.............

When the fur buyer does the ol snap a roo.....that fur will stand at attention.......looooooks nIce.

[shagnasty]

i use a staple gun for boarding pelts, seems easier and quicker than push pins. staples come out easy too.

[coyotewhisperer]

Once I get a coyote on the board, pinned in place.....I let them dry upside down.....comb the fur from the tail to the nose.....let them dry this way.............

I think the above quote sums it up to make your fur look the best it can. That combing from tail to nose will really help your cats belly's when drying upside down.

I don't have alot of wood for coyotes but its easy to tell the difference im surprised you don't Tman.

A furbuyer taught me a trick with wire on coyotes to help them dry you can wedge one of those 2 " by a 1/4 inch lathe pieces of wood they used to use in walls in old buildings anyway wedge that in there so it can breath better.

Jeff