Skinning and handling fur

[castiron]

Bob Wendt can you tell me about being vacinated for rabies? I was wanting to get informanion on this. Was it one shot, or do you have to get a series of shots? How often do you have to get a booster shot if that is required? Give us some information (anyone) if you can. Thanks

[bobwendt]

series of three at about $85-125 each ,from your m.d.. then you are immune for life, but a booster is recommended if you get a KNOWN exposure. but the exposures to worry about are the UNKNOWN, like skinning sick animals that don`t look sick. who hasn`t skinned an animal unusually skinny and no obvious reason? just like a rubber can be penetrated by aids virus , or poke a hole or rip,so can most rubber gloves. you guys are fooling yourselves with a lot of gloves.

[Bristleback]

Stanley, you get them FREE..........Oh after the exams.....LOL

I use the gloves as much to keep my hands clean, more clean than without........only wash for 5 min after being in the shed.......instead of 35 minutes and still have stained hands.

[thebeav2]

But If you can get 20 or so guys at a time to go get the shots they become a lot cheaper. Once the seal Is broken on the vaccine It needs to be used and if your the only one your going to pay the complete cost.

[thebeav2]

My hands sweat so bad In those things that I think they come out worse then if I hadn't used them to begin with. Bare back for me, Oh I mean bare handed LOl

[trappnman]

mine too beav- use powdered gloves and the problem is solved. Or, just have a bottle of powder in the shed, and dust your hands before donning gloves.

[thebeav2]

Nope It must be a beav thing when I use the powder my hands turn yellow and nasty. It's probably the biggest factor that kept me out of medical school. Well there were a few other factors LOL

[bill1306 (Phil)]

My hands sweat really bad when I'm wearing gloves also and that is when I will get a blister from fleshing. Years ago I worked in a taxidermy shop in Alaska. Some of the things we skinned and fleshed were rather rank. A brown bear that has been on a salmon diet for a few weeks smells like rotten fish. What we did back then was to rub Vaseline all over our hands. It clogs up the skin pores on your hands and when you wash your hands with soap and hot water the Vaseline washes out and your hands don't stink.

[thebeav2]

sounds like that would work. might try that when I'm working otter. Nothing worse then otter smell.

[trappnman]

thats a good trick- and auto mechanics use a special product just to seal the hands.

washing them with a good soap lather, then letting dry does the same thing.

[bobwendt]

beav, it comes in one dose vials now. bulk vaccinations won`t lower the price of the vaccine, but the nurse or dr may offr a cut rate. easiest way is sign on at the dog pound, get your 3 doses free and then quit.

[Woodswalker]

Somebody said to mix hydrogen peroxide with baking soda for a wash - these neutralize one another and the bubbles coming off is carbon dioxide gas coming off the peroxide acid (H2O2) and bicarbonate (HCO3) reaction. The peroxide is a good anti- bacterial agent but the baking soda destroys it.

I only use hydrogen peroxide in a scratch or open sore, applied undiluted with a q-tip - great way to prevent infection and speed up healing as well.

(For those who cook, baking soda as a rising agent in biscuits needs the acid in butter milk to make it effective, LOL)

[Billy Y]

When I went to the doc earlier this season to get stitched after that mb650 bit me the doc made a point to tell me to clean wounds with only soap and water.

He said NOT to use peroxide as a wound disinfectant.

Dunno about hand washing though.

[romans117]

I hate to burst your bubble but the rabies vaccination doesn't always work.

[bobwendt]

if you develop a titer ( can be tested for), it works. I`m not aware of any literature that can show a failure from the vaccine. human error is possible, i.e. nurse gave you water instead of the vaccine.

[trapperjoemo]

I got the rabies vaccine a few years ago. Only 2 shots, with 2 week wait between them. $200.00+
I found some pretty good gloves this season. Normally just get the cheap yellow dishwashing type. Store was out of those in size large, so I looked and found a 10 pack sold under the Mr. Clean brand (I think). Yellow or Nitrile purple. I like the yellow better. They are MUCH, MUCH better than the plain white latex I`ve used before, and even hold-up better than the heavy duty type dishwashing type.
Now if I could just find a good rubber skinning apron! Most I`ve tried won`t last a season.

Joe

[romans117]

bobwendt said:

if you develop a titer ( can be tested for), it works. I`m not aware of any literature that can show a failure from the vaccine. human error is possible, i.e. nurse gave you water instead of the vaccine.

Don't want to start a fight Bob.

I have been told by several vets that just because a dog is vaccinated for rabies does not mean they cannot get it. I asked at least five maybe more if what the first vet said was true. I say this due to having to cut the head off a dog and sending it to K-State to be tested for rabies when the dog had had several rabies vaccinations series. Several meaning at least three. KSU and the first vet stated it there is no guarantee the vaccination would prevent rabies.

How's the flu vaccine working out? How about vaccinating for lepto, both strains? There is a third that cannot be vaccinated against. Again according to several vets. I am not gigging anybody for taking them for precautions sake. Just sharing my experiences.

[northof50]

On your innitial post you asked if rabies was dead in two hours. No the virus is not dead. Rabid skunks can freeze to death, and the rabies is still alive in their frozen carcusses. Only to be re-transmitted when eaten several months later by an unsepecting scavanger. Then the cycle is repeated again.
I have been inoculated witha rabies serum for the past 25 years, and my titor is read every year to monitor it's level. Every Halloween I get my blood drawn. It has been a long term study by Dr. Oaki and Marg Rubin to follow some 500 people on rabies titor.