removing ear cartilage from canines

[mustelameister]

Was going through the archives this morning and couldn't make this link work. Any suggestions?

Thanks

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

[romans117]

Yup.

[Gibb]

www.furharvesters.com/PDF/earcart.pdf
We reworked our web site try this link.
Cheers Jim

[Gibb]

You can check out this page for other helpful tips.
www.furharvesters.com/pelthandling.htm
Cheers Jim

[mustelameister]

Thanks Jim!

and Merry Christmas!

Any way a fella could order that pelt handling manual separately? Or in bulk?

[Gibb]

pm me what your needs are and I will see what I can do.
Merry Christmas.
Cheers Jim

[thebeav2]

And to what benifit Is this to the average trapper?
If I have two same fur quality animals and one Is with cartilage and one Is without. I'm going to get more money on the one without? And If so how much?
I know guys who do this but I never have.

[northof50]

Practice make perfect with the ear cartilage removal.
They do dry better and less hair slippage in the tanning process.
For the full face hat selectors this is a bonus, when making hats.
So if your fox has a real long nap area, and a cherry red, that's the ones, that it will pay off, especially if they are pulled for private treaty sale.badgers particularly pay good

[Griz]

I remove the cartilage from canines most of the time. It is more of a pride of product thing that takes very little extra time than a money maker. If there is any money, it results in the ear cartilage not smelling and the buyer not downgrading the pelt based on fear of pelt slippage.

There are other ways to handle ears not drying as fast as the rest of the pelt, including borax.

[Gibb]

Beav no one is telling you to do anything.
Borax works but this method is easier.
I guess it all depends on what you are skinning and what market you are skinning for
The commerical fur trade I recommend you take them out.
Cheers Jim

[romans117]

I tried doing it the FHA way but spend to much time. So I skin the skin off the ear a bit and cut at the base. Once on the fleshing board I quickly and easily do the task in about 30 seconds.

[foxtail]

I just used that method on a red fox I caught and am going to send in to be tanned.

All of this time I was farting (not my word of choice) around with taking the cartilage out after the canine was skinned.

Never again.

Someone made a video od this and posted it on T-man.

It was an epiphany.

[Gibb]

It was Phil Brown the fox man himself, for sure it is the easiest to do on fox need more elbow grease on coyotes. After seeing thousands of ranch fox with the ear cartilage out it makes a lot of sense.
As soon as we start receiving fur for a sale, we right away start a collection of pelts with ears that are either stinking and slipping or so green that we know they will start to slip shortly unless we hang them up right away.
Sometimes the only thing we can do is cut the ears right of to stop the tainting
Cheers Jim

[trappnman]

I read way too often that people leave them on the boards for only a short time before turning- not counting those that don't tutn and use some method to allow them to put them on the boards fur out- and perhaps thats the reason some have problems with ears tainting-

and some might be how they skin them- I don't know how much they leave on the ears.

I don't have any problems with slipping-

some of that slipping might be snared coyotes on extended checks as well

[foxtail]

That could be, but the only time I really see any reason to even leave the ears on the skin is when you are going to tan it like I am going to do.

Otherwise, I don't see why people don't just cut them off and leave the hole. The garment maker doesn't use the head any way, and any buyer who would downgrade you fox or yote for not having ears should be dragged naked through a briar patch and rolled in popcorn salt.

[RiverRat]

Dec 26, 2008 11:36:44 GMT -6 foxtail said:

and any buyer who would downgrade you fox or yote for not having ears should be dragged naked through a briar patch and rolled in popcorn salt.

[garman]

for god sakes people taking out the ear cartilage is simple not like frigging brainsurgery, I started doing it last year and will continue to...IF that is what the consumer wants that what we give to them, no wonder consumers go to ranch fur.

[trappnman]

just like pleating tails, if there isn't a $$ to do it- and I have no probelms doing it the way I'm doing it- why change?

does it always have to be bigger, better, faster, wider?

if it ain't broke, don't fix it............

[Gibb]

Steve, I think it is more like evolving. at one time the standard was nails for boarding small furbearers like mink and fox now we use pushpins. When I first started we use to stretch marten on a 3 piece stretcher with nails to hold down the legs.
I use to stretch red fox on three different boards.
Now I wonder why?
Cheers Jim

[trappnman]

you use pushpins? LOL

you are probably right-