Hi Farmgal

I am doing doing a coyote hunt next weekend. I had planned on skinning out a couple just to familiarize myself with the process. I will be using the old method with the brains of the animal to cure the hide with hair on. I have never attempted this before, but would like to learn a couple of different methods for wolf and bear. I would be open to and other methods.

Cheers

I have not done the brains myself, I have done the egg yolk method, I can show the process on a hide if you are interested, its pretty much the same thing, I am planning on doing a slow smoke of summac, but I am also waiting for my cousin to get back to me, he said he is a willow bark soak that worked not bad on martin (he has a trap line up in the watson lake area in the yukon, but he sends most of his hides out to be processed).

I would like to see that egg yolk method. I've heard of the willow bark but willow is scarce where I'll be. If you'd like a coyote hide to try I can certainly get one too you....I hunt them all year round.

I did hides as a kid but need some remedial training as I just did what the nice Indian lady said to do, with what she gave me. Not really interested in doing the doggy doo method ever again. I have a Jersey/Beltie steer who has an almost complete maple leaf on his side (white on black) so I will butcher him myself in order to keep the hide. Brains would be an option this time but I would like to learn the egg yolk method as well. Plenty of eggs around here.

Sounds good, I will do a sheep hide with the egg yolk method and take photos and figure out how I am doing in a way that I write out.. Right now, I am using salt/alum for curing the rabbit hides.

O, that cow hide sounds fab! Where are you at that you can't get your hides back from your butcher, mine will give me mine back, its part of the flat butcher fee and they do a good job..

by where, I just mean what province?

The old method is using tannin, hence "Tanning" from the inner bark of oak trees. or you can buy the tanning in bulk form. If you have ever gone by a tanning factory, you cannot mistake it for it stinks and will turn your stomach.

Sounds good, I will do a sheep hide with the egg yolk method and take photos and figure out how I am doing in a way that I write out.. Right now, I am using salt/alum for curing the rabbit hides.

O, that cow hide sounds fab! Where are you at that you can't get your hides back from your butcher, mine will give me mine back, its part of the flat butcher fee and they do a good job..

Flying the flag now.

The butchers around here charge for everything. I had a big fight to even get my lard back without being charged for it. They keep saying the inspectors won't allow it. Total crap. I showed up on butchering day against the rules and put an end to that by catching the inspecter out in the parking lot on a smoke break, but now I cannot go to that butcher again. They all spout the inspector line about hides as well or they say they cannot skin it carefully enough so they are not comfortable with giving it back, or they won't know which one is mine blah, blah, blah. I have Belted Galloways. Pretty easy to tell which one is mine. I know they make extra money for selling the hides; they just don't want to cough them up. I even had to argue with one guy the the tail was mine. I know what ox tail sells for. The problem is that there are so few left that they don't have competition any more.

Wow, makes me even more grateful to my local family run butcher, to date they have been excellent, I ask for and get pretty much everything I legally can back from them, I ask for all the regular cuts, all the extra european cuts and everything else allowed (as I have dogs) and they have been pretty much excellent.

Clearly I do get more when I self butcher and that works fine for our own home use but as I also want to do farm gate sales, I need to have that stamp and formal process done.

I never processed any skins from my animals but when I was working in Kazachstan there was a farm raising foxes and they processed skins with salt and sour milk.It must be good because the guy gave me one skin (fox) for a gift and after 20 years is still beautiful.I wish i went to looked the process.
Henry

Sour milk? That is one I have never heard of, now you are going to make me go looking all over to see if I can track down how that is used.. very interesting..

I would like to see that egg yolk method. I've heard of the willow bark but willow is scarce where I'll be. If you'd like a coyote hide to try I can certainly get one too you....I hunt them all year round.

Hi, I would indeed be interested in a coyote hide, I will PM you to see if we can figure something out in terms of how to get one to me.

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/41624

lots of info in here on both brain, egg and sour milk and sour milk/liver combo's, yet another thing to try, but will have to wait till spring when the cow freshen's because I am so not going to use my sheep milk on a project like this, it goes for feta making 🙂

A few of them say that the milk tanned hides "feel" different, do you find your fox feels different then other hides? and if so, in whar way..

Sour milk?, I know that the way to seal a earthen jug is with soured milk.