I have a bunch of coons in the freezer, and have never put up coons....

With no buyers in my part of the country I decided to give it a try...

Now the ???

Do you use borax on coon hides????

I've used it for years on bobcat and fox..

Flesh and give the critter a good tumble in the borax tub, then on the strecher it goes...

Will this hurt coons to do it also???

Just wondering.....

NO, coons are dried leather out, so no need.

bullet I will use it to help get some of the harder fat to come off. it acts like a gripper. thats the only way I use it

Borax is basically just a bug proofer. As jdw2825 said it works well for gripping fat but really don't see the need for it. Just spending money or your hides.

I use a lot of it to help speed up drying of all pelts in my humid climate. Especially good to dry up the ears, noses, necks etc. and serves as a blowfly deterrent at the same time.

yeah, I do it ... swampwolf summed it up pretty good

What do you mean "put up?" What is your long term use going to be?

Hi Blake. I am a huge borax fan. Especially for bobcats and other fur out critters (I don't turn fur out critters, mine go on the stretcher boraxed fur out).
I have done it both ways when putting up coon to send to NAFA and have seen no noticable diffence in my grades. I have now gotten to the point where I only borax coon from the nose down to just below the ears. It seems to help that unfleshed area dry better. But you can do the whole thing if you want to, it does not hurt anything, but its probably not needed on skin-out stuff either. I've also tanned skins that received the borax and it didn't hurt a thing. As a side note, I also borax-bathe the fur window on my coon; fluffs up the fur and cleans up the grease and dirt real nice.

Joel

What "is" is??????

Put-Up in my world means to flesh and dry the fur, so it can be sold...

I use to sell green, all my fur was sold green, but was taking a huge beating on cats, then gray fox, so I started putting them up...

With no fur theives in the country, I had to make a decision, either chunk the coons or put them up...

I haven't sold a coon in about 5 years, but none of these coons are that old... I had one freezer cleaning a couple of years ago (freezer died)... and the buzzards loved me....

I ain't saying to do it and I ain't saying don't do it but I will say this....I was told, "If you put fur up like it is suppose to be put up you don't need Borax".

You boys DO realize that motrapperjohn had THREE of the TEN cats that made "Super Select" (I hope I got that name right) at the NAFA sale...right?

And your point is.......did he raise them? lol

LOL...nahh...just thought maybe that was some advice worth listenin' to

blah blah blah ... everybody has their own take on "how, what and everything else"

borax aint absolutely needed especially on coons but it sure don't do nothing to hurt 'em either ... a light dusting sure "tacks" 'em up quick ... you aint packing 'em in it ... just a dustin' ... watch as they dry ... hit'em with a scrub brush to remove excess

borax does fox and cats really good

narrow minds and the ol' I don't do it somebody said don't do it mentality gets ya nowhere ... some of y'all need to have a few thoughts of your own ... give things a try then and only then you have a true opinion not one based on suggestive heresay!

*** I find it odd when folks reply to these topics and then return and delete their reply ... what's up with that???

I guess you talked them into changing their mind. lmao

nah, don't think so ... just noticed a change in this thread since I last looked

don't want to change anybodys mind ... more so would like for them to see and figure things out for themselves after reading and possibly considering different approachs to the same action ... know what I mean

Personally, I contacted my buyer and asked the "do's & don'ts" since they were the ones that were going to be buying the finished product.

To each his own . Been Borax'n for years,,,10 or 15 at least. You fellas that "Heard" if you put fur up right you don't need it . Are falling into the trap that Po' Skinny was talk'n about. All the folks that are telling you that,, are closed minded . By the way....it ain't only about drying either. Helps a lot when fleshing.

These are going to NAFA...

There isn't a buyer in the country this year... and in years past, they would take them off your hands for a couple of bucks tops... that is if you would sell them your cats for $20 and gray fox for $4 to $8...

NAFA doesn't mention using borax on anything, thus I asked here...

Having never put up coons, I just thought I would ask...

wether you handle fur correct or not doesnt matter when it comes to certain things humidity heat insects freezing temps super hot days cool nights whoever quoted you that needs a lesson in fur themselves
and to answer the initial question it wont hurt anything

No problem sending them to NAFA with borax. I borax all my coon and never had a problem. Most of my coon grade out SEL or I. Mostly I use on the head and tail and just a light dusting on the rest.

I do use borax on my fur out animals, both on the leather side and fur side after scraping, it helps clean the fur and fluffs it up somthing great. I use mine in a tumbler and shake out all excess. I feel that if you rub it on a very wet leather it will cake on and leave a very brittle pelt. and also might change the color of the leather, which is very important on leather out products. Just my opinion!

As for falling into a trap, I don't think so. I told my buyer I was going to put my fur up this year and asked if there was anything special they wanted. They gave me a wish list. They didn't say anything about Borax so I asked and they said they prefered I didn't. Doesn't bother me not to is all I'm saying but, I ain't trying to get on the cover of FF&G either so I got plenty of time for them to dry. lol

I use sawdust for fleshing.

borax them BB, ive been doing it for years as my canines and few cats that im allowed. You wont be sorry.

I personally asked NAFA's Greg Shroeder at the fur handling demo they were giving at NTA Lima,Ohio last Summer and he told me that Borax did not cause any problems and it was OK to use on the leather.

That's about as straight-forward as I could get it.

Dang Lee,

You are alive!!!!!!!!!

I thought you must of fell through the ice, and nobody knew about it....

Speaking of borax, about 10 of them already are, but I thought I best ask somebody before I screwed up the whole bunch....

But I was gonna chunk them before I decided to try to put them up..... LOL.....

I've never used borax on coon, so I don't know, but I have used Stall Dry on possums. Cakes up and peels the grease and fat right off and never had a buyer complain. But with possums, what have you got to lose? If I couldn't do it that way I wouldn't bother with them.

I use a little borax on coon if it's humid or if the coon doesn't scrape super clean, and once in awhile when I want to dry one down quickly because it layed around a bit too long. If your humidity isn't too bad, it's a waste of money, for the most part, but it is "NAFA approved", so go for it.