Dropped off my coyotes off at Stoughton yesterday. In case anyone was wondering found out the coyotes get drummed and graded in Toronto. Makes sense I guess. Also found out you can't opt out of drumming, not that I would if it's all done in Toronto. But if it were all done in Stoughton and I still couldn't than I probably wouldn't have been real happy.

Nice work RP. Doesn't matter even if you drum them you still get charged.

You would think you would have the option to opt out of drumming and not be charged.

opting out of drumming would likely be a mistake .. When they come out of the box after being sandwiched in there with 60 or so of their brothers they arent too impressive .

If you have ever graded fur all day you would know why you cant opt out of drumming.

I knew they weer graded In Toronto. But I thought they were drummed here. In fact I have seen coyotes and fox In the drumming process here. But that was a few years ago.

Please elaborate.

Well If you have ever handled any un drummed coyotes you would know why. Un drummed coyotes are matted and dirty and greasy It's pretty hard to give a true grade on skins In this shape.
They ship 100s of coyotes In water Mellon boxes all packed together they need to come out of those shipping containers and get cleaned and fluffed up.

Besides what the Beav pointed out,the filth and grease,gets on the graders hands and causes problems,not to mention all the dirt,dust and blood dust hazardous to the lungs.I doubt if the graders would work on the long hair fur if it was not cleaned up in the drum.
Since beaver are not cleaned up,they are the ones the graders hate the most and are hard on the hands.They have to go and scrub up regularly to get the black tar off their hands.

I've looked at hundreds of undrummed coyotes at various trapper sales in the west. Not all of them are matted and greasy and dirty. In fact, I've seen some that are handled just as good, if not better, than the drummed coyotes at NAFA.

I understand what you are saying about the drummed pelts being healthier to work with. That is the answer I was looking for.

And just to be argumentative, in my opinion drumming does not help with coyote pelts (or any species) that have matted fur. Drumming only makes the matting worse. Matting has to be dealt with by hand, not by machine, and NAFA doesn't do any hand grooming of the pelts.

My coyotes were all washed, no blood, grease or matting. Boco, did you take a close look at my fur? The bottom ones are as clean as the top ones. Since the drumming and grading are done in Toronto I understand not being able to opt out because what was said above, they probably need to be fluffed up. Because I guarantee you they can't get em any cleaner! As a matter of fact they will probably pick up a small amount of dirt from uncleaned fur. Not enough to make a difference, but just saying.

Beav, you may be on to something about possibly drumming in Stoughton before the trip north. When I asked where they were drummed he said Stoughton at first then said no it will be in Toronto. This makes me think that it's possible if they get coyotes in early enough they do drum in Stoughton. If that was the case that would hack me off too unless it was graded right after drumming. I think all fur should be graded as soon as possible after drumming so fur is at it's best.

They cannot take the time to sort out sundry owner pelts that have been drummed by the trapper from the other pelts that need drumming.
They will exempt dealer size lots that are held separate and not part lotted.

I agree.Besides what is a buck when people waste thousands on unneeded trapping junk every year.

Cannot or won't, if they wanted to I bet they could. They make money drumming coyotes that don't need it so I see your point. I hope we can agree that the fur should be drummed and graded at the same facility.

It just ticks me off that NAFA can't monitor these forums and answer these questions. All this he said she said Is getting us no where.
I'm about ready to jump ship and go to the dark side on a permanent basis.

I know they read this stuff since I have been called out on different things I've posted.

A multi million outfit acting like a bunch of school kids. Step up to the plate and tell It like It Is.

And I'm not calling them to find out what's up.

Doesn't the drumming process also make the hair stand up more from the static of the fur dropping in the drum. I thought I heard that at one point.

They have a huge drummer set up In Stoughton but the times I've been there In the last year I haven't seen It running. Maybe It's being used to drum ranch mink since the wild fur collection point Is now In the NEW ranch fur facility.

NAFA must be In It for the long haul because there Is a 6 year building program In place. The land has been purchased and the first phase Is up and running.

ive often wondered! Now that we are on a drumming subject how are foxs drummed without damaging them? I've had foxs tear from falling off of hanger on the finished rack! That would be a kick in the groin paying someone to damage your fur! Guess I will find out shortly I ve got a few in Canada now! If the ticket says damaged my question will be answered

Now If NAFA didn't have their head up you know where they would be answering these questions.
Seems like a very poor way to run a business.

There are or was a few WFSC directors on here...