Putting up wolves

How long does it take you to put up a wolf for the auction, from skinning, fleshing, turning ears, splitting lips nose eyes, boarding and grooming?

About two to two and a half hours to getting it on the board fleshside out. Longer if you have to wash out what its been rolling in!

Then of course you need to ride herd on it and turn the skin, reboard, groom and babysit it for a few days!

Pete

My best guess would be 3 hours to turn the hide properly and 4/5 days drying. Never actually measured the time I put into one.

I skin and leave the feet in the skin and freeze.
That takes about 40 to 60 minutes depending on size of wolf,and how stiff it is.
When I freeze the skin I roll it up with the feet on top,then when I start putting up fur the feet thaw first in the cold room,and I skin out the feet toes and clean up the pads while the rest of the skin is thawing out.
Takes about 5 minutes per foot.I use toe hooks to quicken the toe skinning.
Then I put it on the board and put it out to freeze so I can frost scrape it next morning.Usually while my vehicle is warming up to go trapping, Smetimes I will turn the ears and split the lips before I put it out,or sometimes i do that after frostscraping.Takes about 10 minutes to put it on the board and put it out.and about 20 minutes to do the ears and lips
Next morning I frost scrape it clean-takes about 15 minutes,including the head and legs.Then I bring it in the cold room to thaw.Later on that day or next day I do the final pinning,and stuffing the toes,ears etc.about 15 minutes for that.
Then it will dry overnight,and next morning I wet down the leather and turn the feet,toes ears and rest fur out and re pin.I leave it on the board fur out for two days then take it off and brush all in about another 20 minutes.Then I roll up the dried skin and store in the freezer.

None of this is done all at once,except the skinning,each step is done whenever I have a bit of time to kill over a couple days or while watching a hockey game etc.So it doesnt seem like a lot of work at all.
All added up about 2 to 3 hours for a wolf.

3 hours on average, to get it on the board skin out for drying.

Took me 8. But I got 3 more to practice on…lol

Those are all good fast times, except you Shakey! Lol

I think I’m around 5 hours total time till the wolf is fur out and groomed. I’d like to get it down to 3 hours.

Usually about 3 hours I would guess, but I do it in stages. Skin it and leave the feet in. Freeze it, and later take it out and do the feet and turn the eyes, ears and lips, and then flesh. I have only ever stretched a couple on boards though. I either sell them green with the feet in and they can go to the taxidermist or tannery that way or I send them to a taxidermist friend of mine and the tannery he uses prefers them salted to air dried, so they are the one fur I don't stretch but rather salt.

Ha! I think Kyle was saying at the trapping course that it would take 8-12 hours.

Well, you wanna try the tawny one? Skinned the same way you did the one last year.
The more I look at it, the more I want to keep it.

Kyle aka The FurTrapper on here, time for another course instructor for you to go to. That 12 hours is including the 6 hours of computer surfing time

Yup, bring it down!

Another topic for the AGM……along with the Senneker/Light Out snare systems. This ram stuff works, but…..

One time many years ago, I put up 10 in one day. No boarding but a full taxidermy prep and salted.

Thats a lot of work. Apparently I need more practice.

It was a loooong day!