Caught a vermin... question about the skin

[holliewould]

I skinned an opossum a couple of days ago and tossed the fur over a tree branch. The meat went to someone that needed it and I was wondering, is it too late to throw some salt on the skin and salvage the fur? It's been 48 hours. How long can the skin and fur sit out before decomposition compromises it? It's only 70F here if that matters at all. Thanks!

 

[BrickWall Honey]

Usually several days at that temp will ruin the hide if you want it with the hair on. Once it turns rancid the fur/hair will slip. If you only want to tan the hide, go ahead and salt heavily, stretch it on a board and put it away in a dry shed or garage until dry and then try some tanning.

good luck

 

[brandon170]

I doubt it's any good. Opposums are very thin hided and it won't take long for it too go bad. Scrape it and if the fur don't fall out it will be ok.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Most furs are presently selling at record prices. The lowly possum among them. The current June 2013 fur auction fetched a record price for prime, large, correctly skinned and well handled possum pelts. That price was $3 and the average price for all possum hides is $1.00. To legally sell most furs you must buy a fur catchers license from your state DNR.

Raccoons and red fox are moving at as much as $45 for the best coon and $90 for the best red fox pelts which is as far as I know an all time record.
http://ohiooutdoorjournal.com/2013/08/18/2013-2014-trappers-fur-report-price-forecast-the-muskrat-gold-rush/

If you really really want to sell your chicken killing vermine pelts sell them on the carcaus to a licenced trapper or fur harvester and ask him to show you how to skin and handle pelts. DO NOT salt any pelt that you are thinking about turning into Green Backs. They must be correctly skinned, stretched, fleshed, and dried to bring a good price and where the fur was caught makes a whole lot of difference in what the trapper realizes.

I have touted the Duke Trap Company dog proof trap on this forum. The following link shows just how efective it can be since some aeras have coon populations as high as 100 coons per square mile or more.

http://ohiooutdoorjournal.com/2013/11/13/trapping-raccoon-with-dog-proofs-the-basics/