Considering the heat of Northern Australia, if I was to shoot a dingo or a pig and cape it would it be safe to place the cape in a esky (cooler) full of ice and freeze it when I got home, that night?

After a cape has been frozen and defrosted am I right in assuming that you treat it the same as a fresh cape, ie salt it down twice, then flesh?

bakes - i am presuming you want to freeze them to finish the ear turning, ect ect at a later date? (although with canines i suggest you turn the ears asap.)

Anyhow-

just salt it - dont need much - if you want to freeze it to work on later,be sure to knock all the salt off before you place it in a plastic bag and place in freezer.

Salt prohibits thorough freezing.

Dont place a skin directly on ice. You want to keep the hair/skin of a cape as dry as possible.





It was extreemly hot when i was up there last yr and i just salted my hides (bull/pig) for ear work later that night. (6+ hours later)

No problems. Then i just dry the hides , to save freezer space.



Just pack bout 2 kg of salt in the esky.





Yes - you treat defrosted capes just as fresh with one thing to remember - when you take them out to defrost - remove from bag - place the capes on a plastic coated (no metal)fridge shelf or something similar so the fluid that thaws, drains AWAY from the cape. Also dont defrost in full sun.





hope this made sense - you know you can email me about it.

Thanks Sam, that one thing I worry about up here, the bloody heat. I just got the breakthrough coyote mounting booklet. I thought a dog is a dog so I'm on the look out for a dingo....er wild dog I mean.

Good luck with it Bakes.

Bakes,



Everyone has their own way of handling fresh hides, and as you know, we often have warm days here in AZ -- even during late Dec. deer hunts.



My routine to prevent hair slippage on capes is pretty simple: get the hide off IMMEDIATELY, wrap it in newspaper and get it on ice. Sometimes I turn the ears and lips first, and sometimes I do it when I get home.



Then, if I'm not able to get it to my taxidermist immediately, I wrap it well (NO AIR) and stick it in the freezer. For the trip to the taxidermist, I carry it in a cooler. From there, it's his baby. He normally defrosts it, salts it for drying and then ships it off to the tannery.



A few months ago, a guy on another board sent me a PM to buy my Coues deer book and asked if I knew anyone that had a Coues deer cape. He had picked up a nice set of antlers in Mexico. I just happened to have one in my freezer from a buck I had killed in Mexico THREE YEARS< !--color--> ago. We worked out a deal, and I shipped it to him in Texas overnight. I first wrapped the frozen hide in newspaper and then packed it up in a foam cooler with two plastic 1-liter Coke bottles of frozen water. The cooler then went into a cardboard box with more newspaper insulation between it and the cooler. He said the bottles were barely defrosted when he received the package the next day, and his taxidermist said the hide was in prime shape after defrosting it. -TONY

Thanks for the reply Tony. I guess on an overnighter I can split lips etc and salt down for the trip home. For a day trip I'll pack on ice.

Yeah. either will work. I just tend to avoid salting a hide if I can before my taxidermist gets it. Although I generally clean up my capes pretty well, doing the final prep work of fleshing, etc. is a lot easier on a fresh one. Of course, if it doesn't actually dry too much with an overnight jaunt, it wouldn't be that bad either. -TONY

I'm going to be the taxidermist for my first pig With the night temps droping here for the dry season, I shouldn't have much trouble (I hope). The hot weather comes in during the "build up" to the wet season.

Is there a difference in stoping spoilage between a pig cape and say a donkey cape? The pig being more fatty? I know I will have to hatch the fighting shields on a pig to let the salt in. What I'm trying to say will a donkey cape last longer than a fatty pig?

Geez, I'm not quite sure how to respond since I have no experience with donkeys and just a smattering with pigs. But I think the general rule of getting the hide off and cooled quickly prevails with any animal, regardless of the species. Then after that how you handle it depends on the circumstances.

Now, as a guess, I would also think getting as much fat as possible off a pig's hide would certainly be in order to allow salt to do its job properly. -TONY

just salt the donkey & pig bakes - it'll be fine.

a pig is very tough as in it will last alot longer than other hides without salting.Had spoken with other taxos here that take them off pigs left in the field for a day.



personaly - a salted hide is easier to flesh than a fresh cape.And by salting you are minimising or even eliminating the risk of slip, esp in that heat.



I personally wouldnt place any hide directly on ice.ice melts , water/moisture slips capes - simple. Might get away with it a few times......

If its cooling you want - spread it out in the shade.



Just get the big chunks of meat off - if any - and salt - easy and be fine till you get back to camp for the ear/nostril/eyelid work if your not doing it asap.



The dingo is your main concern - watch for hair slip on ears especially, round the eyes and the belly - esp if it gets wet!!!





Dont forget - your the taxo - you dont have to keep the hides fresh and you dont have to freeze hides to keep them for later tanning. You can turn ears/split lips/salt/dry and rehydrate when ready to tan later. (even yrs later)