help on salted hides

21 July 2010, 03:27

D Marshall

I just received my crate of hides - skulls - and horns from RSA. This was my first safari and enjoyed it greatly. I need advice on how to store these items as funds will be at least 6 months before I can start on the taxidermy. Any and all advice is appreciated. The skulls are bubble wrapped. The horns are in plastic and the hides are stiff and salted.

21 July 2010, 04:13

ddrhook

if you can freeze them. If not place them in a cool dry place. spray them to keep bugs away

21 July 2010, 06:05

oakman

Place them in plastic bags,spray a bug killer in the bag,seal the bag and then freeze them if you have room or have all the air out of the bag and store them, off the floor, in a cool,dry,dark room. Check them if the humidity is high to make sure they are not getting soft and then rotten.If so ,move them or tan them,,,,.Have fun.....

24 July 2010, 01:28

Grafton

D Marshall I would recommend working out something with your taxidermist where the skins are sent immediately to the tannery. Better for them to be logged in and sit there for months waiting for their turn at being tanned. Why store them for 6 months then wait another 5-6 months for the tanning? Your taxidermist may have you pay for the tanning bill after your skins are tanned or they may ask for 1/2 or full payment of tanning cost up front. Either way this is only a fraction of the full cost of the mounts.

Quite often I will have my clients skins shipped directly to my tannery of choice and then invoice them for the tanning. This way, if they choose to have the taxidermy work spread out over time, the tanning is already completed. This helps spread the costs out without waiting for the tannery. In addition, whenever you are talking about storage, the tanned skin is in the very best "stage" for storage. Just an idea. Best of luck to you.

24 July 2010, 02:16

Mary Hilliard-Krueger

quote:
Originally posted by Grafton:
D Marshall I would recommend working out something with your taxidermist where the skins are sent immediately to the tannery. Better for them to be logged in and sit there for months waiting for their turn at being tanned. Why store them for 6 months then wait another 5-6 months for the tanning? Your taxidermist may have you pay for the tanning bill after your skins are tanned or they may ask for 1/2 or full payment of tanning cost up front. Either way this is only a fraction of the full cost of the mounts.

Quite often I will have my clients skins shipped directly to my tannery of choice and then invoice them for the tanning. This way, if they choose to have the taxidermy work spread out over time, the tanning is already completed. This helps spread the costs out without waiting for the tannery. In addition, whenever you are talking about storage, the tanned skin is in the very best "stage" for storage. Just an idea. Best of luck to you.

excellent advice!

Many of our clients who hunt Africa want the option to mount their trophies one at a time, when they are ready to do so. As Grafton stated, the salted skins are best to get to the tannery asap as they will be there for many months before getting back to your taxidermist anyways. Then they can be stored much easier and safer than untanned, salted skins. You may then proceed with what you want to mount, when you want to mount it.

We charge our clients for the tanning only and get the next deposit when the client is ready to mount a piece. I would think your taxidermist would do the same for you.

Kindest regards,
Mary

24 July 2010, 05:02

L. David Keith

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