How long can you usually keep a hide

[jeco76]

How long can you keep a hide in a refrigerator before you have to start either drying it out or tanning. Or would it be better to stick them in a freezer till you have a chance to take care of them?

[beaudro]

You can keep hides in a freezer forever, or at least i know they are still good for up to ten years. I have two freezers i keep hides in , i havn't seen the bottom of either one in a long time. Before i can reach the bottom i add a few on top. If you can't keep them in a freezer you can salt them , roll them up and store in a plastic bag. The salt keeps bacteria from growing and the bag keeps any bugs from wanting to feed and live on the hide. I have a few deer hides that are just dried out and hanging up like plywood , but i'm bucking them soon and not worried about the quality of hair on them. I don't use salt if i'm going to freeze a hide, it's not necessary.

[jeco76]

Thanks. The reason I asked is because I ran over a couple of badgers at work. When I realized That I hit them I skinned them And put them in a plastic bag. Then put them in my Little fridge at work. Well then I forgot them for about 3 weeks. Then I brought them home. And made the wife mad cause of the stench.

[beaudro]

It all depends on how bad they got. If the hide is rotting bad enough the hair will slip. If its bad enough that it's not worth saving the hair and making a pretty pelt out of , then you might consider making buckskin out of it. Since it's badger, that makes a decent bucked hide. Hope they are still in the freezer, when you have time to start tanning on them check out braintan.com and read the tutorial on how to tan fur on hides.  Hope that helps.

[jeco76]

I started scrapping them. But the stench was so bad I was trying to keep my lunch down. The hair started to separate from the hide in one big chunk. So I ended up barring them out by the turkey coop. Cause my wife said there was no way in h*ll I was going to put them in the freezer. LoL I fell kinda of bad they went to waste they were some beautiful pelts. Next time I will dry them out before they start to deteriorate.

[Micanopy]

Remember that coons, badger, bears and the like have much fat in them. Either freeze them until you can work them good or salt them, flesh them, wash them in white gas or unleaded gas, rinse and wash with ivory liquid, then rinse again and salt them if you are not going to freeze them. Keep them in a cool dark insect proof place and they will hold until you can tan them. Once the bacteria in the epidermus starts growing its almost impossible to stop.

[jeco76]

thanks. I caught a live one with 10' of para cord (they act like a cat on a leash thats never been on one but a whole lot stronger)  took me awhile to figure out how to catch. Put a lot of thought into it. Finally caught it. Had a heck of a time trying to get it off the rope I didn't have anyway to kill it other then a shovel and i didn't want to beat it to death. Lucky enough the knot slipped and it got away.

[Micanopy]

I understand. I roped a coyote one time. He didnt like it much. Lost a good rope.

[Bear Medicine]

The buffalo I've had in my shed is 3 old I think.  It's still looks to be in good shape.