salt drying a beaver fur

Josh Leyshon

New member
I shot a huge beaver last saturday and cannot get it to dry dard. I have loaded it with salt but in wont fully dry out. I have folded it and hung it up but alot of the salt pours out. It is hanging inside and it doesn't smell bad. Can anyone help me. Thanks-Josh Leyshon
 
Welcome to the site Josh.
It sounds to me like you didn't scrape enough, if any, of the fat off before you salted it.
Beaver are covered with fat tissue against the skin and it acts just like a wax coating, preventing the salt from ever touching the skin.
The good thing...their fat is real loose and soft. You could flesh it with a spoon if you had to.
Scrape off as much as you possibly can and try re-salting er. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I fleshed it until I could see the little blood vessels under the skin. There are about three patches of fat about 1/16 of an inch thick. The patches are about 2 inches square. There is some fluid developing on the hair for some reason. Do think the fur is too far gone to mess with?
Thanks for the replies
 
Naa, I doubt it.
They have enough grease in them it'll take a while.
What's your weather like first of all? ben wet, or humid?

And second, what type of salt did you salt it down with?
 
It's been icy and snowy for the past week. I had it in a barn but I moved inside the house a couple days ago. I coulnt find fine grade salt nowhere. Not even in hardware stores. I decided to use regular table salt. I found some with no extra chemicals added. Can I lay it flat to dry instead of rolling or folding it up?
 
Table salt is better then rock salt or salt pellets, it should be drying.

It will dry flat, but it'll take longer because the moisture that the salt draws out of the hide has no where to go.
It's best to at least fold it in half and lay it on an incline so the fluids can drain and leave the hide.

The iodized salt theory in my opinion is a myth. I've learned that both work equally well for salt drying and or pickling solutions. Iodized salt will alter the ph levels of some solutions but I've never seen where it had any adverse effects on anything.

Salt is iodized simply to make it safe for human consumption. Without the iodine in it, it is potentially deadly to humans.
 
I have been using Iodized salt to salt all the hides I have sent to RiverRunner. Have you noticed and ileffects Jim? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif Nope, me neither. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Iodine was introduced into salt in the early 1900's when it was discovered that certain areas of the US had a marked deficiency of iodine in the diet of people. The Great Lakes region is one of these areas where the soil is lacking in iodine. People with iodine deficiency developed neck goiters. A goiter is a huge bulging of the neck caused when the thyroid gland swells. This is no longer a concern since dietary supplements have almost completely eliminated this condition.

You bust my myth, I'll bust yours, LOL! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Yeah, I was told a long, long time ago not to use iodized salt when drying a hide. Because when it was sent for tanning a chemical reaction would cause dark brown stains on the hide. I just accepted that and never questioned it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
I used to preach the same thing to Tom. But have learned since that it doesn't make a difference.
And of course this is just 100% my opinion, and my results. What ever may happen if it may has never. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Do you think maybe the tanning chemicals and solutions have evolved over the decades, and iodine is no longer a problem?
 
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