How To Skin A Coyote
If you have the courage to do it yourself some tips & tricks might turn out to be useful when trying to skin a coyote. As you might have guessed, this is by far a very complex procedure that takes lots of precision and patience in order to do it without any mistakes. Here is what you need to do :
The first thing that you have to do is make two cuts : one from every hind foot right to the anus by following the line where the belly and back fur meet. After doing so, start cutting from the anus up to the coyote’s tail about 3 inches ( approximately 7,5 centimeters ) and after doing that, cut around both hind feet.
After completing the first step, you have to remove the tail bone. You should peel the pelt from around the tail ( the base of the tail to be more specific ) exposing a few inches of the coyote’s tail bone. Once you have done so, the next thing to do is clamp a tail stripper around the tail bone; you should do this by holding with one hand and with the other you should hold the tail’s base and try to pull the bone outside the tail by pulling as hard as you can the tail stripper. If you can’t manage to do it by yourself then you should ask for someone’s help; it will be way more easier to complete this delicate and complex procedure. If you can’t seem to extract the tail bone then you should extend the cut ( by a few inches; be careful not to cut more than you need ) towards the tail’s tip. You might want to use a sharp knife or other sharpened objects to get better results.
The next thing to do is to skin out the hind legs, pulling the pelt down over the coyote’s front legs; while you are doing this you should cut any connective tissue. In order to pull over the head the small neck part, extra pressure has to be applied; once you have accomplished this, you should see the ear cartilage which should be cut as close to the skull as possible; be careful when you cut because any mistake is irreversible. Once you have done this you have to be very attentive when you cut the coyote’s lips, eyes, and nose. After the cutting, you can remove the fur from the carcass. If you happen to find any excesses of fat and meat on the leather side you should cut them too.
Also very important, don’t forget that you have to spread the tail open and also cleaning is imperative. Pelt should be placed on a regular drying board. It should dry in a cool place. When you see that it is almost dry you need to remove it from the board and turn it so that the fur is side-out; keep it that way until the drying is complete. After the drying is done, remove it and hang it in a cool place ( dry if possible ).
As you can see, skinning down a coyote ( or any other animal as a matter of fact ) is a pretty difficult job; not many of us can handle it. If you find this procedure tuff to follow well then you should hire some professionals which will do the job for you in exchange for a sum of money.
