# Skinning a Skunk and De-boning tails



## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

How difficult is it to skin a skunk without the stink bomb going off? Where is the gland located?

Last year I caught 26 raccoons and one skunk. Unfortunately I didn't have any time to deal with them so they were tossed out on the back 40. This year I hope to process a few hides.

When removing the skin with the tail intact, how do you take the bone out of the tail? I've tanned a few rabbit hides and couldn't seem to get the bone out of the tail.


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## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

Give the vent a wide berth when skinning,that's where the stink will come from.Mink have a stink,too.There are tail strippers available from trapper supply houses,but I always used 2 small pieces of wooden dowel to pull the bone out of the tail.DO Not!! try to pull the tail off the bone.


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## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

good video

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIP_FlpRdHAA8tn7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=how+to+skin+a+skunk&vid=6fef9fef95a0c25968ff6fabfea3bb9c&l=9%3A40&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.5001928444936668%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoaNXXBkLjjE&tit=skunk&c=0&sigr=11adajsh2&age=0&fr=yfp-t-900-1&tt=b


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

Thanks. Those were a couple of good videos. The one where the guy was cutting out the scent glands before skinning seemed to me to be like trying to unload a shotgun while looking down the barrel! Lol!


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## MTplainsman (Oct 12, 2007)

Don't forget to extract the essence from skunk too. In fact, it is worth more that the pelt itself. You can sell this easily to most lure makers. Sportsman use it for cover scents as well.

If you extract the essence from the animal first, you are less likely to slash or puncture the essence sack! This procedure is very easy to do, and with price of the pelt and the high price of the raw essence, you may even consider setting for them on purpose!

If you would like me to post in detail on extracting, just let me know.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

You can extract the essence easily if you use a syringe to suck it out. It will be obvious when the needle is in the right spot because it slides easily. Just keep probing around until you are sure it's all out.

If a person were to carry around a syringe and gloves you could make a few hundred dollars by extracting the essence from road killed skunk in some years. I would figure an average of $10 each skunk.

If you are throwing the **** away when they are prime you threw away a lot of money.


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## BACKWOODS KJ (Apr 22, 2013)

you were asking about skunk skining i have become a bit of an xpert on the subject i am a fur trapper as well as a A.D.C. trapper and i use to just though out all the many skunks i trapped on my fur lines in the fall then i bought a movie from KATZ BROS and it changed the way i do buisness and now i make a pile off those critters i use to thow. anyway i dont know were you live but i would see if ur state has any trapping conventions there you will be able to learn from some of the many demos they put on on skinning and putting up furs you will also find a tool called a tail stripper with is a very valuble tool to have in the fur shed it will be metal or plastic with 2 or 3 holes in it and you open it up and pick the size hole you will need when its skun down that far and you put this around the base of the tail close it and then pull down to the tip and walla the bone will be out and the tail will the be hollow you do need to then split the tail so it dont rot all fur shed tools and tricks can be found minntrapproducts.com and many topics and help on trappermannforums.com good luck and happy trapping


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## tryinhard (Jul 19, 2007)

to take the bone out of the tail, get yourself two pieces of flat metal about 4 inches long. now cut a V notch out of the center of both pieces and drill a hole in the ends so the V's match up open end to open end. Like so <>. Now put a bolt through the hole with a lock nut on it. Your V's should match up open to open. Now start your hide coming off the tail enough to slip the stripper between the hide and the back of the animal at the base of the tail. now hook your thumb on your left hand in under there and push while pulling back with the stripper in your right hand. As you go farther down the tail your stripper will close around the tail bone. Eventually the hide will push right off the tail. 

Do yourself a favor and buy a fur handling video and learn how to do it. It will pay for itself the first season.

Brian


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies. I"ll look into the videos and web sites suggested and hopefully I'll have a successful summer.


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## trapperJim (Jan 24, 2008)

This is a vid I put up last year on skinning ***** and the same method applies to skunks as far as initial cutting and deboning of the tail. You will have to take the scent glands into consideration as mentioned above. You mentioned a "successful summer" Are you doing ADC work? I cringed when I read that you tossed all those ***** with the fur prices the way they are. Anyway, Here's my vid on skinning and boning tails.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFQox29qh2E[/ame]


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

Nice video, trapperJim, looks like you have a nice place to work and all the right equipment. I'll have to invest in some good sharp knives. I skin my rabbits all the time but they are quite a bit smaller and easier than a raccoon.

I was also not very happy about throwing all those ***** away but it's just me here and I work a lot of hours (70-80 a week) during the summer and between keeping the house up, working on vehicles and raising and butchering rabbits and chickens I don't have time to do much else. I would like to get into processing hides here on a regular basis but I"ll have to find the time to fit it in.

I"m not sure what you mean by ACD work but I trap and dispose of the raccoons because they kill my chickens so by a successful summer I meant disposing of (and hopefully processing some hides of) many raccoons. Not sure if "m brave enough to do a skunk but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.


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## trapperJim (Jan 24, 2008)

I didn't know if you were doing nuisance wildlife removal for people. ADC means "Animal Damage Control" and is a term used for people that do nuisance work. If you are trapping them because they are killing your livestock that is totally understandable and summer hides are pretty much useless. The fall hides are another story though and there's a lot of buyers that will take them whole or skun and unfinished. You could most likely sell them to another trapper too and he could finished them and resell. Anyway, in regards to your initial question, pulling the tailbone out in the fashion I display in my vid is simply effortless. 
Good luck.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

TrapperJim that was a great video. Thanks for sharing.

I went over to see what tools I could find and could not find the tool used to take the bone out of the tail. Nor could I find that little tool used to slice open the tail after the bone was removed. Where can those tools be purchased?


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

Yeah, looks like I"m going to have to look into a couple of new butcher and skinning knives. Those knives in the video seemed to be scalpel sharp. Any knife recommendations would be appreciated too.


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

No matter what there is always some smell. I always put the skunk to sleep using euthanol or T 61, using a bracket on a 8' pole with a syringe attached. 1 cc of T61 or 3 of euthinol in the lungs and it was instant death. No gasping, quivering, nothing. Even then some skunks are more hyper than others and would spray as you approach. I've tried every way in the world to keep them from spraying. Some ways work better than others, none were foolproof. After skinning I would then remove the essence using a 20 cc syringe. I started at first using a 12 cc but many skunks would max it out. I switched to the 20 because one time I pulled it all the way out and all the essence ran down my arm. It just so happened I had court apperance the next day. I cleaned up best I could, but still stunk bad. My case was quickly dismissed even though my innocence was shakey at best. Skunk essence was worth $10 an oz back in the 70s and 80s. A couple skunks would pay the gas bill for the day. It was worth the hassle.


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## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

we used to skin out **** in the woods and the tails were stripped using
a oak or hickory v shaped branch about pencil size skinned of its bark.hard to explain but im sure there are vidieos on yutube showing in. skunks i liked to stab and pull out the stink with a syringe before skinning.that way if you cut the stink sac at least it wasnt under pressure. skunk stink is basically a oil and can be removed with a solvent like gasoline.i dont skin them anymore but did tons of them when i was a kid.


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