Many people ask me about salting deer hides. There seems to be some confusion among the general hunting community that salting deer hides is a way of tanning. This is not true. Well, sort of not true, as salting deer hides is a step in the process of tanning deer hides. Salting a deer hide or deer cape while on a hunting trip is a good way to preserve the hide until you are able to get it home and to the taxidermist.
Why do taxidermists salt hides ? What type of salt should one use ? How long do you let the salt sit on a deer hide ? These are the most asked questions when it comes to the salting issue.
I highly suggest that you buy plain salt in a 50lb bag at your local feed store. Tractor Supply outlets carry this type of salt. It’s a basic salt supplement for livestock. I pay around $7.00 for 50 lbs of plain salt at a local Blue Seal Feeds distributor. All taxidermy supply companies sell plain salt also. But the cost of shipping the salt to your home, can be more then the actual salt cost. Store your salt in a 5 gallon plastic container with lid. Do not leave salt in the open bag it came in. Home Depot sells these orange 5 gallon buckets . They work well for storing salt and keeps your salt dry. Be sure to have a lid for your salt container too , to keep it covered at all times.
Lets talk about bacteria and it‘s relationship to tanning. Bacteria is your worst enemy when tanning. It lives and thrives in warm fluids that have access to light. It is always hungry and must eat 24/7 in order to survive. It can multiply every second that goes by as long as it has plenty of fluid to swim in and the temperature is just right. It can dig deep into a animal hide and bury itself. As long as there is fluid or moisture within the deer hide it (bacteria) can survive. A flesh eating machine is what bacteria is . The first thing to go on the hide is the roots of the hair. Well actually the epidermis (tissue like skin) that
the roots are attached to is destroyed. The result is hair begins to fall out in clumps (hair-slippage) We are not talking a strand here and there. We are talking about clumps of hair in big patches. Hair, when gently tugged, slips out of the deer hide with little to no effort on your part. When this happens you are in big trouble, my friend,....big trouble !
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Salt is your friend as a tanner and taxidermist. It loves to eat up moisture and spit out bacteria. Salt is a great hunter and will seek out any bacteria living within your hide and or pelt. Salt is like a big vacuum, in that it can suck out all of the water and other fluids within a animal hide. Salt works in dry and wet conditions. In dry conditions it remains as a solid. In wet conditions (tanning solutions) it dissolves so it is undetected, hidden so that any unsuspecting bacteria don't see it. When salt is in it's dissolve mode, it has all of the killing powers as it
does when in it's solid form . When salt rids of bacteria along with bacteria's mode of transportation (fluid within a deer hide) , the hair locks into place on hide
The one defense system that bacteria has over salt is meat and fat. If left on the hide, bacteria is able to hide within it. Salt has a very difficult time penetrating meat and fat to kill bacteria. Make sure all meat and fat is removed before salting any hide or pelt.
As long as you have fluid present within an animal hide or pelt , you will always have bacteria lurking within the deep core of the hide. Eating, sleeping and multiplying within your deer hide. Give bacteria warmth and light and it will live on. It will live on to destroy your deer hide. Bacteria will make you mad, upset, distraught and will just make you go plain crazy, when the hair starts to fall out.
The reason we salt deer hides or any animal hide for that matter is to remove the water like fluid from within it. A hide contains water that hold proteins. If this so called water is allowed to remain within the hide and reach room temperature for a period of time the water will transform into flesh eating bacteria. This bacteria will eat away at your hide and allow all of the hair to fall out (hair slippage).
The hide should be fleshed to your best ability. We do not want to salt meat. To begin salting ,rub generous amounts of salt on the fleshy side of your animal hide. Make sure you rub lots of salt into the hide. Get all the nooks and crannies. A large table top will assist you in doing this. Do not use the kitchen table !
After you apply the salt it is time to hang the salted hide. The salt will now penetrate the hide and attack the nasty, bacteria infected fluids, that is hiding inside the flesh of the hide.
The salt will draw out all the fluid from within the hide. It has to drain folks,.....that is why we hang the hide after salting. Place a catch device, below (under the hide) on the floor to collect all of that nasty stuff that will flow from within the hide. I usually just cover an upside down, garbage can lid, with a plastic bag followed with news paper. We don't want this stuff (bacteria fluids) flowing on mama's floor, now do we !
Be sure, very sure that you hang the salted hide in area that will have ventilation, and not be too warm or too cold. Low humidity is a must , as we do not want the salt to collect the moisture in the air of the hanging hide. We want our salt (a taxidermists best friend) to concentrate on the fluid within the hide. Not the moisture in our room where the hide is hanging. For this reason I discourage hanging hides in the basement.
After a day or so, you should have a good size puddle of disgusting fluid in your drain collection device you came up with. Take the hide outside and shake off all of the salt that you can . I use a wire scrub brush to remove all the old saturated salt. Now once again , apply another coat of salt just like you did the first time around and re-hang.
You will need about 5 pounds of salt each time you salt a deer hide. Do not re-use the old salt. It is useless once it has become saturated. I like to salt my hides anywhere from 2 to 4 times. Once it becomes evident that the salt is no longer drawing out moisture from within the deer hide, the salting process is done.
Now you can store the hide for a period of time, without having to worry about it rotting away. However it is not bug proof. The hide should be kept in a dry environment and out of direct light. Storing in a cellar or attic is not an option. Never place a salted hide into a freezer after the hide has been salted.
If you are tanning the hide yourself, placing the hide into a pickle solution should be your next step.
If you are salting a deer cape, the ears, nose and lips must be turned out, before you can salt the cape.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. I will try to answer in detail if possible.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
hi, i just want to save my dear hide my self to lay over the foot of the bed. other then salting several times and hanging as you have described above is their any thing else i should do to keep it all together?
thank you
sonny
Yes it must be preserved a step further and it is called tanning. The hide must be tanned if you wish to display it in this manner. The hide will smell and eventually begin to decay over a period of time.
When I get a deer head in I cape it out and flesh it a little.. after I do this is it ok to wrap it in a bag tight and freeze for a period of time… because usaully that’s all i have time to do to it. because of my day time work.. what do you recommend me to do.
Randy, absolutely. That is the proper way to do it if you do not have time to salt and dry out.
just to make sure, what kind of salt, some people say store bought, but can you buy at a farm supply store, bigger amounts.if so can you tell me what kind… i know this sounds stupid……….
Randy,
I buy directly from TSC (Tractor Supply Company) I buy the plain stock salt, not the fancier mineral salt they offer, just plain stock salt. The cheapest on the shelf . Just plain ordinary salt that farmers use to mix in feed. This is what I use and this is what has worked for me over a decade.
ok thanks for the info….glad i found this website
me again,,, i have a deer cape that has some freeze burn on the tips of the ears wll maybe 1inch down from top, what should i do.. dont have time to order anything, is there anything i can buy at the store..or any secrects….. i really thank you for any help i would like to mount this thig tomorrow…. thanks
I take it the hide is already tanned since you are ready to mount. Just wrap the ears in some moistened paper towels so the ears can re-hydrate.
My friend on Facebook shared this link and I’m not dissapointed that I came to your blog.
I was planning on using a buddy’s elk cape for fly tying purposes. Do I need to tan the hide for that, or is salting enough.
We have friends who hunt and are bringing their hides to us already salted, so we were wandering how long we could keep them that away. We are getting into this because we are getting into leather working, because of his heart problems.
Pat, as long as they stay dry, you can keep them stored for a while. Do not allow them to collect moisture or store them in a damp area. If they are rock hard dry, they will last a very long time.