skinning frozen coyotes
 

I've got a freezer full of whole coyotes. I have been wondering how to skin them. Thawing them seems to be a problem in my over active mind.

Dad said that some of his friends used to soak the yotes in water to get the cold out of the body at about the same rate as the legs, bypassing the insulation provided by the fur to the body.

Is this actually workable??

Yes

IMO you will spend more time and effort in processing in this manner than if you just hang for 2-3 days thawing then process normally.

what temp should they be hung at??

The same as that recommended for drying furs, 50-60 F.

X2. I try to keep the shed about 12 degrees (no more than 15) and circulate the air with a fan so the heat is distributed evenly.

I double garbage bag one and put in hot water from the bath tub, thaws to where u can skin pretty quickly, head takes the longest to thaw compared to the body

It is said you can thaw a wolf in a lake in 6 hours, but cold sloppy wet wolf???

Yuuuuuuuuuck!

However, some bush trappers had th option to either wait til spring and skin, and hopefully thy thaw outright, or throw in th lake and skin same day? I know what I'd do.

It'ld be sloppy wet and cold, but there will be NO GREEN BELLY for sure!

try the air method

I never tried water. getting water was too much work.

I would either skin then freeze or thaw by hanging them in a corner of the shack. Slow and cool seemed to be the best way. Too much heat would start the warmer side spoiling.

Over night worked if the critter wasn't frozen solid as in caught recently.
For those that had been stored frozen, (i avoided this at all costs) would take a couple of days to thaw. Too much time in my opinion. I was always nervous about spoilage with the larger animals.