coyote rubbed pelts question

[waterninja]

been reading lately how coyote season (for pelts) should almost be over due to amount of rubbing. seems to me that normally at this time of year it would be warmer and the yotes are rubbing to help shed winter coats. with the brutal cold lasting this long wouldn't the yotes keep ther winter coats and not rub till it gets warmer?
or do they rub off there coats as part of some mating ritual regardless of weather? yotes iv'e seen lately still looking pretty good.

[philintheblank]

From my understanding when it gets warmer and the snow crusts over when a coyote lays down for a nap it's hair will freeze to the ice and then break off when it gets up again. So if it gets warm like it did In January then it starts the hair loss earlier. Last year I got several coyotes in February and all but one were still in good shape. This year it has been the opposite. I am sure mating and crossing under barbed wire fences are big factors also

[nube]

I find they rub on the top of their rear ends more than anywhere else. not sure why though but it is very noticeable

[Red Bullets]

This excerpt from a fur graders grading document is a good explanation :

Later on(January) there is a tendency for some of the fur to wear off, especially the top hair in long-haired animals. An animal may rub this top hair off on bushes or trees or against the sides or top of a burrow or, in the case of a beaver or muskrat, the entrance to its house. Sometimes when a fox or coyote sits or lies on the snow or on a rock, some of the top hairs become stuck and pull out when the animal gets up.

The later in the season it gets, the looser both the top hair and the underfur become in their attachment to the skin and the more likely they are to come out. They also become more brittle and prone to break off. The rumps, shoulders and sides are the parts of an animal most likely to show this "rubbing." In addition to this, lynx and coyote, especially, tend to become "springy"— very flat and almost bare — on the shoulders and head.

----------------------------------

Like the lynx, the prairie wolf (coyote) is very subject to springiness. In some years this appears very early — even in December and January — probably as a result of sickness. Springy skins must be watched for carefully. When examining a pelt, your eye is attracted mainly to the body part of the fur but be sure to always look at the neck, also, especially in wolf and lynx. Springy-headed wolf are usually sold separately but they must be graded down to at least a II and, if really bad, a III.

[Marty S]

Don't believe everything you read, I have tried for years to get our trapping season for coyotes extended to March 31. There are always good coyotes to be had in March, it can vary slightly from year to year. Part of the game is how you manage your coyotes, the other part of the game is geography, but there is a big block of Alberta in which good coyotes can be taken in March. Need evidence? Look at the coyotes I harvest on my videos, I can't remember which, but seems to me that both videos had plenty of coyotes taken in the last week of February, and pointed out numerous Select grade coyotes taken that week as well as tons of other high quality animals. The forested areas of the province tend to have more poor quality pelts toward the end of the season, but large areas of the south continue to have exceptional quality fur into March. This is why both Saskatchewan and British Columbia the coyote season ends March 31, Montana's is year round.

[Red Bullets]

Marty: What the excerpt is, it is from a document written by a long time fur buyer.

I agree the prairie yappers pelts probably fair better/longer than the bush yappers. I remember getting a few dawgs in late Feb. that still sold ok to local furbuyers. Late prime. Some had rubbed shoulders and rumps. Still a good hide under the fur.

In the older fur trade days fur was considered at some stage of prime during the months of the calendar with the letter 'R' in their names.

[waterninja]

i'm hopeing that this year might be an exception to the rule, what with cold temps and fresh snow. still hopeing to harvest a few more yotes in next week or 2 when it warms up.

[6.5swedeforelk]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Marty: What the excerpt is, it is from a document written by a long time fur buyer.

I agree the prairie yappers pelts probably fair better/longer than the bush yappers. I remember getting a few dawgs in late Feb. that still sold ok to local furbuyers. Late prime. Some had rubbed shoulders and rumps. Still a good hide under the fur.

In the older fur trade days fur was considered at some stage of prime during the months of the calendar with the letter 'R' in their names.

As I remember that old fur harvest months saying,
the second part was
" except the first and last month".
Actually makes sense that way.

[eric2381]

I've been told that coyotes that live in stubble field country tend to get rubbed on the hind from sitting down in the stubble and the crop stubble rubs the fur off in that area.

It makes sense to me. Does anybody else find this?