# Anyone Work at Processors?



## HomesteaderWife (May 18, 2022)

Hey folks, a quick question. Anyone here work at a deer processors or have you in the past? I'm in the process of working with a new place here closer to home and I want to start picking up hides to tan from them this year. He told me that getting them to not hack the hides up would be the fun part. So I said I'd offer them a few bucks per real nice skinned hide to encourage them to do a good job and put a bit extra in their pockets. I'm thinking between $2 - $5 depending on how good the hide comes out - amount of cuts, amount of meat left on, etc. That way we are helping one another out, which will save my back and enable me to take a lot more hides in to tan and put to good use instead of being waste products.

If you were processing, does this sound like a fair deal? I may be willing to offer more later if I can move the hides decently once tanned. I'm hoping to have two booths set up and eventually a craft show where I will sell at. 

Any input greatly appreciated.


----------



## farmerjan (May 18, 2022)

I would think that at least $5.... because it will take alot more time for the person doing the skinning to take the care to not make holes and to skin somewhat "clean"...


----------



## Alaskan (May 18, 2022)

Never hurts to ask


----------



## Mini Horses (May 18, 2022)

Any hunt clubs near you?  Maybe able to get some that way.


----------



## HomesteaderWife (May 19, 2022)

@farmerjan - Indeed, it's just a range so that if one is not the greatest they'll still get something but that way they can get $5 each on the good ones. And if they start to move well at booths/etsy/craft sales then I'll bump it up for us helping one another out. Considering they got close to 1k deer last season, I know it will be hard but it will also enable me to clean out their bins for them. 

@Mini Horses - Not close by, I'm actually going to have to drive close to 30 min just to get these hides. We have a meat processor closer but they have someone picking up deer already and it sounded like they wouldn't budge from that even though I think they're paying THEM to take them.


----------



## messybun (May 19, 2022)

I’m following this page because I’m interested in the responses. I hope they work with you!


----------



## Baymule (May 19, 2022)

$5 is fair.


----------



## HomesteaderWife (May 19, 2022)

Thanks folks. Our bow season will most likely open in October so I will touch base with them closer to the time. I am waiting for the state to release our game seasons and bag limit details. Generally mid October to mid February I think is our range - from what I remember, when Alabama had to restock their deer years ago, the seasons are later that most of the country and have a wide range due to the way the deer settled here and the ranges they came from. 

I'm hoping to actually video some of this process (not the processors, but explain in the videos how it goes) along with showing bits of the setup in hopes to encourage others to get involved and help reduce waste like this. What started as my husband's hobby turned into something really enjoyable for me!

We plan to have two fleshing stations with duel equipment so either my husband and I - or - my mother-in-law and I can work on it (if I can convince her to join, she says it wouldn't bother her!) I have one setup but I will try and work with my husband so he can build another Poplar fleshing beam for us. I saw the layout for a log one at the Fort Toulouse (if I spelled that right) Frontier Days in Wetumpka, AL years ago and took a photo of it and we used that as a plan ever since. I'll be getting three or four big sturdy plastic trash cans for the hides to process, tan, dehair, etc. - I am stocked on Aluminum Sulfate and Salt via the local feed store from last year. I have lye for dehairing still. My husband is going to build me a smoker to hang the hides in to preserve them with the "true tan" 

I'll make a list of some of the things we get and use later on for anyone interested. 

This will be the first year I've actually offered to compensate for good skinning, I usually just take what I can get but to help reduce waste I hope they'll consider using careful cuts.


----------



## Alaskan (May 20, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> when Alabama had to restock their deer years ago


Huh?

All of their deer died?

How?


----------



## Baymule (May 20, 2022)

Alaskan said:


> Huh?
> 
> All of their deer died?
> 
> How?


probably overhunting.


----------



## Baymule (May 20, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> Thanks folks. Our bow season will most likely open in October so I will touch base with them closer to the time. I am waiting for the state to release our game seasons and bag limit details. Generally mid October to mid February I think is our range - from what I remember, when Alabama had to restock their deer years ago, the seasons are later that most of the country and have a wide range due to the way the deer settled here and the ranges they came from.
> 
> I'm hoping to actually video some of this process (not the processors, but explain in the videos how it goes) along with showing bits of the setup in hopes to encourage others to get involved and help reduce waste like this. What started as my husband's hobby turned into something really enjoyable for me!
> 
> ...


I'm very interested in how you do this!


----------



## Alaskan (May 20, 2022)

Baymule said:


> probably overhunting.


Just surprised.... with all of the deer that hide out in subdivisions,  where you can't hunt....


----------



## HomesteaderWife (May 20, 2022)

@Alaskan - https://www.outdooralabama.com/ungu... near extirpation of,during the 1950s and 60s.

From Outdoor Alabama Website, bolded text for emphasis- 

"*Deer were rare in most of Alabama until recent years.  In the early 1900s, it was estimated only about 2,000 deer existed in the entire state.*  After decades of restocking and management efforts, Alabama’s deer population was estimated at 1.75 million animals in 2000.  In fact, many areas in Alabama are overpopulated with deer and have been for many years.  As a result, crop damage, deer/vehicle collisions, and other negative deer/human interactions have become more common.  Historically in Alabama, the predominant subspecies of whitetail was the Virginia subspecies (_O. v. virginianus_), with the subspecies _O. v. osceola_ inhabiting the extreme southern edge of the state. * Following the near extirpation of whitetails from the state in the early 1900s, the Alabama Department of Conservation, along with some private individuals and groups, began restocking deer throughout the state in the 1930s.  Most restocking occurred during the 1950s and 60s. *

The majority of deer restocked in Alabama were from sources within the state and assumed to have been _O. v. virginianus_. * Deer from several other states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin, were used to a much lesser degree in restocking several areas around Alabama.*  Those restockings included deer from as many as six different subspecies of whitetails, including _O. v. borealis_, _O. v. macrourus_, _O. v. osceola_, _O. v. seminolus_, _O. v. texanus_, and _O. v. virginianus_.  Due to the variety of stocking sources, many locations in Alabama may contain deer with a combination of ancestries that cannot be placed in a single subspecies.  As a whole, it is assumed the majority of deer in Alabama are of the Virginia subspecies since 56 of the state’s 67 counties were stocked using this subspecies."


----------



## HomesteaderWife (May 20, 2022)

@Baymule - I think I have another thread here already about tanning, so if so I will add to that but otherwise if not I'll make a new one! I will gladly share, and I am currently making a shopping list for supplies


----------



## Mini Horses (May 20, 2022)

HomesteaderWife said:


> it is assumed the majority of deer in Alabama are of the Virginia subspecies since 56 of the state’s 67 counties were stocked using this subspecies."


Yeah, baby!   We have thousands of fertile deer!!!🤫.  Not always on good behaviour.


----------



## farmerjan (May 20, 2022)

Can I send some of the 50+ that we counted eating our cover crop 2 years ago??? Or the 1 or 2 that get killed on the road by my house every month... or sometimes weekly????


----------



## murphysranch (May 20, 2022)

I currently live on a golf course. We have several dozen females and many of them are just now showing off their twins. UGGGG....they decimate everything 'round here. I've been using homemade deer spray to try to keep them off my foundation plants.

Where I'm moving to in WA, there are RABBITS!! Lots of rabbits. and Raptors which one would think would help keep down the rabbit population. 

""""wonders if wild rabbit, cooked thoroughly, would be a nice addition to my dog's diet?"""""


----------



## Baymule (May 20, 2022)

Your dog would love rabbit! My dogs catch them and eat them.


----------



## Alaskan (May 20, 2022)

My human neighbors eat a bunch of the local wild rabbits.

It is good eating.


----------

