$2-20kgQuote:
Originally Posted by kukuwai
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$2-20kgQuote:
Originally Posted by kukuwai
Cracker week chasing possums, nice to have feet up back home recharging batteries for the next hunt.
Hope your batteries are charged all good, this week looks crap for trapping. Stay away from steel structures, catch you next week @Mooseman. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Mooseman
Is that whole plucked or is there further processing required?Quote:
Originally Posted by BeeMan
Better than KFC [emoji106]
https://youtu.be/u84BOKkG3Ok
Gives you shiney hair & more brain power [emoji41]
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Havent had possum yet. Only ever seen a few possums over many years where I normally go night shooting. Shot at one, but could never find the carcass. Might splurge on a 'possum confit' recipe if I get the chance.
Na we dont do the wholes @veitnamcam just the willies. :D Oh... sorry didn't read that right. Plucked to every hair we can get, heads feet n tail chopped off gutted and glands under tail removed. We hand pluck and get $2-20 kg but $2-50kg for machine plucked bodies, :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by veitnamcam
Great thread to follow @BeeMan thanks, gleaming a bit of knowledge. Have dabbled last few years for loose change, did our 1st line of the year at the weekend (40 traps)for woeful returns, I’m time poor but it’s about getting the boys out there eh. If things pick up will start our own thread “ Young guns ( and me ) but wouldn’t hold my breath, ............ see what I’m dealing with?
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Good on you @Sparrow real cool training for the young fellows, and they will enjoy it. If you can prefeed a couple of times over a week it will make a huge difference to your kill over the first couple of nights. Nice simple cheap feed is maize, what ever lure/smell you put in your flour pour some over a couple of pockets full of maize then dribble it out while inspecting your area. Works a treat and like I said wont break the bank, take a bigger fur bag. :thumbsup:
Been catching a few at work each day.
This big old gray doe probably should have been a skinner but it just ended up plucked. The bag is growing [emoji106][emoji3]
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Nice looking possum alright the more of them in the bag the better, bumps up the weight real quick.
@Mooseman @Mrs Beeman and me doing it again in the rain today. 70 traps set, plan on another 30-40 set tomorrow after plucking 56 fat fluffy apple eating tree bears'Attachment 171346
Gee thats a nice grey bear there.Back in the early 70s when i was building in Te Anau.Freezing workers use to come up from Dunedin in the winter trapping possums.They would get 4000 or 5000 for the winter each,big money in those days for skins.
Thought today was tough, already sweating thinking about tomorrow. Plucked 37 possums and set another 40 traps. Bring it on. :D This is a barrel set, used when the scrub/blackberry is so thick you can't get of the tracks/roads. Attachment 171496 Works a treat. Attachment 171497.. Trapping in Sherwood :) Attachment 171498
Bloody cold start, all good tho, these oldies are tough. We were doing it before global warming was around. :wtfsmilie: Peekaboo Attachment 171564 A big possum in the heath. Attachment 171565 35 out of those new 40 sets, 50 for the cold day, still better than a poke in the eye with a stick. Attachment 171566
If you make socks out of possum skin with the fur on the inside you'll never get cold feet again.
Haven't tried them wet though.
hahaha, thanks I will tell @Mooseman, he moans all day and most of the night about having cold feet. :thumbsup:
Probably un-PC to ask - but how do you pop off them in the traps?
Hey dave this is how we pop them off, Attachment 171614 we stun them with a well placed blow between the ears with a solid stick ( possum donger ). Then remove them from the trap before another well placed blow to finish them off.Quote:
Originally Posted by davetapson
34 possum day, not the best but boy for sure the cleanest crispest air you could breathe. We feel privileged to bee the first to sample it before it moves North. A warm 0% deg this morning after a -6 yesterday morning. Attachment 171615 This was 1st kill today. Attachment 171616
AKA "The sleepy stick" [emoji106]Quote:
Originally Posted by BeeMan
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Another good week chasing money makers. Sure was some cold starts alright but good to be home by the fire. 140 possums for the four nights ain't to shabby.
Here I go again, hope you enjoy. A cold start Attachment 171718 A new helper for the day. Attachment 171719 A staple puller Attachment 171723 Keeping warm moving barrels Attachment 171730 Tough staple Grandad. :D Attachment 171738 Cutting out the bits required Attachment 171744 A job Attachment 171748 The END. What a cool day, our new helper impacted on us all day, no swearing, no arguing and plenty of laughing. Attachment 171749
having recently used one of the flash fandangled ezy staple pullers I can highly recommend them, they lock onto staple and allow you to pull it out with ease,sort of like old school fencing pliers upsized except they lock shut sort of....unreal how easy pulling big barbed staples is when using them.
Sure was a neat day, our little helper was awesome, did a great days work and enjoyed his KFC for lunch. Many more to come.
Had a week off and went up north with @Mooseman and @Mrs mooseman for 3 days just to clear the heads and really relax. Had a wonderful time in and around Whangarei (my old town) ate and drunk too much but that's what life is about isn't it?
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Back into it next week if the weather behaves.
Pluck it quickQuote:
Originally Posted by BeeMan
Fun doing possums. No painted finger nails or mascara with the girl crew today. :D ... And no @Gibo I don't use mascara or finger nail polish. Attachment 174841 Attachment 174842 Attachment 174843 Attachment 174844 Attachment 174845 Attachment 174846
that 4th photo...."oh crap,here they come"LOL
Hahaha even ears down. Fkn sad..Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
After seeing that photo of all the prefeed in their shed I think they're fattening themQuote:
Originally Posted by 7mmwsm
I'm not shy to spent a dollar to make 100. These trees that are lured become feed stations drawing possums from 100s of metres with a super strong aroma and highly visible lure blaze. Its not one night and move on, these trap for at least a week and sometimes more. The most I have done on one tree in one month is 28. Don't hold back on feeding or lureing it the cheapest and easiest part of the operation. :thumbsup::D
Thanks for sharing your adventures ..loving every photo and yarn.
Hard work. Those fur made garments sell crazy price in Qtwon. Is that your cat? Does he or she eat pussum meat?Quote:
Originally Posted by BeeMan
Winter 2022 has been so busy or the weather has been crappy but with the dog food freezer nearly empty @BeeMan, the dog and I took the chance to trap 3 days last week and again this week before the rain. 40 traps out with an average of 20 per day so the dogs won't go hungry for the rest of the year. The pine pollen was so bad we both ended up with extreme hayfever but the rain will wash that away. Hope to get another few days in before Beekeeping takes over again.
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Are you still managing to sell the fur or purely just a dog food mission???
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@ kukuwai just focusing on the dogfood at the moment. We've saved the fur though so will sell it eventually.
after 35 years of running possum operations for DOC I will share with you all the best prefeed recipe I have ever come across - Commercial grade margarine - icing sugar and Raspberry milk shake mix - we used big 10 litre pails of commercial margarine -now here is the trick and its a must do -mix Rasberry milk shake mix with icing sugar and leave overnight to absorb - then mix with margarine - a drill and an egg beater whisk on it helps mix quickly - dont try mixing milkshake mix into maragine on it own -it wont mix - in summer add more icing sugar or plain sugar if mix gets to soft - in winter add cooking oil to soften if needed- can spoon it out or put into tubes and lay that way - goes well over the top of paste cyanide - near or above trap - I have seen bark chewed of to get the last bit
