On the subject of gutting critters.....

[myshootinstinks]

Wear latex or rubber gloves. I never used to and here's what it likely resulted in.

    About five years ago this November I developed a fever. My doc figure I had a flu bug of some sort and so did I. Through a blood test he determined it was not viral but bacterial so I got some antibiotics and sure enough, after a day or so the fever went away. I finished the antibiotics and figured I was well. Less than a week later the fever was back so I went back to the doc and went through round two of the antibiotics. Same result. At this the doc ordered a more thorough set of blood tests and was diagnosed with bacterial endocarditis. This is basically an infection of the lining in the heart and of course the infection spreads throughout the bloodstream. It can be deadly.

     The most common cause for this is having dental work done where bacteria gets it's start but I had no dental work done near that time. It can also be picked up through a cut in the hands or elsewhere. Just prior to the first fever I had dressed out several antelope and deer. While there is no way of proving this is where it started that's the logical conclusion.

  There is likely a one in 10,000 chance of getting sick from gutting an animal but it only takes once. Three days in the hospital, five weeks of intravenous antibiotics and thousands of dollars later, a lesson learned.

[ChuckC]

Good point, and thanks for the warning.

Hope you are well again.
ChuckC

[CoachBGriff]

I'm in no way afraid of getting my hands dirty... but I don't need to in order to prove my manliness either!

I'm always in favor of throwing on some field dressing gloves for convenience, if nothing else.

Thanks for the public service announcement; it's always good to get reminders, and I too hope you are good and healthy now!

[Trenton G.]

Thanks for the warning. I always use gloves except the one time that I forgot them.
Get well!

[mec lineman]

I contacted Tularemia in January of 2014 from a rabbit. I was wearing gloves field dressing,but actually cut my thumb on its severed spine cutting up in the sink. I got very,very sick and honestly still am not 100%

[stagetek]

I've gutted many deer. But, the last ten yrs or so I've always used gutting gloves. My hands get nicked up a lot, so no worry's about infection, and no more blood on sleeves and clothing, just a total convenience.

[old_goat2]

Latex gloves in my kill kit, usually a few elsewhere in my pack, bow case etc...

[Sam McMichael]

Between the diseases that the animals themselves carry and those that the ticks have that can be passed on to the hunter, you simply cannot be too careful.

[Pointer]

Did my very first deer without more than 30 years ago and all went well...did my second the following year and learned that I had developed an allergy to the blood. I have no choice but to wear gloves.

Man, I know I should use gloves, esp with all the pigs I shoot, but it seems that even when I do, they end up broken open, and I have blood all over my hands anyway. I used gloves for a while, but every time I ended up with a hole in them.

Maybe I should get some and try again?

Bisch

[Whip]

Use the long arm length gloves and then another pair of the tight fitting latex hand gloves over the top. So much cleaner, not to mention safer.

You can buy both types of gloves in bulk packages much cheaper from farm supply stores.

[Mint]

Originally posted by Whip:
Use the long arm length gloves and then another pair of the tight fitting latex hand gloves over the top. So much cleaner, not to mention safer.

You can buy both types of gloves in bulk packages much cheaper from farm supply stores.

X2

[23feetupandhappy]

Originally posted by Mint:
 

Originally posted by Whip:
Use the long arm length gloves and then another pair of the tight fitting latex hand gloves over the top. So much cleaner, not to mention safer.

You can buy both types of gloves in bulk packages much cheaper from farm supply stores.

X2 [/b]

X3

Go to your local farm store and you can buy a box of 100 shoulder gloves for $15.
Then get your box of latex/neoprene gloves for over top the shoulder gloves, two sets of each in a ziplock snack bag and your all set!  I use the shoulder glove to haul the heart out of the woods when I'm done!
These two boxes of gloves should last a fella for many years, some more then others  

[Irish Archer]

Good info here fellas.

[newhouse114]

I remember as a youger person I never wore gloves even while I was trapping. That has changed but I still don't usually use them for big game. On rabbits I use the "swing between the legs" method of gutting. I always check the liver, ANY spots on a liver get the critter tossed!

[JohnV]

I work in a public health lab.  Blood is one of the "dirtiest" substances that you can work with.  All sorts of pathogens can reside in blood.  I always use impermeable gloves when dressing animals and try to wear them when processing meat as well.  Better to be safe than sorry!

[mec lineman]

Originally posted by newhouse114:
I remember as a youger person I never wore gloves even while I was trapping. That has changed but I still don't usually use them for big game. On rabbits I use the "swing between the legs" method of gutting. I always check the liver, ANY spots on a liver get the critter tossed!

The rabbit that made me sick had white spots on the liver, bad thing is I have cleaned rabbits in the past with spots so I did not to much attention. After my illness and research white spots on the liver is a sure sign of Tularemia.