![]() ![]() ALWAYS WEAR EYEPROTECTION! Remember the old saying when using acid and water “Water to acid prepare to be blasted” ALWAYS add the acid to water slowly not the other way around!!ħ. You may want to wear rubber gloves for this. Be careful not to splash liquid and stir carefully with a non-metallic spoon or stick till blended. Slowly add acid by tipping the bucket toward you and allowing the acid to dribble down the inside into the water. Run 1 gallon of HOT water into the bucket, add salt and stir to dissolve. I have use this method and am happy with it!ĥ. BATTERY ACID (can get at any Automotive store and is cheap)Ī SCRUBBED BRICK OR ROCK to hold the pelts from rising to the surface of the solution. You will need: 1PLASTIC 5 GALLON BUCKETĨOZ. Rinse well and squeeze out excess water – DO NOT WRING THEM!!! SQUEEZE ONLY!!Ĥ. ![]() Thaw out the frozen hides, run under warm water to remove ice.ģ. ![]() When you have 6 or more, you’ll have enough to make it worth your while to tan.Ģ. Do not salt or dry out, you don’t even have to flesh them either. After dressing the rabbit, toss the raw hide (split down the belly, not cased) into a Ziploc bag and put it into the freezer. Wear safety glass and rubber gloves when using this acid mix it is very dilute but will still irritate your eyes.ġ. This works very well and makes some nice pelts for coats, hats, and my favorite blankets. Freeze the hides until you have enough to tan (I usally wait till I get 6 or more). There are so many ways to tan fur, here is just one of many. Do not use salt or other chemicals on skins, but as they are being packed for storage or shipment, naphthalene (moth crystals) or paradichloro-benzene may be placed in the packaging container as an insect repellent. After the skins are dry the wire shaper is removed. Hang the pelts in a well-ventilated drying area, but not in direct sunlight. This works great if you are freezing them for later use.(I do this if I am freezing them) Some people split the pelt down the belly. Fasten the rear legs to the ends of the wire shapers with a clothes pins or some other fastener. The shapers extend or expand the pelts to their full length, but do not stretch them out of shape. Place them on wire stretchers or shapers with the front leg casings on one side. As the pelts are removed, turn them inside out while still warm and moist. Exercised care to avoid cuts or tears, and remove body fat that often remains attached to the pelt. Preparation of pelts for market begins with the removal at slaughter. Those with dense winter coat that is not easily removed from the pelt, are most the most sought after. The young fryers pelts are thin and can tear, but are still usable but the older rabbits make a stronger finished product. The different types of fur characteristics vary depending on the breed type, such as the Rex, Satins, Silver Foxes and other fur type breeds(also know as dual purpose rabbits- meat and fur) Pelts from the young of any breed are normally of poor quality and of less value than those from adult animals. Rabbit pelts vary widely in quality and value. But for the homesteader this waste product is a value worth more than just monetary gain but a way toward self sufficiency a wide variety of needed items can be made with rabbit pelts It is unlikely that the small homesteader slaughtering his own rabbits will find it worthwhile to process the skins for sale. Whether the pelts from meat slaughtering should be saved and prepared for marketing will depend upon the market demand and value, the type and number of rabbits being slaughtered and the time and facilities available for preparing the pelts. Today there are few if any market for furs in the United States and is considered a waste product in many a commercial slaughter house. With the development of many synthetic fibers and imitation furs, the demand for pelts by furriers has decreased. Rabbit pelts have been used for many years as fur, in the manufacture of felt, and for a variety of miscellaneous toys and other items. ![]()
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