Teal Posted August 24, 2003 Report Share Posted August 24, 2003 Alright I need this hide for dog training, I shot a brace of rabbits the other day to provide for this and now have two skins ( as well as two freezer two bags in the freezer ) So they are clean, no blood or anything, but how do i cure them, I don't want them to go off. Do I add salt ? If so how much ?? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.223 Posted August 24, 2003 Report Share Posted August 24, 2003 i just nail mine to some wood and put out in the sun for a few days soon dries up and stops stinking. its not the correct way but it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_stag88 Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 Strange, i was going to ask the same thing, I salt mine, howvever they go a bit like card board. I want to make them softer but have fur (not neccessary however). Buy cheap table salt an use it liberally, apply it a few times. This is as far as i know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elma Fud Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 Someone from the British Deer Society BDS gave me a recipe on how to tan a pelt. I'm at work at the moment. When I get home I will look it out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammergun Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 I am just having a go at stuffing a rabbit at the moment. Best for rabbit skins is "White Tan" from Snowdonia Taxidermy Supplies. £10 for enough to do 25 skins. Leaves the skins soft and supple like you see at the game fairs. Remove sinews, rub salt on the flesh side and freeze them until you are ready. If you want to do skins complete, you need to separate the outer skin from the ear cartilage by turning the ears inside out then back again, do the same with the paws. The tail bone must be removed and it is easiest to do this as soon as the rabbit has been shot. Peel the skin back to the tail, and carefully pull, keeping your fingernails in front of the tail skin. The tail bone should come out whole, still attached to the body (this takes a bit of practice). When tanning, massage the ears, tail and paws to get the tanning solution to flow into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brooktrout Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 Sun dried pelts are fine as long as they are always kept dry, but once they get wet you are back where you started, and will stink to high heaven unless quickly dried out again. The proper method is to soak them in baths of formaldehide before drying them out. Its quite a complex process, and expensive unless you have a lot of skins to cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammergun Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 If you can't be bothered to tan them, remove sinews and use borax instead of salt as it works much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teal Posted August 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2003 Thanks for all the replies, the skins were ready (all two of them lol) so I just put on salt and in a dry place on the window sill, they were smelling a bit nasty yesterday but seem ok today I think they must almost be ready. I'll be using them with NTTF's techniques to get my springer interested in fur. I am really confident about this and sure that its going to work. Getting her onto feather will prove more difficult for me I think but it too is achievable. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammergun Posted September 3, 2003 Report Share Posted September 3, 2003 Here's some info on how the professionals do it which I got from an old keeper this week. If you are wishing to prepare rabbit skins, cut off the feet at the first joint and make a slit at the back of the thighs from one leg to the backside just under the tail, then across the back of the other thigh. Loosen the tail and carefully separate it from the tail bone by easing ot off with your fingernails so that it remains attached to the skin on the back. Next slit right down the belly to the chin, then push the forelegs apart and make a slit from the inside end of one right across to the other and peel the skin right off, cutting the base of the ears so they come off with the skin, and cutting round under the eyelids and the nose, and under the lips to take off the head skin intact, complete with lips and nose. Next you have to pin the skin stretched out onto a board and remove the sinews by scraping with a sharp knife. You cannot just simply use them as they come when removed from the rabbit or else they rot from the grease and hair falls out. After this is done, you can start tanning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted September 4, 2003 Report Share Posted September 4, 2003 William: For the exercise you are doing you can just keep fresh hides in the freezer. Take one out the night before you are going to work the dog so that it thaws and comes up to room temp, when you are done with the exercise just throw it into a bag and refreeze it. If you plan on working 2 days in a row just pull the second hide out when you put the first one back in, this way you always have a fresh one available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elma Fud Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Only 12 weeks and 5 days late from replying to my last mail. I've found that note from the British Deer Society on how to tan a skin, whilst throwing some papers in the bin. Diesel & Bicarbonate of Soda Method Items required:- Diesel or paraffin - Preferably diesel Bicarbonate of Soda Flat Board to nail skin to Polythene to cover the board Hammer and small nails, or staple gun Jam Jar with screw lid to mix paste Small paint brush. - 1 inch. small claw hammer Prepared skin. flesh must be preferably be damp. SECURING SKIN TO BOARD OR FRAME If using a board cover it with polythene and lie the skin on it fur side down. Stretch skin gently, Not forcefully, into as good a shape as possible. Do not stretch it length ways, just push it flat and straight up and down. Secure 2 points at the neck either side of centre and the same at the tail. Always slope nails outwards and as close to the edge as possible. Smooth the skin out from the spine to the sides and legs avoiding any wrinkling. Next secure the hind legs at 2 or 3 points each, then the front legs. Now comes the tricky part, filling in the spaces. First do the sides, putting fastenings on alternate sides, constantly smoothing the skin out from the spine to the edge at the same time keeping the spine line straight up and down. Now do the spaces between the neck and tail. To remove wrinkles the original neck and / or tail securings may need resiting. Use enough fastenings to hold the skin really firm and flat. Position pins about 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 inches apart all the way round, very fiddly but well worth the effort. If using a frame lie the skin fur side down on the polythene and smooth it out as detailed above. The frame must be larger than the skin with the nails around the top edge already in place. The skin is anchored to the frame by first tying one end of a string to a nail. Sew the string through the skin with a needle and tie it to another nail about three inches away. Do not try to use one string all the way round. Keep skin good and wet whilst doing these fastenings. Mop off any surplus water before applying the curing paste. If using a frame for a skin that has been soaking in salt this can be rinsed out with a hose pipe once the skin is on the frame. TANNING PASTE Mix Diesel or paraffin and Bicarbonate of Soda to make a paintable paste with a consistency like salad cream. Paint the main bulk of the skin with a generous amount of paste. The skin can now be put upright and outside to dry, preferably not in hot sun as it does not want to dry too fast. When it is dry and white give it a second painting as before. When this second coat is dry, curing should be completed. Very thick skins like calf might need a third painting of paste. Curing time will depend on the drying conditions, about three - 5 hours for skins like sheep goat and calf. Longer does not matter but too fast will make the skin too hard. Now just dampen the whole skin with just plain diesel (or paraiffin). Do Not flood this on. Remove a few nails and put pieces of stick covered in polythene under the skin to lift it away from the board allowing air to reach both sides. Leave it to dry again but Do Not allow it to get too dry or it will become too hard and brittle. The drying after dampening only wants to be long enough for the surface to become powdery. Finishing Procedure Remove the sticks and give the skin a good brush with a wire brush. It may help to replace some of the nails whilst doing this. Also go over the skin gently with an electric sander. This will remove small membrane parts which were missed. They will now look shiny. However large areas of membrane were left the sander could well make holes before were removed. Alternatively, the skin fibres can be broken up by working the leather over any blunt piece of wood, i.e. a table edge or similar. I'm knackered after writing this :*) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbus Polumbus Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 So I gotta wait a while Elma for my reply to your PM to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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