HOW TO TAN RABBIT HIDES
(Page 7 of 8)
January/February 1983
By Kathy Kellogg
All in all, rabbit-pelt tanning can add a whole new dimension to a homesteader's small-scale hare-raising operation. If you've even the slightest inclination to make full use of your backyard bunnies, just take a little more care at butchering time . . . and tan those hides!
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THE COMMERCIAL PELT MARKET
I must admit that I am not, and probably never will be, a professional rabbit-pelt tanner! However, because some of you folks may be interested in marketing green or tanned pelts, I'll pass along what I know about the commercial market for them.
There is very little demand for young pelts (though a very limited number are used in the manufacture of felt). Even if the hide is in top condition, "baby prime" (from 8- to 12-week-old rabbits) isn't considered valuable to the fur industry. "Junior prime" (from animals up to five months old) is occasionally used, but "senior prime" (adult) is preferred.
One problem that any homestead rabbit-raiser with an eye to cracking the commercial market will have to face is that younger animals have small, thin pelts ... and most homesteaders butcher their rabbits for meat at 6 to 10 weeks of age ("fryer" size, with the cleaned meat weighing in at 2 to 2-1/2 pounds). I've reached a happy compromise between pelt condition and meat use by butchering my animals at 12 to 16 weeks of age, so that I obtain 3- to 4-pound "roasters" (which, to my way of thinking, taste even better than fryers) and get larger, thicker skins for tanning (although such "adolescent" fur is still not commercially desirable).
Another factor that must be considered is the seasonal cycles that a rabbit's hide goes through. The skin (leather) is often depleted of nutrients to grow the luxurious winter coat . . . while the summer pelt will have a thick skin, but thinner fur. Thus, for the commercial market, the best skins are taken from fully mature rabbits during the coldest months of the year. (However, I've found that I can use commercially worthless summer pelts for items, like moccasins, that require sturdy leather.)
What's more, all of the fat has to be removed from a commercial pelt, and the green or tanned hide must be dried on a wire stretcher or board and pulled in length as much as possible. (It's important to furriers to get every square inch of use obtainable from each pelt they purchase.) Any skins stored for sale should be sprinkled with naphthalene flakes to keep out any bugs.
Fur type and color are far more important to the fur buyer than to the homesteader. I raise, almost exclusively, mixed-color animals with "Normal" fur (which is classified as that about an inch in length, with a fine wool next to the skin and longer guard hairs). There's also "Satin" fur, which is about an inch or so in length, too, but intensely colored and lustrous because its hair shafts are thin and each is encased in a transparent shell. Another variation — probably the one most sought after in the fur industry now — is the "Rex" coat, which is short (about a half-inch), plush, dense, and soft . . . with guard hairs about the same length as the underfur. "Angora" fur, which is about three inches long, is more properly referred to as "wool", and is spun for yarn.
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