HOW TO TAN RABBIT HIDES

Enlarge Image Image Gallery [1] Here are some cased ? or sleeve-pulled? green rabbit hides. [2] After the skins have soaked for two days in the first tanning solution, they are fleshed: that is, the fatty tissue and meat are removed. [3] The furs go back into a second tanning, after which they are washed and hung up to dry. [4] ""Breaking the skin"" involves taking a barely damp pelt (left) and stretching it to obtain a soft, flexible skin (right) [5 and 6] Fur items made out of home-tanned rabbit pelts. The jacket is based on a purchased pattern. Photos by the Author

Issue #79 - January/February 1983

By making and selling fur items, this homesteader is able to raise rabbits and enjoy free meat.

Like many modern homesteaders, I keep rabbits for meat. However, unlike most small-scale breeders (who consign their animals' pelts to compost piles), I also save the hides, tan them, and use the fur to make beautiful handsewn items. I've discovered that smallpelt tanning is neither time-consuming, difficult, nor expensive . . . in fact, it's a source of both pride and great satisfaction, since it enables me to create beautiful, useful fur articles from skins that would otherwise have been discarded.

You probably know that tanning (which is also called tawing or pickling ) is the process of converting a raw hide into leather, thus making the skin more pliable, more durable, and more resistant to water, wear, and decay. You may be surprised to learn, though, that home tanning costs very little and requires a minimum of equipment. In fact, you'll find that your biggest investments in the craft will be your time and energy.

The availability . . . convenient small size . . . and variable colors, patterns, and textures of rabbit skins make them perfect material for the novice tanner. Before I go into more detailed instructions for the procedures involved, bear in mind this important point: No tanning formula is foolproof. There are no shortcuts to learning this skill . . . you'll need to practice, practice, practice! However, I'm not a professional furrier. I'm only a homesteader raising some rabbits to help keep my family supplied with meat and extra cash . . . so take heart: If I can tan pelts, so can you.

BUTCHERING

As most breeders are already aware, once a rabbit has been killed and the head removed, it is suspended by one or both back legs to allow the blood to drain. Thus hung, the animal is then flayed, which is a term referring to the act of removing the hide from the carcass. To perform this task, simply cut the skin around each hind foot and carefully slit (or tear) the hide inside each leg from hock to anus (be careful not to slice into the meat). Strip the skin from the carcass by gently pulling downward toward the rabbit's head (the motion is somewhat like that used when peeling a banana but a bit more force will be required). Use your fingers or a sharp skinning knife to loosen any difficult spots.

The freshly flayed hide (which is known as a "green" skin) is now cased, or sleeve-pulled, to put the fur on the inside and the flesh on the outside. Let the cased pelt soak in cold water while you finish dressing out the carcass and storing the meat in your refrigerator or freezer.

WASHING AND COOLING THE SKIN

Once the butchering duties are finished, thoroughly rinse the hide in more cold water to finish cooling it as quickly as possible. Don't worry about any remaining fat and tissue at this point . . . rather, apply your effort to washing away all the blood left in the skin, since any that's not removed will leave permanent brown stains in the leather after tanning. (Soap or detergent is really unnecessary, but if you do use such a cleanser, be sure that all traces of that are rinsed out before you proceed, too.) With the rinsing done, carefully squeeze (never wring!) the excess water from the pelt.