Graceful Meadows
Active member
I raise Silver Fox rabbits which are a multi purpose meat/fur breed. I would prefer to sell them, but every once in a while I get a cull. I thought that since I was going to butcher the rabbits anyway that I might as well also tan the hides (they are so pretty). I got my recipe from Mother Earth News and it said to use a salt/alum mixture (1 cup alum to 1 cup salt) disolved in 2 gallons of water and in two days the hides should be fleshed. After doubling the potency of the solution(1 more cup alum and 1 more cup salt), I put the skins in back in for a week of tanning in the brine like that,the recipe said that the hides should be fully tanned and can be tested by boiling a small piece of one hide in a pan of water, if the hide becomes hard and rubbery then it isn't ready. Well... it has been two weeks since fleshing and the hides still haven't tested done. What did I do wrong, not flesh the hides well enough? Not use enough alum/ salt? Use too much water? Do I just not have enough patience?
