Did I mess them up?

I have two hids from older does that I processed Friday afternoon... I had them in water, then rolled them up fur side in and had them in the cooler with the resting rabbit meat. Totally forgot about them until I went to check on the ice in it. Is a little more than 48 hours too long for them to sit? Can I just put them in a bag in a freezer until DH is ready to give it a try?

It really depends on bacterial growing conditions.
The funny part about hides, is that they might be totally ruined, or they might be fine. If there is a foul odor or hair falling out, they probably aren't worth trying on.
If they seem fine, they may still end up slipping in patches by the time you are done. A little slip won't necessarily ruin an entire pelt, and rabbit skins seem to be pretty resistant to it. :shrug:

I don't recommend getting raw hides wet at all anymore if it can be avoided, since water seems to really help bacteria get a foothold on a pelt.

Zass":1xji01vn said:

It really depends on bacterial growing conditions.
The funny part about hides, is that they might be totally ruined, or they might be fine. If there is a foul odor or hair falling out, they probably aren't worth trying on.
If they seem fine, they may still end up slipping in patches by the time you are done. A little slip won't necessarily ruin an entire pelt, and rabbit skins seem to be pretty resistant to it. :shrug:

I don't recommend getting raw hides wet at all anymore if it can be avoided, since water seems to really help bacteria get a foothold on a pelt.

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Doh! I thought they were supposed to go into cold water like the carcasses :doh:

It's not so much what is or isn't supposed to happen, but what someone's opinion on it is. :lol:

I've heard people advise not to get carcasses wet at all too, for the same reason, but I still choose to brine or soak my meat. Just preference.

The pelts I just try to keep clean, and lay them out long enough to cool.

If the skins are for taxidermy, and thus all parts absolutely have to be perfect, I cool them by laying them individually in the freezer (or outside if temps are favorable) before rolling them up face side in, and freezing.

We just processed our first rabbit today. My husband wants to get into tanning, and saving the hides for clothes, and blankets. We were told to rinse the fur (since we did a Californian his fur was red by the end of it,) then fold it skin side in, then in a bag, and into the freezer.

Yes, or did we mess up? lol.

Like raising rabbits, tanning has a massive learning curve.
Whether one method or another is better for a specific situation has everything to do with current circumstances, and even local climate.

If a white pelt is blood soaked, then rinsing asap is perfectly logical.
If you can get a white pelt off the rabbit without turning it red, then you can skip the rinse, but don't skip the cooling step. That is because plastic and fur are both good insulators, so it can take a surprising amount of time for a rolled up skin to freeze in the center.

Sometimes, you can do everything "wrong" and still end up with a perfectly good skin, and sometimes, you can follow an experienced persons instructions to the letter and still end up with a botched hide.

:lol:


I tried to get the fur to slip off a cowhide once by soaking it in water outside for weeks.
That manure covered pelt simply refused to slip. :shock:
I ended up with a very clean hair-on rawhide by the end of it. I still don't understand why bacteria never ate off the epidermis. I could have limed it, but guess I was too impressed by the tenacity of that hair. :?

Deer hides on the other hand, have usually already started slipping by the time people get them to me. A few days soak in water is usually all it takes to produce a perfectly hairless hide for tanning.

You won't know until you try, but if youre wanting to get into it they are probably the perfect hides to practice on. Belive me you will most likely mess up several hides before you get a remotely decent one.