AlishaBee
Member
Hi!
We began our Rabbiting life last year with four Harlies as a test run to see how much we enjoyed them (in every sense). We found we really took to them, as animals and as a clean meat source. We are able to feed with much of the green waste from our property with a combo of homegrown alfalfa and timothy hay.
We've since got a nice, albeit mysterious trio as breeding stock who've just recently given us beautiful, large litters. They are crosses of New Zealands (broken and black judging by the litters) and Chocolate Satin. I am brand new to the taxonomy so please forgive my ignorance in their specifics.
Long story short, I have begun tanning the Harlie hides to see what I can do and if we will keep the pelts going forward.
I guess I'll describe my actions so far and pose questions as I go?
-When the rabbits were skinned we left them cased and I rinsed them well in cool water and gently squeezed the excess water out. I folded in half (skin to skin) and put in freezer bags and into the freezer.
Q 1: is this correct?
-I decided to try the Alum Method and gathered supplies. The recipe is 3 gal. Water, 1 cup non-iodized salt and 1 cup of Aluminum Sulfate. I couldn't find mixing instructions so this is what I did: put the water in a large bucket and added the elements to the bucket. Stirred to dissolve.
Q 2: what temperature should the water have been? I used cold.
-I thawed them in a sink of cold water and uncased.
Q 3: At which point in the process are they generally uncased?
-They have been in the brine for two days, weighted with a large rock, stirring twice a day.
Q 4: will the rock damage the hides?
-I will be fleshing tomorrow.
Q 5: how much, if at all, are they dried before the fleshing process? Just a simple squeeze of the excess water or more dried?
-I have an old laundry drying rack that I will be using to dry the pelts.
Q 6: how long is the usual drying time before ready to break the skin? I'm sure this greatly varies depending on weather, etc so I'm just looking for a ballpark.
I think this is all for now but I am absolutely welcome to any tips or advice available.
Thank you so much for reading!
A
We began our Rabbiting life last year with four Harlies as a test run to see how much we enjoyed them (in every sense). We found we really took to them, as animals and as a clean meat source. We are able to feed with much of the green waste from our property with a combo of homegrown alfalfa and timothy hay.
We've since got a nice, albeit mysterious trio as breeding stock who've just recently given us beautiful, large litters. They are crosses of New Zealands (broken and black judging by the litters) and Chocolate Satin. I am brand new to the taxonomy so please forgive my ignorance in their specifics.
Long story short, I have begun tanning the Harlie hides to see what I can do and if we will keep the pelts going forward.
I guess I'll describe my actions so far and pose questions as I go?
-When the rabbits were skinned we left them cased and I rinsed them well in cool water and gently squeezed the excess water out. I folded in half (skin to skin) and put in freezer bags and into the freezer.
Q 1: is this correct?
-I decided to try the Alum Method and gathered supplies. The recipe is 3 gal. Water, 1 cup non-iodized salt and 1 cup of Aluminum Sulfate. I couldn't find mixing instructions so this is what I did: put the water in a large bucket and added the elements to the bucket. Stirred to dissolve.
Q 2: what temperature should the water have been? I used cold.
-I thawed them in a sink of cold water and uncased.
Q 3: At which point in the process are they generally uncased?
-They have been in the brine for two days, weighted with a large rock, stirring twice a day.
Q 4: will the rock damage the hides?
-I will be fleshing tomorrow.
Q 5: how much, if at all, are they dried before the fleshing process? Just a simple squeeze of the excess water or more dried?
-I have an old laundry drying rack that I will be using to dry the pelts.
Q 6: how long is the usual drying time before ready to break the skin? I'm sure this greatly varies depending on weather, etc so I'm just looking for a ballpark.
I think this is all for now but I am absolutely welcome to any tips or advice available.
Thank you so much for reading!
A