When are they prime?

[GBov]

I have a lovely bunch of mutts that will make beautiful hides but I dont want to do them too early and have them too thin to tan well.

So when are rabbit hides prime?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

When they are seniors, and in their winter coat. At least if you want the hides for fur. I have heard that the leather is thicker in the warmer months, so a senior processed in summer would have more durable leather, but a poor coat.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

With Rex it also means that time when the coat has quit growing in new yet before they start to shed. That is the best time to get your pelts. At this time the pelts are less likely to shed hair after being tanned. I am not nearly experienced enough to explain how to tell when this is occurring. Maybe someone else on here knows more.

 

[skysthelimit]

about 6-8 mos is senior prime.

 

[GBov]

They will be 7 months old in Feb. so that would make them senior prime in full winter coat then. Unless spring comes early to Florida and they start to shed by then.

Hmmmm, they may get to stick around till then. :twisted:

 

[Evvie]

I've heard it takes a year for the skin and fur to become "senior" in the sense that it makes a good pelt, but is that a needless wait? 8 months is a while but it's still 3/4 of the time.

 

[skysthelimit]

It will be just fine at 6-8 mos.

 

[MaggieJ]

In France there are special rex rabbits that are raised for both pelts for the up-scale fur market and gourmet meat. They are raised on a natural alfalfa-based diet and are butchered at about 20 weeks.

You will have to excuse the Google translation. It's not very good, so if you can read French I'd suggest you go with the original.
http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl ... 26hs%3DbUg

Original:
http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl ... %2F&anno=2

 

[DevonW]

-Bucks have thicker hides than does no matter what the age which seems to be the case in every breed I've processed.
-You don't have to wait until Winter to have prime pelts if you have a temperature controlled barn (Important if you're going to be producing a lot of pelts year round)
-Keep rabbits you're going to be harvesting pelts from out of sunlight. A Bleached out (sunburnt) coat is not a prime pelt.
-Good quality feed will make a difference in the condition of the coat.

 

[skysthelimit]

-Bucks have thicker hides than does no matter what the age which seems to be the case in every breed I've processed.

thanks for the info

 

[mystang89]

So does all this info mean that tanned furs from 12 week old rabbits are unable to be made into things like blankets?

 

[AnnClaire]

Mystang, not necessarily ... you may want to find a blanket pattern that is quilted to a supporting lining. Of course, I still have yet to find the alum for my first tanning, and I have 16week+ old hides waiting to be processed. If I can't find the alum soon, I will probably go with the sulfuric acid method, but I hate thinking about dealing with acid.

 

[skysthelimit]

Mystang, not necessarily ... you may want to find a blanket pattern that is quilted to a supporting lining. Of course, I still have yet to find the alum for my first tanning, and I have 16week+ old hides waiting to be processed. If I can't find the alum soon, I will probably go with the sulfuric acid method, but I hate thinking about dealing with acid.

eBay and Amazon are the only place I could find it. Walmart had small cans in the spice aisle, but it is $3.00. I used it for my first tanning and it did turn out great.

 

[3mina]

AnnClaire, just remember to use plastic, wood or glass when using the acid, no metal at all and you'll be fine. The last time I tanned anything was with the acid and borax and it was quite easy. The drying and stretching was the hard part

 

[AnnClaire]

LOL - yes, I understand the drying and stretching is gonna be the hard part no matter which tanning method I use LOL And I have all the tools and had already decided that I was using non-reactive tools just in case I had to switch between the alum and acid methods.

We are going to be doing some building this next week, so I am also going to set some boards in the ground for the stretching process ... probably won't use them until the spring to give the soil time to pack in as I don't really want to cement them in place.

 

[GBov]

To resurrect an old thread, the 20 week old French Rex pelts that are such good quality, would 20 week old NZ and mutt hides be as useful and easy to tan?

I do a bit of brain tanning now and have gotten a couple of fryer age hides to a nice quality but it was really hard not to tear them and, once done, they are so light weight that I cant think what to do with them.

With a few customers who like roaster age rabbits I could keep a few good colors back from the bunch to get to that 20 weeks but, if they have to hang about for 8-10 months, they will swiftly loose their cages to more useful rabbits.

 

[skysthelimit]

As far as you can get them past 12 wks, the better. 16 weeks and up is better, six mos is when they are usually harvested in fur farms.

 

[GBov]

As far as you can get them past 12 wks, the better. 16 weeks and up is better, six mos is when they are usually harvested in fur farms.

6 months takes us into May, will it be worth my while to keep them that long? They will be in their summer coats by then.

 

[skysthelimit]

They should hold that coat, because that's prime show time for me, and unless the weather is just so hot they blow their coats, prime is prime. But you can do well with 4 mos.

 

[Carmin]

Mystang, not necessarily ... you may want to find a blanket pattern that is quilted to a supporting lining. Of course, I still have yet to find the alum for my first tanning, and I have 16week+ old hides waiting to be processed. If I can't find the alum soon, I will probably go with the sulfuric acid method, but I hate thinking about dealing with acid.

Use egg yolk instead. Google it.