DIY rabbit skin products. Dressing rabbit skins at home: video and step-by-step instructions

Rabbits, on the background hobbies for dietary meatare becoming more and more popular in the market. Moreover, they are in demand both in the meat and fur markets. Those who have ever worn products from the fur of these animals know how soft and fluffy they have. Yes, maybe it is not as durable as that of other fur-bearing animal breeds, but the price allows change fur products more often than expensive furs.

Dressing rabbit skins at home

You can use any skins representative of the rabbit family... However, special fur breeds are specially used for such purposes. In most cases, these fur-bearing animals are bred on small private farms. And when the question arises of dressing skins, it is not so easy to find a specialist. It is good if fur farms existed somewhere nearby and there were still craftsmen, if not, you have to do the work yourself.

People facing unfamiliar jobs for the first time are simply lost... Perhaps the first time nothing will work out, but then, based on my own experience, things will go better. So you have to do it at home one day, based on the recommendations and descriptions that are on the Internet.

Tools required for dressing

Like any other job, this one will also require preparation of instruments... Here are just things that are simply incomprehensible to an ordinary person as tools and improvised means:

• the main tool for skinning is a sharp knife .;
• chemicals are next on the list;
• the most common table salt is in third place;
• dried skins will be on the rules.

Here are the rules that you will have to make yourself at home or buy those who do it professionally. The rules are different: some of them resemble forks made of wooden slats, others are made of a solid board.

If you have everything you need, remember a few special conditions, without which you should not even think about slaughtering an animal for fur.

1. First, the animal is slaughtered with a weight of 3-4 kilograms.
2. Slaughter is carried out only when the molt has passed. The best fur comes after the autumn molt.

Skinning procedure

Skinning begins with a stage such as skinning. This stage includes removing the scalp and hair from the dead animal. The procedure itself seems to be simple, but it requires care and sequence of actions.

1. The body is suspended head down. Each of the hind legs is attached with its own rope. In this case, the legs are not in contact with each other, but are divorced in different directions.
2. Just below the knee joint, the skin is cut in a circle. A longitudinal incision is made from the circular incision to the dorsal part. The whole operation is performed with a special knife or any sharp one, for example, a hunting one.
3. You can immediately pull the skin off your legs. But it would be better to continue the incision to the middle of the back, and incise the coccyx area from the inside. Here you need to do everything right, without damaging the bladder. Pull the skin further down to me one hundred end of the notch.
4. The rest is pulled together like a stocking to the very front legs. No further cuts need to be made.
5. Everything is done slowly and inserting your fingers inside the legs. So, it happens until the moment you hit your head.
6. The head is cut off with a knife and remains with the removed skin.
7. Front legs left unremoved break or cut in a circle, like the rear... After that, the animal can be "undressed" completely.
8. The head is usually not used anywhere and is simply cut off carefully so as not to spoil the fruits of their labor.

Dressing rabbit skins in stages

After skinning the carcass the skin should be prepared for dressing. The cleaning of the skin from the remains of meat, fat, blood begins.

The skin will be scraped with the same sharp knife from the tail to the head. During work, the knife must be strictly perpendicular to the object of processing.

In no case should the skin be allowed to dry out. It can be very difficult to remove anything from dry skin.

However, household chores do not always allow you to perform the necessary processing immediately. To continue the work, the rabbit skin is preserved until the right moment... In the meantime, this moment has not come, it is pulled on an A-shaped rule. A movable bar is used to adjust the rule to the size of the workpiece. The workpiece should be stretched as much as possible, since if there are even small folds, they will be able to ruin the entire workpiece. In places of folds, the fur melts and begins to rot, later worms start there, mold appears.

The main thing on the day of slaughter is to straighten the workpieces on the rules. Many people think that frost can save rabbit skins without rules. You can save them, but the fur will be of poor quality. Therefore, we put it on the rules and leave it in a dry ventilated area. The storage temperature can reach a maximum of +30 degrees, but no heat sources should be poisonous. When the workpieces are dry well, they are placed in a box or box and close well... To prevent the moth from eating the fur, they put pest remedies in the boxes.

Now it's time to make the blanks. The process is divided into several stages:

• soaking in solution;
• removal of biological residues from the skin;
• fat removal;
• treatment with acidic solutions;
• lying under load;
• tanning and fatliquoring.

In the following chapters, we will explore each of these points in detail.

The soaked product becomes as if it had just been removed from the rabbit. Despite the daily change of water, putrefactive bacteria can persist ... Their removal is carried out by the method adding table salt to the water. If there were three liters of liquid, then 150 grams of salt should be dissolved in it.

An tiseptic substances... Their role is played by: zinc chloride in the amount of 6 g per liter; norsulfazole - 6 tablets; formalin - 1.5-3 g; sodium bisulfite - 6 g. The number of chemicals is given on the basis of three liters of liquid.

Someone adds oak or willow leaves (150 g per 3 liters). Someone, saving time, immediately adds 1.5 kilograms of washing powder.

rabbit skins at this stage is to remove the leftover meat. It is called fleshiness. Doing fleshing at home will also not be difficult. The wet workpieces are suspended so that the glass is water and wiped dry.

The subsequent dressing will be easier if the flaying is done well. But, in any case, all remaining meat and fat are carefully removed. The workpiece is straightened on a wooden block with a convex surface. Cleaned from the spine to the sides and from tail to head... The procedure is carried out with a scraper, a steel brush or the blunt side of a knife - to whom it is convenient.

Degreasing at home

This procedure has already been mentioned in the paragraph about soaking. We, doing everything progressively, use soaking with ground laundry soap. A scalp shampoo is perfect too.

People who prefer washing powder should know the proportion: if soap is needed only 75 g per 3 liters, then the powder will need 3.5 kilograms per 1 liter. After this washing, the rabbit skin is hung to dry. All the water must drain, and the skin must be wiped dry.

Treatment with acidic solutions

Dressing rabbit skins at home is carried out in two ways: pickling and pickling.

Pickling - This is a classic dressing, in which the skin becomes stronger. But this method has one big drawback - a lot of pain and time is wasted. The uninitiated asks: "What does the flour have to do with it?" The fact is that coarse flour (rye or oatmeal) dissolves in hot water in an enamel pan. The solution is brought to a boil and yeast and salt are added to it.

The composition of the solution: water - 1 l., Flour - 200 g, yeast - 7 g. Table salt - 30 g. The number of ingredients is multiplied by the number of soaked blanks per 3 liters.

The product is placed in the cooled solution with the skin outside. For two days the flesh is fermented (swells). Everything is mixed periodically so that rotting does not occur. After two days, there will be a white coating on top of the skin, and the smell is like bread. This completes the fermentation process.

Picking

If in the first case the acidity is created by yeast and flour, then here you first need to create a pickel from vinegar. The water heats up to 35 degrees. After that, salt and vinegar are added to it.

The composition of the mixture will depend on the acetic acid:

Water - 1l.;

Salt - 50 g;

Vinegar 12 ml.

The calculation is made for concentrated acetic acid. For another concentration, the numbers will be as follows:

Vinegar 70% - 60 ml, water - 940 ml, salt - 30 g;

Vinegar 12% - 350 ml, water - 650 ml, salt - 30-40 g;

Vinegar 9% - 466 ml, water - 533 ml, salt - 30-40 g;

As with soaking, 3 liters of pickel goes to one rabbit skin. The end of the process is determined by drying - a strip remaining on the fold of the flesh, carried out by the nail. If there is a white strip (drying), then the product is ripe.

The acetic acid pickel turns into a sulfuric pickel, where the workpieces are kept for 12 hours. After the sulfuric pickel, all the skins are taken out, squeezed out, folded with fur up on top of each other and the load is placed. All this ripens for two days.

It should be said right away that making furs at home is not the easiest way. In addition, in the first version, the tensile load during dressing is almost several times greater than during pickling.

Tanning and fatliquoring

Tanning is chrome and tannin

With chrome in a liter of water, 7 g of chrome alum and 50-60 g of salt are dissolved. Such tanning can ruin the material - make it fragile. Therefore, consider tannin tanning.

1. Enamelled dishes are filled with oak (willow) bark and twigs. The branches are poured with bark and boiled for half an hour.
2. 50 g of salt is poured into the drained liquid per 1 liter. The liquid is cooled and stored in it for 1-4 days of preparation.

The amount of tanning agent should be four times the tanning product. This type of tanning has its drawbacks: the skins are pulled together and the skin turns yellow. Therefore, now the best option is considered a tanning agent with the following composition: 10 liters of willow broth and 2.5 liters of horse sorrel broth (roots only).

Tanning ends by aging under the press for two days. Similar to what was done in the previous paragraph. Aging flows into fat.

Fatting is a way of making semi-finished fur products so that they become both strong and soft at the same time. Mezdra for this is lubricated with a water-fat emulsion, which is applied with a tampon. You will choose emulsions for yourself from the following:

• Whisk glycerin and yolk (1: 1) thoroughly and use as directed.
• In 0.5 liters of boiling water, pieces of laundry soap (50 g) are dissolved and mixed. Then 0.5 liters of animal fat is added. The solution is stirred and ammonia (5-10 ml) is added.
• 50 g of soap for half a liter of water and 200 grams of any fat. Plus to this 25 g of machine oil and 30 g of glycerin. Then a quarter of a kilogram of yolks and 30 ml of ammonia are added to the mixture. After adding each ingredient, everything is thoroughly mixed.

Colic fur is cured for 4 hours and dried. On drying, self-processing ends. It remains to knead, stretch, knock out and comb the fur.

Experienced rabbit breeders know that the value of fluffy animals lies not only in their dietary meat. Their beautiful and luxurious fur is no less important. The quality of the fur coat directly depends on the correctness of this procedure. But without chemistry? Videos for beginners and expert advice will help everyone achieve the desired result.

When is the best time to make rabbit skins?

It is recommended to send animals for slaughter at a certain age, when the rabbits will have enough thick fur. This is best done in late autumn, around November. For dressing skins, breeders most often give preference to fluffy animals that are already at least 8 months old, and their live weight is about 4 kg. Of course, the technology for obtaining skins is very complicated; a beginner rabbit breeder simply cannot do without knowledge and experience.

Even novice rabbit breeders are able to make rabbit skins on their own and at home

If you are told that making rabbit skins on your own and at home will not work, then this is a delusion. Even novice rabbit breeders can do it, especially if they use the training video, they do everything according to the technology.

Stages of making rabbit skins at home

Here are the basic steps that the breeder needs to repeat exactly to get a beautiful and high-quality skin:

Beautiful and showy skins can last for years. However, it is correct to store them in bags, and in bags made of natural materials in a cool dry place. They can be made of flax or other suitable material.

We suggest watching a video for beginners on how to make rabbit skins:

Still don't know ? Useful tips and videos in this article will be very valuable for a novice rabbit breeder. Undoubtedly, this procedure is laborious and complicated, therefore, having read the instructions and technology of the process, it will be possible to become the owner of a high-quality fur cover. Continue reading on the site

Content:

The ancient clothing of primitive man was skins. Therefore, one of the first professions that he had to master was their dressing. By the way, the profession of the hero Nikita from Russian epics was - kozhemyak. That was his name, Nikita Kozhemyaka. Surely this work helped him become strong and not be afraid of the stinking breath of the fire-breathing Serpent-Gorynych. These are the qualities that a specialist in skinning needs.

Modern processing methods are simpler - chemistry helps. Now even at home you can make high-quality skins. This could be an idea for a small business or a good additional income.

If, for example, you decide to breed rabbits, then you just need to learn how to make their skins. Let's consider the technology of this process.

Technology

It is a set of sequentially performed operations. The quality of the fur will depend on the careful and correct execution of all stages.

• The preparatory stage is conservation.
• Soaking (soaking).
• Fleshness.
• Degreasing.
• Pickling.
• Crawling and neutralization.
• Tanning.
• Fatty.
• Drying and kneading.

Let's consider each operation separately.

Preparatory stage - conservation

If you will not make the skin immediately, then it must be preserved. That is, save until the time comes to process it. It happens like this.

After slaughter, the skin is removed with a stocking. It is impossible to leave it unfolded for a long time (it can rot). You need to store as follows:

• the stocking is turned inside out with the fur,
• pulls on the rule
• the lower end is secured to prevent the stocking from wrinkling.

The rule can be made by yourself from two wooden blocks measuring 20x50 mm. They are cut off along the edge and tightened with ordinary metal tape. It looks like a linen tong. A movable wedge is installed between the bars, which moves them apart to the width of a rabbit stocking.

The skins are dried on the rules in a well-ventilated room, but not in the sun or near heaters and radiators. Otherwise they will become brittle. From the side of the flesh, they are rubbed with salt. The dried skins are stored in a cool place.

Soaking (soaking)

To be able to start dressing dried skins, they must be soaked. For this, a special solution is prepared. The proportions of the components are as follows:

For all leather dressing operations, use only warm water (35-40 degrees).

The total volume of water in relation to the weight of the skins is as follows:

• 9 parts - water
• 1 part - weight of skins

The soaking process can take six hours and four days. But if soaking is delayed, then after 12 hours the solution is changed.

The readiness of the skin for further work is determined by the degree of softness of the skin.

Skins entering the dressing immediately after removal do not require soaking. You can start processing them with flesh.

Fainting

It has two purposes:

• firstly, remove the subcutaneous fat layer and all organic debris,
• secondly, to loosen the dermis.

After this operation, the skin will become susceptible to chemicals during further processing.

It starts with the removal of muscle residues and fat scraping. A sharp knife is used to remove the excess, and a blunt knife is used to break and loosen the dermis. He does not cut the flesh, but only drives it away. Simultaneously with cutting the skin, you need to press on the skin. Then fat will come out of the thickness. It can be collected and used later for fatliquoring.

Fleshing starts from the tail along the ridge and towards the head. If the skin is steamy (just removed), then the skin can be done with your hands. To do this, at the tail, the flesh is slightly pushed with a knife, we move a couple of centimeters, insert our fingers there and then do everything with our hands.

With this method of removal, no metal objects affect the skin. Pulling and pressing to squeeze out the fat is done only by hand. In this case, there is no danger of damaging the skin and overdoing it with scraping.

Mezdrovka is not an easy procedure. But the result justifies the effort - the skin becomes completely clean.

Degreasing

The proportions of the composition for degreasing are as follows:

Salt is added to all solutions required for leather dressing. If there is no salt, the skin will saturate a lot of fresh water and become glassy. Further processing will become impossible, since subsequent chemical solutions will not be able to penetrate inside. This phenomenon is called overeating.

The proportion of the total amount of water is the same as for soaking:

• 9 parts - water
• 1 part - the weight of the skins.

The degreasing process takes about an hour. After this time, the skins must be rinsed from powder and blood residues.

Rinsing

It prepares the skins of the rabbit for subsequent operations, washes away excess fat and powder. The procedure is performed in ordinary warm water (35-40 degrees). The skin is washed thoroughly, the outer layer is fur. Then everything is slightly wrung out.

Picking

The word picklevanie English origin (pickle - pickle, pickle). The meaning of this word explains the essence of the process. It consists in exposing the skin to acid and salt (their aqueous solutions).

Degreased skins are dipped in an acid-salt solution. The easiest and most affordable option is to use 70% acetic acid (vinegar essence). It is possible with sulfuric acid, but it is difficult for an ordinary person to acquire it. Proportions of pickle solution:

Always wear protective gloves when handling acid. This procedure is best done in some isolated room, as vinegar has a specific smell. All components of the solution are well mixed. The total amount of water is taken depending on the number of skins. The proportions are the same:

• 9 parts - water
• 1 part - weight of skins

Degreased and washed rabbit skins are dipped in a solution. They must be completely covered with the pickle mixture. Just do not put a press on top for this. It can interfere with mixing of the skins. As a result, they will not be able to soak evenly with the pickle solution. Stir the skins at least once an hour.

Checking the readiness of the skin by "drying"

The pickling operation lasts on average from 5 to 12 hours. The readiness of the skins is checked by "drying" (white strip). For this, the skin is folded with an edge four times, pressed on the fold, opened and looked. The cross-shaped “drying” should remain visible for three to five seconds.

Crawl and neutralization

We take out the skins from the pickle solution. Then

• squeeze slightly,
• turn the fur out,
• put in a pile,
• put the press on top.

Some people use tiles as a press. The skins are on the bed for up to a day.

After lying down, they are neutralized. Solution proportions

Duration of neutralization is maximum 30 minutes. If you add less soda, then you need to lengthen the residence time in the solution to one hour. Staying in a neutralizing solution removes the smell of acetic acid.

Tanning

Treatment with tannins gives the skin

• plastic,
• strength,
• wear resistance,
• elasticity.

It is better to use the bark of willow trees as tannins. Oak bark for rabbit skins is not recommended. From him they become rude. Willow gives the skins a creamy hue. Natural-based tanning solution is prepared as follows:

• The bark is boiled in a saucepan for half an hour,
• For one liter of this boiled solution, take 40 grams of salt.

In the chemical method of tanning, chrome alum is used instead of bark. The proportions are

	Chrome alum

Chromium alum is dissolved in very hot water, practically boiling water. Dilute alum in a little water.

While the water is clear, table salt is dissolved in it. Then diluted chrome alum is poured there.

For dipping into a tanning solution, rabbit skins are turned inside out. In it, they are carefully straightened, especially the tips. In this case, everything was evenly saturated.

The tanning time depends on the method of its implementation - natural or chemical. When using chrome alum, the tanning time is from 12 to 24 hours. If you use willow bark, the process will take much longer.

In order for the skins to be evenly burnt, they must be stirred periodically. But they do it less often than when pickling - once every two to three hours.

After the tanning time has elapsed, the skins are removed, straightened and placed under a press for ripening for 24 hours.

After the press, they need to be stretched out on the rules, where they will dry out for the next operation with them - fattening. Dry it for five hours.

Fat

The aim of this operation is to obtain softer and more water-resistant skin. You can use animal fat

• beef,
• pork
• rabbit.

It is better not to use lamb, as it hardens quickly.

Fat Mix Ratio

Cooking method

• Fat is melted.
• Laundry soap is rubbed there.
• Pour hot water.
• Warm up over low heat.
• Pour ammonia.
• Stir well.

Application method

The not hot obtained substance is applied to the tanned skins. Use a regular paint brush. It is easier to apply when the skin is on the rule. Be careful not to stain the ends of the fur. It must be done quickly, but carefully. The fatty substance freezes very quickly. When cooling, for more convenient application, it must be reheated.

It is good to carry out fattening in the evening. Then by the morning the fat will be well absorbed into the clean skin. Then the rabbit skin is cut across the belly and finally dried.

Drying and kneading

Dry for about 12 hours. The skins must be periodically removed from the rules and sipped in different directions.

After drying, the skin is kneaded with hands, making it soft. As a result, hairs and tubercles appear on the flesh. For cleaning, use sandpaper zero or one. You can use a pumice stone.

At the final stage, the fur is combed with a massage brush.

That's all - the rabbit skin has become soft, clean, pleasant to the touch. She's ready.

To obtain fur, rabbits of certain breeds are bred. But in order for the fur to be appreciated, the skin of the animal must be carefully dressed. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find a good specialist in this matter, so it is very important to know how to dress rabbit skins at home. And although the first time you may not succeed, you should not despair. The main thing is to consistently follow all the recommendations.

Rabbit Skin Processing Tools

Rabbit fur should be slaughtered when its weight has already reached 3 - 4 kg. Usually the rabbit weighs 60 - 65% of the total body weight. It is best to work with skins from November, when the animals have already molted.

Before starting work, you need to prepare the following equipment for dressing skins:

• A sharp knife.
• Some chemicals.
• Salt.
• Rule for drying skins.

The latter are also of different types:

• Adjustable.
• Made in the form of a fork from rails.
• Made from one board.
• Adapted for these purposes a rogueline from bushes or trees.

After the rabbit has been slaughtered, it is necessary to remove the skin. As a rule, skin is removed using a stocking method. To do this, the animal is tied to a stick by its hind legs and a sharp incision is made near the hock joints, then along the inner side of the lower leg and along the perineum.

Now you need to trim the ears, tail and front legs to the wrist. Grab the skin along your thighs and pull towards you. Then gently remove it from the forelegs and head so that it is easy to do and cut around the eyes, nostrils and mouth.

Be careful not to stretch the skin during this process, otherwise the fur will become sparse.

Making skins at home

The very dressing of the skin of any animal is a very difficult process and requires a lot of knowledge and experience.

The whole process can be divided into several stages:

• Training. Soaking, washing, fleshing, degreasing.
• Dressing. Pickling, fermentation, tanning, fatliquoring.
• Finishing. Drying, skin and hair care.

There is the easiest way to make rabbit skins. This method is used by northern peoples.

• First dry the skins with a fresh dry method.
• After that, lightly sprinkle with milk and rub the skin with your hands, as if you were removing dirt from your pants. At the same time, all films should be removed.

Soaking in water and solutions

It's not a rabbit but it's done the same way

After you have removed the skin and removed the remnants of muscle and fat from it, it must be placed in a special solution or water.

Dishes for these purposes must be enameled. Put the skins in there and cover them with water. You can use the following calculations: take 3 liters of water for 1 kg of skins.

The skins can lie in water for several days, but it must be remembered that the liquid needs to be changed periodically.

To avoid the multiplication of various bacteria, the skins can be soaked in special solutions.

Here are some recipes:

• Dissolve 50 g of salt in a liter of water.
• Take 0.5 - 1 g of formalin and dilute in a liter of water.
• Add 2 g of zinc chloride to 1 liter of water.
• Dissolve 2 g of sodium bisulfite in a liter of water.
• You can also add 50 ml of a decoction of oak leaves, eucalyptus, willow to the solution.

After the rabbit skin is soaked, it must be rinsed with water and wait until all the water has drained off.

Now you need to turn the skin out with the fur side inward and thus put it on the deck.

Fainting passes

Fleshing process

Take a steel knife or iron brush, moving from the tail to the head and from the ridge to the stomach, scrape off the fat, film.

To degrease the skin, you will need to prepare another solution. For these purposes, take 25 grams of toilet soap and dissolve them in a liter of water. Rinse the skins in this solution and wait until all the water has drained off.

There is another way to degrease the skin. To do this, it should be fixed on a rule and with the blunt side of a knife drive off all the fat from the surface.

The skin can now be wiped off with a cloth lightly dampened with gasoline or hardwood sawdust.

Pickling

There are several techniques for making rabbit skins. Pickling is considered the classic way. It makes the skins stronger.

Prepare a mixture of oatmeal or rye flour and a liter of hot water in an enamel bowl. Mix the mixture well and add 7 g of yeast, half a kilo of baking soda, 30 g of salt.

Allow the solution to cool and place the skins with the skin on top. Leave them on for two days, but do not forget to periodically stir the skins with the solution.

When you see a white coating on the surface and smell the bread, the skins can be pulled out and allowed to drain.

This is another way to make skins. The pickel should be prepared initially:

• To do this, take a liter of water, heat it up to 35 degrees.
• Add 50 g of salt, 12 ml of acetic acid.
• For a kilogram of skins, you should take 3 liters of pickel and keep the skins for two days. In this case, do not forget to stir the skins often and pull them out of the solution in time.

The readiness of the skin is checked as follows. Fold them in the groin area four times with the flesh top, firmly press the corner and draw along the fold line with a nail. Now the skin is released. If a white stripe appears on the nail track, then the skin is ready.

Neutralization

This stage should not be skipped, as it will be difficult for you to work with the skin further. Acid may remain in the pile and must be neutralized. To do this, dissolve 1.5 kg of baking soda in a liter of water and hold the skins in this solution for 30 to 60 minutes.

This process can be done in two different ways:

• Chrome tanned
• Tannid.

Chrome tanning. Prepare 7 grams of chrome alum and dissolve it in one liter of water. The skins should be kept in this solution for one day, stirring often. Then neutralization should be performed according to the same prescription.

Tannid tanning. Fill the dishes with willow twigs and bark, but do not tamp. Cover everything with water and boil for half an hour. Now drain the solution and add 50 g of salt per liter of water. Cool and only after that you can lower the skins for 1 - 4 days.

Here, too, the main thing is not to overexpose. You can check the readiness in this way: cut off a piece in the groin area and look at the cut through a magnifying glass. If the yellowish color (given by tannid tanning) has penetrated well into the skin, then the process can be stopped.

Now put the skins under the press for two days.

Fat

This is a very important procedure. Its purpose is to make the skin elastic, durable and soft. To do this, you need to prepare a water-fat mixture and apply it to the flesh with a tampon.

Here are some recipes for mixtures that can be used for fattening:

• Take one egg yolk and glycerin in equal proportions and beat well.
• Cut 50 grams of laundry soap into small pieces and dissolve them in half a liter of boiling water and, while stirring, add 0.5 liters of any animal fat. At the end, add 5 - 10 ml of ammonia.

After applying the mixture to the skin, put the skins in a pile with the fur inside and leave for 4 hours.

Drying

As soon as the skins began to dry slightly, they must be kneaded and stretched in different directions.

Now the flesh must be rubbed with chalk or tooth powder and rubbed with sandpaper. This will give it a white look.

In the end, all you have to do is knock out the skins and comb the fur.

• During soaking, the skins should float freely in the container.
• Washing powder is added to the soaking water so that later you do not need to wash the skins. Put 1.5 kg per liter of water.
• When degreasing with a knife, it should be held at a 90 degree angle to the skin.
• After degreasing, all cuts in the skin must be sewn up with white thread 10. Make sure that you get a butt-to-joint seam.
• Remember that if you overexpose the skins during fermentation, you can significantly damage the hairline.
• If you make a pickel from table vinegar, then 350 ml of 12% vinegar should be taken for 650 ml of water. If vinegar is 9%, then take 533 ml of water and 466 ml of vinegar.

Watch the video how to dress a rabbit skin

Livestock breeders who breed rabbits, as a result of the slaughter of animals, get not only tasty delicious meat, but also soft wool. The skins are used for sewing a variety of head accessories and clothing, so they are valued no less than a meat product. But an inexperienced rabbit breeder can face many questions, primarily with the processing of fur, which is often disposed of. Correct dressing of rabbit skins at home requires adherence to a certain technology, which results in a high-quality product.

Basic rules of the process

The most common method of dressing rabbit skins at home is with a pipe. In this case, there is no need to make an incision along the body of the animal, so such skin is easier to dry and process.

Removal by pipe is the most primitive method, it is used mainly for personal needs

Stages of the process, how to make a rabbit skin at home, simplified conditions:

• the skin must be removed from excess hair, after which the body of the animal is suspended on holders by the hind legs in the maximally divorced position;
• slightly below the junction of the bones of the paws, incisions are made in diameter, which, when connected, are extended to the anus;

At this stage, you should be extremely careful. It is very important to cut the skin without touching the tendons of the carcass. Otherwise, the separation of the skin at home will be more difficult.

• then you need to take the ends of the skin cut from the paws with your hands, and supposedly pull it down, while removing the remaining fat with a knife;
• the front legs must be trimmed, as the rabbit skin will twist through them;

The front legs can be left and after lowering the rabbit skin to their level, simply cut off from the inside. But this process is considered more laborious, therefore it requires some experience.

• at the end of the rabbit, cut off the head and remove the skin through it.

Since rabbit skin can be made without cutting off the top, some breeders practice this method. In this case, the fur is pulled together and carefully cut from the area of \u200b\u200bthe mouth, nose, eyes. Next, the rabbit skin is subjected to processing, trimming the remnants of muscles, fat deposits, and drying.

VIDEO: How to skin a rabbit

Detailed instructions for dressing rabbit skins

The work of dressing rabbit skins at home includes 3 main tasks:

• preparatory work;
• the dressing itself;
• processing of skins.

Let's consider each in more detail.

Preparatory work

Before making rabbit coats, they must be pre-moistened. Dry skin is not removed as it is very fragile and can easily break. Unwinding or soaking will help make it more elastic.

The skins are placed in clean water and left for 12-15 hours. It should be noted here that the time for soaking is calculated individually for each breed of rabbits, it can be increased up to 2 days. In this case, the liquid should be changed to clean every 7 hours, otherwise an unpleasant smell will appear.

Unwinding is the first operation of skinning. The purpose of the event is to process and restore the structure of the skin tissue so that it resembles a freshly removed "steam" skin.

Observe the proportions - for 1 kg of rabbit skins, 3 liters of water should be used. The same volumes are used in the process for pickling or tanning, but additional components are required here:

• 40-55 gr. table salt;
• antiseptic;
• up to 40 ml of eucalyptus extract;
• 1.5 gr. washing powder or detergent.

These jobs involve stretching rabbit skins tightly over a cylinder of wooden beams. In this case, they are stretched with fur inward. But before fleshing, you need to completely drain the water from the skin.

Next, you need to scrape off all film coatings, fat deposits and fibers from muscle mass. This process can be done at home using the back of the knife. Movements are made in the direction from the dorsal region to the abdomen, the tail region to the head or lateral part.

Degreasing

Dressing a rabbit skin at home involves a degreasing stage, when you need to remove the residues of the fatty coating with a soap. Powder and soap are diluted in warm water in proportions of 3.5 grams. by 25 gr. solid detergent pre-grated. This mixture is thoroughly rubbed into the skin with a cloth or brush.

The skinning process

At this stage, fermentation, pickling, neutralization (if the previous processing option was used), fattening and tanning of skins at home are carried out.

Pickling

To improve the strength of the material, a starter culture is used from:

• 200 gr. rye flour,
• yeast 7 gr.,
• salt 25 gr.,
• soda 0.5 gr.,
• heated water 1 liter.

The volume of the mixture is calculated from the proportion - 1 kg of skins per 3 liters of starter culture. With a sour-like consistency, the skin is poured with the skin on top and left for 3 days while regularly stirring.

Tanning rabbit skins at home

Use 7g chrome alum. and a mixture of 55 gr. salt and 1 liter of clean water. Soak rabbit skins in this composition for 14-24 hours, but stir occasionally. After the time has elapsed, squeeze out the product and carry out the neutralization step.

Neutralization

This process renders inactive all the acids that the material received when dressing the skins at home. Use a solution of 1 liter of water and 1.5 g. salt. Soak rabbit skins for 30-60 minutes

Fattening

The final stage of the process of how to make the skin is fattening. A mixture is rubbed into the surface of the material with a stiff brush, which can be prepared by one of three methods:

• whipped glycerin with yolk from chicken eggs in the same volume;
• fish oil is mixed with soapy water in proportions of 200 gr. 0.5 l, where 7 ml of ammonia is added;
• based on the previous solution, the following is done - the amount of ammonia is increased to 30 ml, 35 ml of glycerin, 270 ml of yolks from chicken eggs, 30 ml of pure automobile oil are added.

The consistency is applied to the inside of the hide and left to soak for 4 hours.

Drying

In the process of drying the material, it must be constantly exposed to mechanical stress. The skins are crumpled and slightly stretched. But to obtain the maximum effect of aesthetics, the inside is rubbed with tooth powder.

Also in this case, you can use chalk powder or soft sandpaper. As a result, a beautiful skin comes out with a white color on the inside and a minimum fat content. This material is soft and elastic.

After all the necessary procedures have been completed, the skins are sent for sale to companies specializing in the manufacture of fur products. In the case of a monochromatic and uniform color, increased softness and density of the pile, fur is taken at the highest cost. But if the shade is not uniform, additional painting and haircutting is required to bring it to an aesthetic look, which actually causes the purchase price to fall.

The most profitable solution would be to independently produce a fur product, but this requires special sewing equipment. On average in the Moscow region, the cost of rabbit skins varies between 600-1400 rubles. The price depends on the size of the product, the breed of hares and the quality of the dressing.

At what age is the rabbit's skin ready for fur production?

In most countries, rabbits are raised only for meat, fur leaves only 10-12% of the total, since slaughter does not coincide with the age of the animal. In order for the fur to turn out at least 2 grades, it is necessary to hammer at the age of 3 months, but at this time the young animals still have children's fur and the adult molt begins. When the moulting stops, the fur becomes mature, but then the winter already passes. That is, to obtain a high-quality product, you need to match 3 factors:

• the age of the animal;
• lack of molting;
• winter.

It is winter fur that can be used for sewing outerwear and hats - it does not fade and the wool does not fall out. Spring and summer fur is categorically not suitable - even a year will pass before the fur coat will be covered with bald spots.

1. To begin with, we determine whether the molt has stopped, since it goes unevenly and for a long time. To do this, gently push apart the coat with your fingers and examine the skin. If the molt is still in progress, it will have spots ranging from blue to blue. This is the activation of the coloring pigment, which, at the end of the shedding, goes into the hair. If the skin is light, uniform everywhere, the shedding has stopped.

The first molt in young animals begins at 3-4 months, the second at 4-5 months, the third at 5-6 months and ends by 7-8 months of age. Adults also molt annually, and the second in the year falls at the beginning or end of October, respectively, you need to clearly control its end in order to guess with the quality of the skin.

1. The slaughtering season is at the end of November, when the fur is dense, resilient and even. The latter is held no later than February. Before proceeding, they study the still alive for damage on the skin - traces of teeth of comrades, scratches, scars, all this will further affect the price.
2. Nutrition matters too. Those rabbits that are raised for fur are kept in separate cages (if co-breeding is practiced) and transferred to the simplest feed, balanced in vitamins, macro- and microelements. At the age of 7-8 months, if it is winter and molt has passed, the animal is sent to slaughter.

VIDEO: The whole dressing process