# Raising meat rabbits - what to do with pelts?



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

If you're raising rabbits as a staple of protein, how do you handled the harvesting, curing, ?? and whatever else with the skins?


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Rabbit skins can be "open" skinned, and tanned to make lining for gloves, mittens, boots Etc. They also can also be cut into 1/2" wide strips, sewed together end to end and woven into a Rabbit skin blanket, or used in a variety of crafts.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

yeah I know they "can be" but I am hoping for a more hands on and personal tutorial of how to do it


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I always wondered how in the world a person would get the skin off in one piece, all the rabbits I ever skinned had hide so delicate that it would rip and tear every time you pulled on it.

We only ever tried skinning wild cotton tails and jack rabbits, domestic raised ones may be different, we were not the most skilled "skinners" either.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

I don't have a ton of experience with rabbit skins and even less with domesticated ones but I have done them and imo they are not much different than any other fur. They are certainly on the delicate end of the spectrum though. Typically they are cased but not completely (the head and legs are usually not bothered with) however there is no reason you can't do them flat except that stretching might be a bit more work. So you get the skin off, hopefully in one piece and with as little other stuff as possible, then you get it dry, using salt or other means to prevent bugs or degradation if needed (depends on conditions). During the drying process you generally want to keep the hide from shrinking and keep it flat, there are many ways to do this from a board and LOTS of nails, to hoops, etc. Scrape off the rest of the gunk along the way to prevent damage to the hide. Then what you do really depends on what you are actually using for tanning, this varies from alum to brains but are all pretty simple processes.

This is pretty much how you can tan every fur, it really isn't all that complicated.

For the skinning there should be tons of videos on youtube, for the tanning there is lots of info online, here is one example;
http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/how-to-tan-a-rabbit-hide-zmaz83jfzraw.aspx?PageId=1


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Dakine said:


> yeah I know they "can be" but I am hoping for a more hands on and personal tutorial of how to do it


Okay, After you dispatch the animal, carefully open skin the animal, like you would a Deer. Once the hide is off, carefully remove any bits of flesh clinging to the hide.

Next combine 2 1/2 Lbs. Alum, 1 Lb. of Salt, and 1Lb. of Oatmeal. Mix this mixture well, and then add enough Buttermilk to make a thin paste. Spread a thin layer of this mixture on the flesh side, keeping it off of the fur. Fold the long sides of the hide to the middle, then the ends to the middle, and allow to sit for 24-48 hrs.

After the time has elapsed, rinse the hide in one Gal. of water to which one Lb. of Borax has been added. Work the hide for ten minutes in this solution, and then rinse in several changes of soft water.

Let the hide partially dry until damp, and then gently work the hide until dry, after which Neets foot oil can be worked into the flesh side of the hide.

Note that the recipe can be adjusted up or down, depending on how many pelts you have


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I use to sell my dried skins to a tanner at mountainman events for trade in tanned leather I used for costuming or toys. 

Since you are close to the Escondido Renn Faire you can always talk to the leather booth to see if they'll take trade for the bunny skins. They tend to sell more of those than goat/cow leather anyway. Guys have a thing for buying girls bunny skins. I have a bunch tucked in the bottom of my faire trunk that were "gifts".


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

We use the tanning method Camo has described. Skinning wise we cut off the head, run the knife around the first leg joint x 4 and pull off like a sweater.... both wild and domestic. 
The skins after tanning are just another material in the sewing room. We use them for baby comforters, collars, cuffs, panels in jackets, slippers.... and costumes. 

OMG hahahahaha - just did a read through and I left the 'e' out of sewing.... honestly we do not have a 'swing' room.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I know a gal that used to use them as a feminine napkin. She was born and raised in a cabin that was only accessible by plane and there would sometimes be months between planes. I know that is not exactly what you are looking for.


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## millertimedoneright (May 13, 2013)

Rabbit is the easiest animal to skin IMO. Make a small slit between the legs. Take your hand around the neck and squeeze down towards the butt. All the innards will squeeze out. Then slowly cut the hide off the meat. Finish dressing however you please.


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

Be careful!! If you make a blanket out of rabbit fur you may end up with as many offspring as rabbits!


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

lazydaisy67 said:


> Be careful!! If you make a blanket out of rabbit fur you may end up with as many offspring as rabbits!


Lol, fur is so frowned upon these days, even among people who eat meat, but anyone who says they don't find it beautiful or luxurious on some level is full of it Or they haven't seen or felt good fur.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

camo2460 said:


> Okay, After you dispatch the animal, carefully open skin the animal, like you would a Deer. Once the hide is off, carefully remove any bits of flesh clinging to the hide.
> 
> Next combine 2 1/2 Lbs. Alum, 1 Lb. of Salt, and 1Lb. of Oatmeal. Mix this mixture well, and then add enough Buttermilk to make a thin paste. Spread a thin layer of this mixture on the flesh side, keeping it off of the fur. Fold the long sides of the hide to the middle, then the ends to the middle, and allow to sit for 24-48 hrs.
> 
> ...


Thanks Camo! so a couple follow up questions!

Can these solutions be stored for reuse or is this a one shot deal and discard them after using for one batch of hides? If they can be saved, is 5 gal buckets good enough?

If it's a one shot deal, how many large domestic meat rabbits would you guesstimate it would do for? 8 to 12? 20? more?

I found a good price on alum, at least it looks like a good price, 25 lbs = $50, Borax seems reasonable on Amazon prime for 6 pack of 72oz boxes.

The salt is just regular iodized table salt?

Soft water... I'll figure out what to do about that.

Looks like the oil is easy to get on amazon... perfect!

Thanks!!


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Dakine said:


> Thanks Camo! so a couple follow up questions!
> 
> Can these solutions be stored for reuse or is this a one shot deal and discard them after using for one batch of hides? If they can be saved, is 5 gal buckets good enough?
> 
> ...


I never saved the mix after I was done with it, since it is a "wet" mixture. The dry portion of the mix could be saved in a five Gal. bucket with lid, and then add your Butter Milk when you get ready to use again. As far as the mixture already on the hide, that goes out with the rinse water.

I always used regular old table Salt, unless a recipe called for Kosher salt, which some do.

You can't get better soft water than using rain water, and for now it's free, just dip it right out of your rain barrel and use.

I think that with the standard mixture amount, you should be able to do at least a dozen Rabbit sized pelts, maybe more.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

For those who would like to try another Tanning formulae, here is one that is also easy and safe.

Warm I Gal. of soft water (rain water) and add four cups of Bran. Allow to stand in a warm room for 24-36 hrs. or until the Bran ferments. Then heat the mixture to almost boiling, and add 2 cups of salt. Cool and add 1 Lb. of Alum. When luke warm, immerse skins, and allow to sit for 36-48 Hrs. Then rinse in a gal. of soft water to which 1 Lb. of Alum has been added, for ten min. after which rinse in several changes of clear water. Let the hide dry until damp, then gently work the skin until dry, the rub with Neets foot oil.

The reason I use these "safe" recipes is because when I was a kid my parents were afraid I would blow up the house or something using chemicals, so these were what I was allowed to use. They are safe, easy, and effective.


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## Rooster1984 (Aug 9, 2014)

As stated before, blankets would be a good investment. Not to mention button in liners for jackets and gloves. We used to ball them up and coat them with animal urine to train pups, it seemed to work pretty well.


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