![]() ![]() Which is to say, if I can have a profitable angora fibre operation, and chickens for meat and eggs, and salmon, catfish, freshwater shrimp, and, I don't know, some freshwater shellfish filter feeder, I don't think I need meat from those rabbits. Personally, I don't feel I need to stack every function until it folds in half and splits in two. Which works for me, because the less I have to do with a thing, the more of it I can do. I have even spoken to a few people, artists in fibre and textiles, who specifically want to do the carding themselves, so they want the raw bales of rabbit fur straight off the rabbit, unprocessed. I would value quality of fibre over size of wabbit, in my personal position, but that is mostly because I am looking to sell smaller quantities of higher quality fibre. I am still looking for angora rabbits in my area. learning the process is a valuable skill, and this technique will work with all small fur-bearing hides. your first hide will take much much longer than future hides. let nature work in each of the steps, rather than excess elbow grease. Lots of little steps makes for much less work. as it dries completely, give it a last buffing with a pumice stone, preferrably not too rough of a stone at this stage. if it feels cool, it still has moisture, and will become stiff if it dries without working it. keep working it until the skin side of the hide feels warm to the touch. the key is breaking up the connective tissues as the hide dries out, so that it remains soft and smooth. if you have to take a break, put the hide in a plastic bag in the fridge so it doesnt dry out without you working it. alternating stretching in different directions with your hands, and stretching the hide over a blunt piece of wood works well. be firm but gentle, you dont want to tear the hide, it isnt a deerskin. this step is ongoing, where you will work the hide, then let it dry, then work some more as soon as the surface starts to feel dry to the touch. *now is the time to really pay attention to your hide* as it dries a little, stretch the hide to keep the skin supple. remove from freezer, and 'work' hide to soften as it thaws and dries out. freeze hide with egg mixture in a plastic bag in the freezer overnight. stretch the hide a bit to encourage the eggs to absorb. apply more eggs if they are totally absorbed into the skin. whip a few eggs, and apply generously to the skin side of the hide. with a dry skin surface and a pumice stone, the membrane will flake off quite easily, like exfoliating dead skin on your feet. scrape aggressively with a rough pumice stone to remove the membrane. let hide dry out just enough that the surface of the hide feels dry, but there is still moisture deep in the skin. wash thoroughly with soapy water to get rid of all alum residue. this locks in the hair so it doesnt slip and fall out later in the process. a few tablespoons of alum in a gallon of water, roughly. soak the hide in an alum (like you use for pickling) solution for a day or two. the salt will contract this fleshy material and it will peel off quite easily. salt the flesh side of the hide heavily. no need to worry about the membrane just yet, only get the fat off. Here are the steps I have successfully used on many occasions with my rabbit hides: the end result is so soft and clean that I gave them to my babies as infant toys. There is absolutely no need to use toxic chemicals of any type to acheive an excellent quality hide. ![]() for a fur-on hide, I think they are about as easy as they come. Rabbit hides are relatively easy to tan, in my experience. ![]()
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