So that the fur product does not deteriorate from the influence environment, not damaged by pests and served for a long time, it must be made from properly dressed skins.
Dressing skins at home involves the use of chemical reagents, which can be harmful to health, therefore, all procedures should be carried out carefully, in compliance with the rules for handling hazardous substances and safety regulations.
There are relatively simple and affordable ways of dressing skins that may be suitable for those who want to try their hand at the production of fur products. the main task is the preservation High Quality fur and giving the skin qualities and properties that are convenient for cutting and sewing.
Let's try to figure out what is dressing skins at home, how to make a blank for a collar or fur frill from a dry skin at home?
The work of dressing skins is conditionally divided into several stages: preparation of raw materials, dressing and final finishing.
Harvesting skins and preparing for dressing
Only the skin removed from the carcass should be cleaned of fat and meat residues. After cooling, it is abundantly sprinkled with non-iodized kitchen salt, which should absorb moisture from it. As a result, the skin should dry out and become crunchy. This process can take several days or even weeks. The skin prepared for storage should be dry to the touch and hard, it retains its shape well.
Dressing skins at home begins with sorting. They are sorted by size and thickness of the skin layer into groups for ease of processing. All skins are weighed to accurately calculate the required amount of reagents for their dressing.
The skin after dressing should be thin and soft, and the raw fur should not show signs of shedding. The best quality products are obtained from the processing of animal skins aged 6-8 months.
soaking
After storage, dressing skins at home begins with soaking them in two stages. The first one is within 4 hours clean water. The second stage - up to 12 hours in an aqueous saline solution (20 g of salt per 1 liter of water). For 1 kg of skins for soaking, 8 liters of solution are taken. For just removed paired skins, it is sufficient to carry out only the first stage of soaking.
After soaking, the skins become elastic, and their subcutaneous layer should be easily separated. If this does not happen, the soaking of the skins in the saline solution is extended. With a long stay in water, the raw material may begin to rot.
There is another version of the solution - with the addition of antiseptics to prevent the reproduction of putrefactive bacteria in the water. For 10 liters of water for such a solution, 500 g of non-iodized salt and 6 tablets of furacilin are required.
Some experts advise adding up to 2.5 g of a detergent that does not contain biologically active substances to the composition of the solution to remove the flesh and dirt from the fur.
Mezdrenie
Skinning is the process of removing the subcutaneous fat layer. It is knocked down by hand on a blunt bracket or carefully cut off on a sharp spit. This operation for thick skins can be performed using a sharpened rotating disc knife.
Dressing skins at home at the stage of skinning is carried out carefully. The subcutaneous layer with the remnants of adipose and muscle tissue is cut off superficially so as not to touch the hair follicles in the thickness of the skin.
Thick skins are allowed to be processed with cutting off the thickenings at the base of the ridge. This process requires certain skills, as careless movement, especially when using sharp instruments, can damage the integrity of the skin.
The skin is usually cut in the direction from the tail to the head, then, if necessary, a thick layer is removed from the center line to the edges, trying to achieve the same thickness of the entire skin web.
Washing
In order for the dressing of rabbit skins at home to take place in accordance with technological process, after the skinning stage, the raw materials must be thoroughly washed, even if a detergent was added to the solution during soaking.
Washing is carried out in warm water with a simple shampoo. It is allowed to add to the water special detergents for dishes.
In the old days, this process was carried out using ordinary laundry soap. To prepare the solution, 10 g of soap was rubbed on a grater and dissolved in 1 liter of water, soda ash (0.5 g) was added and the fur was washed until the hair creaked lightly.
Pickling and pickling
To change the structure of the skin, a pickling process is performed. The skins are placed in a special solution: for each liter of water heated to 35 degrees, up to 15 g of acetic acid and up to 4 g of sodium chloride are added. The solution is prepared in sufficient quantity so that all raw materials are covered with liquid.
Holding time - from 6 to 12 hours or more with periodic movement. The skins should also be moved from the bottom of the tank to the top layers for even processing. The readiness of raw materials is determined by a white strip (dryer) on the fold of the skin when it is squeezed.
Surface treatment of the mezra without continuous soaking is also allowed. The solution concentrate (half as much water) is applied with a brush to the surface up to three times with an exposure between repetitions during the day.
The technology of dressing skins at home after pickling involves keeping them for a day after laying in piles. Before the next stage, excess moisture is removed by spinning in dryer rollers or in a drum-type washing machine.
The pickling process can be replaced by fermentation in an aqueous solution of oatmeal or barley flour. The process requires constant monitoring, since when raw materials are overexposed, the connection between the hairline and the skin is quickly lost. Such a composition is prepared as follows: for each liter of water heated to 45 degrees, 60 g of salt and 100 g of flour are taken with a preliminary infusion of the solution for 8 to 10 hours.
Tanning
To maintain resistance to moisture, chemicals and temperature changes, the skins are subjected to a tanning process. To do this, it is best to use special chrome tanning agents. Their active ingredient is chromium sulfate. An aqueous solution for tanning is prepared from one liter of water and 1.5 g of chromium oxide, the temperature of the solution is 40 degrees. The skins are kept in this composition for up to 6 hours with occasional stirring.
In the absence of chromium oxide, dressing skins at home at the tanning stage is possible using chrome alum. To prepare a working solution, they are taken in an amount of at least 6 g per liter of water.
Another option for replacing chromium oxide: the solution is prepared from aluminum alum, they are taken in an amount of 100 g per 1 liter of salt (50 g of salt) water. Stretched skins are treated with such a composition superficially over the mezdrovo layer 2 times a day for 4 days.
In the old days and now they still use natural tannins (tannins) extracted from vegetable raw materials: oak bark, willow branches, alder, wild rosemary, nettle. The solution is prepared from 250 g of crushed raw materials and 60 g of salt per liter of water.
The components are boiled in an enamel bowl for 30 minutes, cooled, filtered. Skins are loaded into such a composition and kept, stirring, for at least 6 hours until completely saturated with the solution, followed by aging in folded piles for at least a day.
Fattening
Dressing rabbit skins at home at the stage of fattening is carried out with a special emulsion. To prepare it, in one liter of water heated to 45 degrees, dissolve 200 g of grated laundry soap, 80 g of fish, pork or sheep fat and 10 g of ammonia.
With this composition, the skin layer of the skin is evenly treated with a swab or brush, avoiding contamination of the fur, followed by aging in stacks for lying for at least a day.
Another version of the fattening composition: 50 g of fat (preferably fish), 1 liter of water, 10 ml of ammonia 25% concentration, 25 ml of oleic acid. The solution is prepared in two containers. First, oleic acid is mixed with fish oil in one vessel. In another vessel, ammonia is diluted with water heated to 25 - 30 degrees. The contents of the first are added to the second vessel with constant stirring. After treatment with this composition, the skins can withstand up to 6 hours.
Dressing rabbit skins at home. Step-by-step instructions for processing using bran
The composition recipe is designed for processing 10 medium skins. To prepare the solution, boil 12 liters of water and add 16 cups of oat or barley bran for steaming for 1 hour. Separately, boil 15 liters of water, pour into a suitable plastic container, add 16 cups of salt there and mix well. The infusion of bran is strained on a sieve, added to a container with saline.
After cooling, carefully add acid for refilling batteries (3.5 cups) to the container, observing safety measures. After combining all the components of the solution, the skins are loaded into the container and kept for 40 minutes, constantly stirring. The skins are removed and washed with running water. To completely neutralize the acid, you can add baking soda to the water during the first rinse.
The skins are hung out to drain and dry easily. After that, the mezdrovy layer is treated with hoof oil until a light fatty coating appears. For final drying, the skins are stretched on frames or grates with fixed edges.
Dressing skins at home: instructions for beginners
The method is based on the use of sour cow's milk. Paired or previously soaked in water, the skins are rubbed with salt of a large fraction. They are stacked inside in piles and left to mature for three days. After that, the salt residues are removed, the skins are squeezed, kneaded and skinned.
At the next stage, they are laid with fur inside in a container with peroxide (5 - 7 days) milk of a suitable size and left for 3 days for exposure with periodic mixing of the solution. One skin requires at least 1 liter of sour milk. The readiness of raw materials is determined by the "dryer".
Subsequent processing: washing, tanning and fatliquoring - are carried out according to one of the already known methods.
Finishing operations
The fur raw materials prepared for tailoring should have a beautiful magnificent appearance, the hairline must be crumbly, the skin must be soft and plastic. For such a result, dressed skins are polished with fine sandpaper or abrasive bars. To give the hair shine and degrease it, the fur is treated with hardwood sawdust. For splendor, the pile is combed.
Dressing animal skins at home is a laborious operation. It is difficult to achieve a good result the first time, but after acquiring the necessary skills, you can independently prepare high-quality material for sewing fur products, avoiding its purchase from third-party manufacturers.
Rabbit fur is a very popular material for sewing outerwear, hats, shoes, and accessories. Rabbit fur products are beautiful, light, retain heat well, and are quite wear-resistant.
The service life of outerwear made of this material is 2-3 seasons. At the same time, the cost of rabbit fur products is relatively low. The duration of wear of the final product depends on the quality of the raw materials.
In order to obtain high-quality fur, it is very important to properly prepare the raw materials (skins) for further use, i.e. make out.
Currently, rabbit breeding on an industrial scale in Russia is practically absent. This type of activity is mainly carried out by small farms, which are the main suppliers of raw materials for the production of rabbit fur.
As a result, for many people who are already breeding this type of animal or are just considering such an opportunity, the question of the correct processing of rabbit skins in a household setting is relevant. We have prepared step by step guide on this topic.
- conservation;
- soaking;
- mezdrenie;
- washing and degreasing;
- pickling;
- bedding;
- tanning and fatliquoring.
Step 1
Conservation. After the slaughter of animals, there is not always a sufficient number of skins for subsequent dressing, or we do not have this moment the time necessary for this. In this case, the skins must be preserved.
To do this, they are placed on a device made of wood or metal, called a rule. Each skin is located on the rule with the fur part down, straightened and fixed in such a way that there are no folds.
Next, the mezdra is generously rubbed with table salt of grinding No. 1. The resulting raw material is dried in a ventilated room with temperature regime not exceeding 30°C. At the end of this process, the blanks are stacked in a dry storage room.
Step 2
Soak off. The dressing process begins with a manipulation called soaking. This procedure allows you to prepare the material for subsequent work with it. We need a solution with the following composition:
- water - 1 l;
- salt - 50 gr;
- borax - 30 gr;
- crystallized carbolic acid - 2 gr.
The last ingredient can be replaced with nitrofural (2 tablets). The solution should be prepared in a stainless steel or enamelled container to avoid unwanted chemical reactions.
The skins are placed in the solution and fixed with a load. The liquid must cover the raw material by at least 2 cm. The duration of the process is from 6 hours to 4 days and depends on how long ago the blanks were made. The readiness of the material is determined by the softening of the core.
Step 3
Step 4
Washing and degreasing. The next step in processing the skins is washing and degreasing. To do this, you need to prepare clean water, and two types of solutions.
1st view:
- washing powder - 4 gr;
- water - 1 l.
- laundry soap - 10 gr;
- water - 1l.
First, wash the skins with your hands in the 1st solution. Move the skin that has turned white and begun to creak into plain water and rinse. Then wash the material in the 2nd kind of solution.
Rinse again with clean water. Remove the raw material from the water and gently knock out the fleecy part with a stick to remove water from it. Blot the remaining liquid on the mezdra with a dry cloth.
Step 5
Pickling. Now you need to carry out pickling - processing of skins in order to increase their wear resistance. To carry out this procedure, you need to prepare the following solution:
- acetic acid - 15 ml;
- salt - 30 gr;
- water - 1l.
Place the skins in the resulting liquid and soak for several hours. The criterion for the readiness of the canvas for further processing will be the appearance of a white strip (“dryer”) on the fold of the mezra and its preservation for 5 s.
Step 6
Laying, tanning. Remove the skins from the pickling solution, squeeze lightly and fold the fur part up, pressing down with oppression. Keep in this position for about 12 hours.
After that, rinse the material in a soda solution (1 liter of water is taken per 1 tablespoon) to neutralize acid residues. The next step is tanning. To do this, prepare a decoction of oak bark or willow bark. Decoction Ingredients:
- oak (or willow) bark - 1 pack;
- water - 1 l;
- salt - 2 tbsp. spoons.
Put the indicated components in a saucepan, boil and cool. Spread the cooled solution over the mezdra with a brush. Fold the blanks prepared in this way with the fleecy part up, leave for 24 hours, and then dry completely.
Step 7
Fattening. To give softness and velvety, the mezra should be treated with a mixture of egg yolks and glycerin in equal proportions, and then dried a little. This process is called fattening. After that, mash the skins.
In order to remove excess fat, treat the mezdra with chalk or tooth powder. Comb the hairline of the skins. The material prepared in this way should be stored in cloth bags, after having shifted them with dry lavender.
So, this article is devoted to self-dressing of rabbit skins in a household setting. This procedure is not so difficult, although time-consuming. It does not require any special reagents and devices and is available to anyone.
With a little work and patience, beautiful fur will be a reward for your efforts. This fine material can be used to make clothes and accessories for personal use, or, if a large amount of quality raw materials are available, it can be sold to generate additional income.
In the process of breeding rabbits, not only meat is obtained, but also skins. It is impossible to leave such valuable fur and not monetize it in any way. But before selling fur, you need to figure out how rabbit skins are dressed at home. This process will require knowledge and experience. But such a skill will allow you to receive valuable products that can be sold well in the future.
How to skin a rabbit
The most popular method of removal: stocking or pipe. Such methods allow you not to cut the skin on the belly of the carcass. The skin obtained in this way is easy to dry and easy to complete the dressing process.
In order to remove the skin from a rabbit, you must be guided by the following steps:
- The fur is cleaned;
- The rabbit is tied with a rope on its hind legs and hooked up. In this case, the rabbit's limbs are bred in opposite directions above the hock;
- An incision is made in this area;
- After that, in a circular motion, cut in a circle;
- Gradually, an incision is made through the anus without damaging the tendons and carcass of the animal;
- After that, the skin is removed, pulled off with your fingers, and the subcutaneous fat layer and meat are cut with a knife;
- In the area of the anus and genitals, the skin is removed without touching the internal organs;
- After these manipulations, with a strong jerk, the skin turns out to the head;
- The front legs are cut off, and the skin is removed through them. You can leave the paws and turn the fur up to the carpal joint, which is cut off inside;
- At the end, the head is cut off, and the skin is removed through it.
You can also continue to turn the fur with a gradual incision of the subcutaneous junction in the area of the ears, eyes, mouth and nostrils. These incisions should be of medium size. The skin is cleaned of fat and muscle. To do this, it is put on the frame and after slow movements the skin is peeled, cleaned with a knife at a right angle. The skin is dried before dressing. They are hung in a dry and clean room at a temperature of 20-35 ° C, with a distance of 15 cm between the skins. After that, they are placed in impermeable woven bags and kept in a cool room with low humidity in order to avoid the decomposition process.
Stages of dressing rabbit skins
The stages of dressing rabbit skins at home retain all the sequences invented many decades ago. AT modern world new substances are used to make the process easier. Dressing consists of the following stages: preparation, dressing, finishing.
Training
Dried skins can be cured. To do this, they are first processed. First of all, soaking in water is done so that the skin acquires its former extensibility. After that, skinning is performed, and then getting rid of the remnants of fat. These steps are not difficult to perform.
soaking
Rabbit skins are soaked in water for 12 hours. If after this time the skin has not acquired its original appearance and extensibility, then the water is replaced with a new one, and the soaking of the skin continues. If the skin is very dry, it will take several days to soak it. Water is changed to new every 12 hours. It is necessary to watch that the proportion of 3 liters of water per 1 kg of rabbit skins is observed, it is better if they are in the water in free space. Further, the same proportions must be adhered to in the process of dressing skins during pickling and tanning.
Composition of water for soaking
Table salt 40-50 g, an antiseptic to choose from: 2 g sodium sulfate or zinc chloride, furatsilin two tablets, formalin 1 ml. Eucalyptus extract, oak decoction or willow decoction 50 ml. Washing powder 1.5 grams.
Mezdrenie
The skin that has passed the soaking process is subject to rinsing and after that, in an undried form, it is pulled onto a special cylinder with fur inside. The skin should not be wet, as the water must first drain. Then the skinning process takes place, that is, it is necessary to clean the skin from the remaining parts of fat, muscles, films. This action can be performed with the non-sharp side of the knife or with a special steel brush. The movement should be from the back to the stomach and from the tail to the head and sides.
Degreasing
Soap, shampoo or powder can be used to remove the remaining fat from the skin. For 1 liter of water you need 3.5 g washing powder, 25 g of soap chips, or 25 g of shampoo. After washing, the water should drain from the skin of the rabbit, after which it is wiped with a dry towel.
Dressing
During dressing, pickling or pickling is done. But the processing of the skin should end on time. To do this at home, you need to: get the skin from the mixture for dressing. In the groin area, fold the skin 4 times. The folded corner is compressed, then you need to run your finger over it and loosen the pressure. If a white imprint has formed, then pickling or fermentation is completed. You can also pull out a few fur hairs, if little effort is required for this action, then you can proceed to the next stage of the dressing process. The main rule is that it is better not to finish the skin in the process of dressing than to overdo it. After this, it may be necessary to resort to the neutralization of substances used in previous processes. The final stage is tanning and fatliquoring.
Pickling rabbit skins
To make the skin strong, fermentation is done. This process is long, costly, but very productive. If we make an analogy with pickling, then at the end of the fermentation process, the skin acquires strength 2 times higher than before during the tensile test. Therefore, the choice of method depends only on you.
The sourdough is prepared as follows: 200 g of rye or oatmeal, mixed with 7 grams of yeast and 20-30 g of salt, add 0.5 grams of baking soda and hot water. For 1 kg of skins 3 kg of sourdough. The resulting solution has a jelly-like structure. Skins are placed in it with the flesh outward for gradual swelling. The skin is mixed and turned over. The fermentation process ends in 3 days, when you feel the smell of bread, and the skin will show a white coating.
Pickling
In the process of pickling, the skin of a rabbit can be processed in two solutions.
sulfate
It is made from concentrated sulfuric acid 5 ml per 1 liter of water + salt 50 g. The skins are soaked for 12 hours, then squeezed out and placed under the load with the fur out. The weight can be a heavy weight or other objects.
acetic acid
Prepared from 3% or 4.2% vinegar solution. The recipe differs depending on the concentration. Strong pickel is prepared using 4.2% vinegar. Take 466 ml of 9% vinegar per 533 ml of water with a temperature of 30-35 ° C. A 3% solution is used for rabbit skins, for this 330 ml of 9% vinegar is mixed with 670 ml of water. For 1 liter you need 40 g table salt. are finishing this method checking for a pinch, after which the skin is squeezed out and immersed in a sulfuric acid solution. After 2 days, pickling is completed. For dressing at home, you can use any of the proposed methods, based only on personal preferences.
Neutralization
Since a strong acid was used in the pickling process, it must be neutralized using alkali, PH is about 6. If dressing was carried out using fermentation, then neutralization is not applied. To neutralize the process, you can use baking soda in the amount of 1.5 grams per 1 liter of water. The skin is soaked for 20-60 minutes, after which you can start tanning.
Tanning
There are two ways to organize this process at home.
Chrome alum
It is necessary to take 7 grams of crystals, which are added to a solution of 60 grams of table salt and a liter of water. The skins are placed in this solution for 12-24 hours and they must be stirred every 2 hours. The skin is then pressed and neutralized using the above method.
Natural tannins
These substances are found in the bark of willow or oak. When using oak bark, a slight colorization of the fur may appear. To prepare the solution, you need to grind small twigs or tree bark and place in a pot or bucket to the very edge. Then water is added and boiled for half an hour, then left to cool. After decant and add 50 g of salt, mix and you can start soaking the skins. The duration is at least 12 hours, sometimes a period of 4 days is needed for tanning. The time it takes to complete this process is directly related to physical properties rabbit skins.
The process ends when the tannins have soaked the skin completely. In order to check the tanning process, cut off a small piece in inconspicuous places (near the groin) and look at the cut. If the same color has occurred, then the skin is ready for further dressing. After the tanning process, the skin must be left to ripen under a load of 5-6 kg.
Fatting rabbit skins
The process of dressing ends with fatliquoring. After tanning, the prepared emulsion is rubbed into the surface of the skins with a brush.
She has several recipes.
1. Egg yolk and glycerin are mixed in equal proportions and beat down to a homogeneous consistency;
2. Fish or animal fat 200 g is poured into a soapy solution (50 g of soap chips per 500 ml of water), then ammonia is poured in an amount of 5-10 ml and everything is mixed "
3. The previous recipe is repeated, but ammonia is used - 30 ml and additionally you will need purified machine oil 25 ml, glycerin 30 ml, yolk 250 ml.
Any solution is applied to the skin with the same amount and put in a pile, with the skin out. This step takes 4 hours.
Finishing
The last stage after which the skin can be sold is finishing. If the color of the fur is even and attractive, they are given in this form. If this is not the case, then before giving fur product color and cut, fillet, or use other well-known techniques to make appearance skins more attractive.
Drying
Drying the skin of a rabbit at home is a constant exposure to stretching. In order for the skin to be attractive, rubbing with tooth powder, chalk or sandpaper with fine grains is used on the inside. The skin becomes a beautiful white color and loses excess fat, the skin becomes softer.
Today, rabbit fur products have a fairly competitive appearance, the main thing correct handling skins during dressing. Experience and skill is gained over time. And this requires patience.
Many farmers think that dressing rabbit skins at home is a very complicated procedure. This is not entirely true: dressing fur does not require much effort from you, but this process is stretched over time. It takes from 5 to 7 days to dress the skins, depending on the method of primary processing.
Read also the article: at home?
How to choose a rabbit skin for dressing
For dressing, the skin of a ten-month-old rabbit is suitable. Such an animal already has a formed fur cover. This allows you to remove the remnants of meat and fat from the dermis without damaging the rabbit fur. The process of primary processing of the skin is called skinning.
After the skin has been removed from the carcass, it must be turned inside out and inspected. If the mezra is blue, then the rabbit was sent to slaughter during molting.
When skinning such a skin, there is a risk of damaging the fur cover. Bald spots form on it, which affects the quality and price of the finished material.
Rabbit Skin Skin
There are two methods for the primary processing of the skin. In the first case, dressing begins 2 hours after slaughter. With this method, the skin and fur are dry, which facilitates the skinning.
The second way is skinning after drying and soaking. With this processing technology, the skin is left for a day in a room with an air temperature of 24 ° C. Then it is placed in warm water, the temperature of which is - 35 ° C, for 24 hours.
If the fur is of high quality, then you can carry out skinning 2 hours after slaughter, so you will save 48 hours. The dressing of rabbit skins according to the second technology is used if there is a lot of blue on them.
For skinning, use a kitchen or hunting knife. It is not necessary to sharpen it, since it is easy to damage the dermis with a sharp knife.
It is necessary to remove the remains of meat and fat, starting from the rump and moving towards the front of the skin. You should cut the vein a little at the foot of the animal and remove the film from the dermis manually, simultaneously cutting the meat with a knife.
Stages of dressing skins
In addition to the primary processing, there are several more stages of dressing the skin:
- washing and degreasing fur;
- pickling;
- tanning;
- lift;
- drying;
- softening;
- grinding.
After skinning, it is necessary to wash the fur and skin in warm water at 38 ° C in order to dissolve the remaining fat. In 10 liters of water, add 10 g of washing powder and 10 g of dishwashing detergent.
Wash by hand if there is a lot of blue on the skins, or if you have torn the skin during skinning. You need to wash it twice - on the fur, and turning the skins inside out. After washing, the skins should creak, if this does not happen, washing should be continued.
If the skins are of high quality, they are loaded into the washing machine for 30 minutes in the "Economy" mode with the spin function. After washing, you can start pickling the skins. 
Pickling rabbit skins
Pickling is an important stage of dressing. It is carried out to disinfect the skins. To prepare a pickle solution you will need:
- 10 liters of warm water (38 ° C);
- 20 tablespoons of salt (50 g/l);
- 100 g formic acid (10 g/l).
Formic acid does not leave a smell on the skins and does not have toxic fumes, unlike acetic or sulfuric.
Formic acid must be added in two stages: half during the preparation of the solution and half - 2 hours after the skins are immersed in the solution. Sulfuric and acetic acid are added to the solution in one go.
An antiseptic, such as furatsilin, can also be added to the solution to prevent the formation of putrefactive bacteria. The skins are left in this solution for a day, and then lightly washed. Pickling can be considered complete.
Preparation of tanning solution
To prepare a tanning solution, 500 g of salt and 30 g of chromium tanning agent are added to 10 liters of water. Such a solution can be replaced with a decoction of oak or walnut leaves (250 g of leaves per 1 liter of water). The broth is cooled to a temperature of 38 ° C, salt is added and the skins are immersed in it.
To neutralize the acid, 2 hours after immersing the skins in the tanning solution, add baking soda to it in a proportion of 4 g / l.
After tanning, the skins are washed again and placed under the press for a day. Then they are dried in a room for two days with the fur out, turned inside out and the dermis is dried for three days. During drying, the gray areas of the dermis are stretched manually. 
By the end of drying, the skin should be as hard as shoe leather.
The final stages of dressing
The next stage in the manufacture of rabbit skins at home is softening. To do this, each skin is treated with a solution of glycerin and water, which is prepared in a ratio of 1:4. After wetting, the dermis is kneaded in the palms.
To wet the dermis, use a spray bottle, repeat the procedure every 30 minutes for 1.5-2 hours.
Dressing a rabbit skin at home is a simple but lengthy process. The last stage of dressing is grinding. To do this, go over the skin with sandpaper.
For bleaching and better removal of pellets, the skin can be sprinkled with chalk beforehand.
Video about dressing rabbit skins at home
If you are thinking about how to make rabbit skins at home, then you need to know that you need the appropriate breeds for this, namely a black-brown rabbit, a white giant, and also a chinchilla. The gray giant and other breeds not mentioned above are excellent when they have a thick layer of fur. As soon as the molting period is over, the animal can be slaughtered. In rabbits, as in some other animals, molting sometimes lasts for several months - from November to March. If this process has not yet been completed, then you can blow through the hairline, where the undercoat is perfectly visible, and see that the hair in this case is easily pulled out.
Skinning
Before dressing rabbit skins at home, you need to remove them. Most often this process is carried out with a stocking. The method is called "tube". The carcass is tied to a stick upside down by the paws. It must be skinned with a sharp knife. A small incision is made near the hocks and also along the perineum. Then the front paws are cut off to the carpal joint, the tail and ears are cut off. The skin should be pulled off with a stocking, directing downward movements, the grip should be done in the thighs.
Removal must be made from the front paws and head. To do this, make an incision around the eyes, nostrils and mouth. In the process of removing the skin, you do not need to stretch it, as the fur will thin out from this. Before dressing rabbit skins at home, you should find out that this process is quite laborious, it requires the master to have certain knowledge. It is not always possible to get the desired result the first time. To soften the rabbit skin, you should use the pulling method, which is especially common among northern peoples.
Pulling
Initially, drying is carried out according to the fresh-dry method: a small area is sprayed with milk, and then a hand movement is made that resembles the case when you remove dirt from clothes. Pulling is done from centimeter to centimeter. At the same time, the film is removed. This will allow you to get a fairly soft skin, but the process can take a long time and take a lot of effort.
Skinning technology
Before dressing rabbit skins at home, you should familiarize yourself with each step of the process separately. Among them are preparation, dressing and finishing. The first step will be soaking, washing, skinning and degreasing. The master can choose the method depending on his own skills. It's about about pickling or pickling.
The next step is tanning and fatliquoring. In conclusion, the skins will need to be dried, as well as cosmetic treatment of the leather fabric.
Dressing
Before dressing rabbit skins at home, tanning should be done in accordance with all the rules. It will be discussed below. But soaking can be done in solutions and water. After the skin is dried, it should be placed in a prepared dish filled with water. If the blanks were stored for a long time, then they should be left in the liquid for several days. Water must be changed regularly.
To help the master
If you decide to do the described procedure, then you should know everything about making rabbit skins at home. Thus, the blanks should be kneaded from time to time. If properly soaked, the material will float freely. It is important to observe the proportions, which in relation to the volume of the skins is 3:1. This indicates that 1 kilogram of skins will be needed for 3 liters of water.
After the material is soaked, it will resemble fresh. In order to exclude the occurrence of putrefactive microbes, it is necessary to soak in a solution of kitchen antiseptics and salt, using a ratio of 50 grams of salt per 1 liter of water.
Use of antiseptics
If you are faced with the question of how to make rabbit skins at home, you must first study the technology. It involves the use of antiseptics. In this case, the proportion must be observed. Thus, if you have sodium bisulfate available, then you will need 2 grams per 1 liter of water. One gram of formalin should be used for the same volume of liquid. The amount of water remains the same, but zinc chloride must be used in a volume of 2 grams. As for norsulfazol, you will need 2 tablets.
The solution can be supplemented with a decoction of eucalyptus, oak or willow leaves, using a proportion of 50 milliliters per 1 liter of water. If you wish, you can use the technology, which involves the use of washing powder, so that after the procedure is completed, it is not necessary to wash the material. At long-term storage The skinning solution should be changed every 12 hours.
The process of skinning
If you will be dressing rabbit skins at home, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the photo in advance. They will help you avoid mistakes. After soaking is completed, you can start rinsing using water. The liquid must drain, only after that you can start pulling the material onto the deck. The fur surface should be facing inward. Using a dull knife, you should scrape it along the ridge, moving along the tail. Lateral zones need to be processed, heading from the ridge.
Quite often, breeders are wondering how to make rabbit skins at home. Fattening is done at this stage. It involves removing the film from meat and fat residues. You can mezdrit reverse side knife blades or use a steel brush.
Carrying out degreasing
In order to degrease the skins, the method of washing in solution should be used. toilet soap. It must be applied in the amount of 25 grams per 1 liter of water. Shampoo is an effective alternative to soap. You can also use lotus powder. It must be added as much as you usually use for washing. The main condition is that the composition should not contain bleach.
After completion of this procedure, the material is suspended to drain water, then the core must be wiped with a dry rag. Water must be carefully removed, as excess liquid can harm further operations. Before dressing rabbit skins at home, pickling or pickling should be studied in advance.
Fermentation procedure
This method is the classic dressing method. Thanks to this procedure, you can achieve a high strength of the skin. The load during dressing at break is several times greater compared to pickling. The disadvantage of this technique is rather long processing and high consumption of flour. Using a glass container, it is necessary to stir a mixture of 200 grams of wholemeal oatmeal or rye flour with one liter of hot water. The solution must be brought to a homogeneous mass by adding 7 g of yeast, 30 g of table salt and 0.5 g of baking soda.
The above solution should be used in the amount of 3 liters of composition per 1 kilogram of skins. The latter are placed in the cooled composition with the core out. Within two days, swelling and fermentation will occur in conditions of high acidity. The skins should be turned over, stirring the jelly. This is necessary so that the solution does not rot, and a film does not form on top. After a few days, a white coating should appear on the surface of the mezdra. The smell of the solution will be identical to the aroma of bread. This indicates that the procedure should be completed.
How to dress rabbit skins at home (the steps are described in the article), every breeder should know. It is important not to overexpose the blanks in the solution, as they can be left without hair. After the process is completed, you can start tanning.
This stage involves the preparation of an vinegar pickel, which consists of 50 grams of sodium chloride, acetic acid in a volume of 12 milliliters and water heated to 35 degrees. Acetic concentrated acid can be replaced with 70% vinegar, using it in an amount of 60 ml per liter of water. Salt should be taken in a smaller volume - 30 grams, and water is used in the amount of 940 milliliters. If you plan to prepare the composition from 12% table vinegar, then the latter will need 350 milliliters. The volume of water is reduced to 650 ml.
Using 9% table vinegar, add 466 milliliters of vinegar and 533 grams of water. In this case, it will be possible to obtain 4.2% of the pickel. Some experts believe that a three percent solution containing 250 milliliters of table vinegar essence is excellent for this. The latter should have a 12 percent concentration. With this ratio of ingredients, you need 1 liter of water.
So, we are considering how to make rabbit skins at home. Washing blanks has been described above. Now it is necessary to keep the material in the pickel solution for two days, stirring it quite often. The end of pickling should be done by pinching. To do this, hair is plucked in the groin area: if they move away easily, then the process can be considered complete. The material is removed from the composition, twisted to rid the skin of the solution. After that, the workpiece is transferred to a sulfate pickel, which is prepared from 50 grams of table salt, a liter of water and 5 milliliters of concentrated acid. After 12 hours, the skins can be removed, squeezed, stacked, turning the fur up. The load is placed on top. In this position, the stacks are left for 48 hours. During this time they will ripen.
Carrying out neutralization and tanning
If you are thinking about how to make rabbit skins at home, the process described in the article will help you cope with the work. At the next stage, neutralization is carried out, which involves keeping the material in a soda solution in an amount of 1.5 kilograms per liter of water. Then you can do tanning, which is divided into two types - chrome and tannin. For chrome tanning, you need 1 liter of water and 7 grams of chrome alum. The ingredients are mixed, and then 60 grams of table salt is added.
The skins are aged in such a solution for a day, the composition must be constantly stirred. The second type of tanning is carried out in a decoction of oak bark, for this you should use dishes filled with small branches. Water is added to the container, and then the cup is set on fire and boiled for half an hour. To the resulting solution add 50 grams of sodium chloride, after which the composition is cooled. Rabbit skins are placed in it for 4 days. After that, the material is taken out and left under oppression for two days.
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