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.
Tanning hides at home involves using them at work chemical reagents, which can cause harm to health, therefore all procedures should be carried out carefully, in compliance with the rules for handling hazardous substances and safety precautions.
There are relatively simple and affordable methods for tanning skins that may be suitable for those who want to try their hand at producing fur products. the main task- this is conservation High Quality fur and giving the skin qualities and properties convenient for cutting and sewing.
Let's try to figure out what tanning hides at home is like, how to make a blank for a collar or fur frill at home from dry skinned skins?
The work of tanning hides is conventionally divided into several stages: preparation of raw materials, their dressing and final finishing.
Harvesting hides and preparing for dressing
Only the skin removed from the carcass should be cleaned of residual fat and meat. After cooling, it is generously sprinkled with non-iodized kitchen salt, which should absorb moisture from it. As a result, the skin should dry out and become crispy. This process can last several days or even weeks. The skin prepared for storage should be dry to the touch and tough; it retains its shape well.
Tanning hides at home begins with sorting. They are sorted by size and thickness of the inner layer into groups for ease of processing. All skins are weighed to accurately calculate the required amount of reagents for their extraction.
The leather after dressing should be thin and soft, and the fur raw material should not show signs of shedding. The best quality products are obtained from processing animal skins that are 6 to 8 months old.
Soaking
After storage, tanning hides at home begins with soaking them in two stages. First - within 4 hours clean water. The second stage is 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, take 8 liters of solution. For freshly 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 aging of the skins in the salt solution is extended. If left in water for a long time, the raw materials may begin to rot.
There is another version of the solution - with the addition of antiseptics to prevent the proliferation of putrefactive bacteria in the water. For 10 liters of water, such a solution requires 500 g of non-iodized salt and 6 furatsilin tablets.
To remove fur and dirt from fur, some experts recommend adding up to 2.5 g of detergent that does not contain biologically active substances to the solution.
Flesh
Fleshing is the process of removing the subcutaneous fat layer. It is knocked down by hand using a blunt staple or carefully cut using a sharp scythe. This operation for thick-hide skins can be performed using a sharpened rotating disk knife.
The dressing of hides at home during the fleshing stage is carried out carefully. The subcutaneous layer with the remains of fat and muscle tissue is cut off superficially so as not to touch the hair follicles in the thickness of the skin.
Thick-hide skins can be processed by cutting off 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 cutting of the flesh is usually carried out 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.
Washing
To ensure that rabbit skins are processed at home in accordance with technological process, after the fleshing stage, the raw materials must be thoroughly rinsed, even if detergent was added to the solution during soaking.
Washing is carried out in warm water with simple shampoo. It is allowed to add special water to the water for more thorough washing of greasy and heavily contaminated areas. detergents for dishes.
In the old days, this process was carried out using ordinary laundry soap. To prepare the solution, grate 10 g of soap and dissolve it in 1 liter of water, add soda ash (0.5 g) and wash the fur until the hair squeaks slightly.
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, add up to 15 g of acetic acid and up to 4 g of sodium chloride. The solution is prepared in sufficient quantity so that all the raw materials are covered with liquid.
Exposure time - from 6 to 12 hours or more with periodic movement. The skins should also be moved from the bottom of the container to the top layers for even processing. The readiness of the raw material is determined by the white stripe (drying strip) on the fold of the skin when it is squeezed.
Surface treatment of the flesh without continuous soaking is also allowed. The solution concentrate (half the amount of water) is applied with a brush to the surface up to three times, leaving 24 hours between repetitions.
The technology for tanning hides at home after pickling involves keeping them for 24 hours after stacking them. Before the next stage, excess moisture is removed by squeezing in drying 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 hair and the skin is quickly lost. This composition is prepared as follows: for each liter of water heated to 45 degrees, take 60 g of salt and 100 g of flour with preliminary infusion of the solution for 8 - 10 hours.
Tanning
To maintain resistance to moisture, chemicals and temperature changes, the skins are subjected to a tanning process. For 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, tanning skins at home is possible using chrome alum. To prepare a working solution, take them 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 the amount of 100 g per 1 liter of salt (50 g salt) water. Stretched skins are treated with this composition superficially along the inner layer 2 times a day for 4 days.
In the old days and now they still use natural tanning agents (tannins) extracted from plant materials: oak bark, willow branches, alder, wild rosemary, and 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, and strained. The skins are loaded into this composition and kept, stirring, for at least 6 hours until completely saturated with the solution, followed by storage in folded piles for at least a day.
Fatliquoring
The preparation of rabbit skins at home at the fatliquoring stage is carried out with a special emulsion. To prepare it, dissolve 200 g of grated laundry soap, 80 g of fish, pork or lamb fat and 10 g of ammonia in one liter of water heated to 45 degrees.
With this composition, the inner layer of the skin is evenly treated using a tampon or brush, avoiding contamination of the fur, followed by storage in piles for storage for at least a day.
Another option for fatliquor composition: 50 g of fat (preferably fish), 1 liter of water, 10 ml of ammonia at 25 percent 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 are kept for up to 6 hours.
Making rabbit skins at home. Step-by-step instructions for processing using bran
The composition recipe is designed to process 10 medium skins. To prepare the solution, boil 12 liters of water and add 16 cups of oat or barley bran to steam for 1 hour. Separately, boil 15 liters of water, pour it into a suitable plastic container, add 16 cups of salt there and mix well. The bran infusion is filtered out on a sieve and added to a container with saline solution.
After cooling, carefully add acid for refilling batteries (3.5 cups) into the container, observing safety precautions. After combining all the components of the solution, load the skins into the container and leave them for 40 minutes, stirring constantly. 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 to drain and dry easily. After this, the inner layer is treated with hoof oil until a light coating of fat appears. For final drying, the skins are stretched on frames or racks with the edges secured.
Tanning hides at home: instructions for beginners
The method is based on the use of sour cow's milk. Steamed or pre-soaked skins in water are rubbed with coarse salt. They are placed with the skin inside in piles and left to age for three days. After this, the remaining salt is removed, the skins are squeezed out, kneaded and peeled.
At the next stage, they are placed with the fur inside in a container of suitable size with peroxidized (5 - 7 days) milk and left for 3 days to mature with periodic stirring of the solution. For one skin you need at least 1 liter of sour milk. The readiness of raw materials is determined by “drying”.
Subsequent processing: washing, tanning and fattening are carried out using one of the already known methods.
Finishing operations
Fur raw materials prepared for sewing must have a beautiful, lush appearance, the hair must be crumbly, and the skin must be soft and pliable. To achieve this result, the tanned skins are sanded with fine sandpaper or abrasive stones. To add shine to the hair and degrease it, the fur is treated with sawdust from deciduous wood. For splendor, the pile is combed.
Tanning animal skins at home is a labor-intensive 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 purchasing it from third-party manufacturers.
Rabbit fur is a very popular material for sewing outerwear, hats, shoes, and accessories. Products made from rabbit fur are beautiful, lightweight, retain heat well, and are quite wear-resistant.
The service life of outerwear made from 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, there is practically no rabbit breeding on an industrial scale in Russia. 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 involved in breeding this type of animal or are just considering this possibility, the question of proper processing of rabbit skins in household conditions is relevant. We have prepared step by step guide about this theme.
- conservation;
- soaking;
- fleshing;
- washing and degreasing;
- pickling;
- bed;
- 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 the this moment the time necessary for this. In this case, the skins need to be preserved.
To do this, they are placed on a device made of wood or metal called a rule. Each skin is placed on a straightening board with the fur side down, straightened and secured in such a way that there are no folds.
Next, the flesh is generously rubbed with table salt, grind No. 1. The resulting raw materials are dried in a ventilated area with temperature conditions not exceeding 30°C. At the end of this process, the workpieces are stored in a dry storage room.
Step 2
Soak. The process of tanning skins 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 g;
- borax - 30 g;
- crystallized carbolic acid - 2 g.
The last ingredient can be replaced with nitrofural (2 tablets). The solution should be prepared in a stainless steel or enamel-lined container to avoid unwanted chemical reactions.
The skins are placed in the solution and secured with a weight. The liquid must cover the raw material by at least 2 cm. The duration of the process ranges 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 softness 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 g;
- water - 1 l.
- laundry soap - 10 g;
- water - 1l.
First, wash the skins by hand in the 1st solution. Place the skin that has turned white and has begun to creak into plain water and rinse. Then wash the material in the 2nd type of solution.
Rinse again in clean water. Remove the raw material from the water and carefully knock out the fleecy part with a stick to remove water from it. Blot the remaining liquid on the flesh with a dry cloth.
Step 5
Pickling. Now you need to carry out pickling - processing the skins in order to increase their wear resistance. To carry out this procedure, you need to prepare the following solution:
- acetic acid - 15ml;
- salt - 30 g;
- water - 1l.
Place the skins into the resulting liquid and let sit for several hours. The criterion for the readiness of the fabric for subsequent processing will be the appearance of a white stripe (“dryer”) on the fold of the core and its persistence for 5 seconds.
Step 6
Curing, tanning. Remove the skins from the pickling solution, squeeze them lightly and fold them with the fur side up, pressing down with pressure. Maintain in this position for about 12 hours.
After this, you should rinse the material in a soda solution (take 1 liter of water per 1 tablespoon) to neutralize any remaining acid. The next step is tanning. To do this, you need to prepare a decoction of oak bark or willow bark. Ingredients for the decoction:
- oak (or willow) bark - 1 pack;
- water - 1 l;
- salt - 2 tbsp. spoons.
Place these components in a saucepan, boil and cool. Spread the cooled solution over the flesh with a brush. Fold the blanks prepared in this way with the fleecy part facing up, leave for 24 hours, and then dry completely.
Step 7
Fatliquoring. To make it soft and velvety, treat the flesh with a mixture of egg yolks and glycerin in equal proportions, and then dry it a little. This process is called fatliquoring. After this, knead the skins.
In order to remove excess fat, treat the insides with chalk or dental powder. Comb the hair of the skins. The material prepared in this way should be stored in fabric bags, previously filled with dry lavender.
So, this article is devoted to the independent preparation of rabbit skins in a household environment. This procedure is not that complicated, although it is time-consuming. It does not require any special reagents or devices and is available to anyone.
With a little work and patience, beautiful fur will be the reward for your efforts. This wonderful material can be used to make clothing and accessories for personal purposes, or, if there is a large amount of high-quality raw materials 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 you start selling fur, you need to understand how rabbit skins are tanned at home. This process will require knowledge and experience. But such a skill will allow you to obtain valuable products that can be sold well in the future.
How to skin a rabbit
The most popular method of removal: with a stocking or a pipe. Such methods allow you to avoid cutting the skin along the belly of the carcass. The skin obtained in this way can simply be dried and the dressing process can be easily completed.
In order to remove the skin from a rabbit, you must follow these steps:
- The fur is cleaned;
- A rope is tied to the rabbit's hind legs and hooked up. In this case, the rabbit’s limbs are spread in opposite directions above the hock joint;
- An incision is made in this area;
- After this, they cut in a circle in a circular motion;
- Gradually make an incision through the anus without damaging the tendons and carcass of the animal;
- After this, 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 is turned towards 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 wrist 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 out the fur with a gradual incision of the subcutaneous connection in the area of the ears, eyes, mouth and nostrils. These cuts should be medium in size. The skin is cleaned of fat and muscles. To do this, put it on the frame and then peel the skin with slow movements and clean it with a knife at a right angle. Before dressing, the skin is dried. They are hung in a dry and clean room with a temperature of 20-35 o C, with a distance of 15 cm between the skins. After this, they are placed in impenetrable woven bags and kept in a cool room with low humidity in order to avoid the decomposition process.
Stages of processing rabbit skins
The stages of preparing rabbit skins at home retain all the sequences invented many decades ago. IN modern world new substances are used to make the process easier. Dressing consists of the following stages: preparation, dressing, finishing.
Preparation
Dried skins can be tanned. To do this, they are first processed. The first step is to soak it in water so that the skin regains its former extensibility. Afterwards, fleshing is carried out, and then the remaining fat is removed. 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 stretchability, then the water is replaced with new water and the skin continues to soak. If the skin is very dry, it will take several days to soak it. The water is changed to new water every 12 hours. It is necessary to ensure that the proportion of 3 liters of water per 1 kg of rabbit skins is maintained; 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 the skins during pickling and tanning.
Composition of soaking water
Table salt 40-50 g, antiseptic of your choice: 2 g sodium sulfate or zinc chloride, furatsilin two tablets, formaldehyde 1 ml. Eucalyptus extract, oak decoction or willow decoction 50 ml. Washing powder 1.5 grams.
Flesh
The skin that has undergone the soaking process is subject to rinsing and after that, not dried, it is pulled onto a special cylinder with the fur inside. The skin should not be wet, as the water must first drain. Then the process of fleshing occurs, that is, it is necessary to clean the skin from the remaining parts of fat, muscles, and films. This action can be performed using the non-sharp side of a knife or a special steel brush. The movement should be from the back to the belly and from the tail to the head and sides.
Degreasing
In order to remove residual fat from the skin, you can use soap, shampoo or powder. For 1 liter of water you need 3.5 g washing powder, 25 g of soap shavings, or 25 g of shampoo. After washing, the water should drain from the rabbit skin, then wipe it with a dry towel.
Dressing
During dressing, fermentation or pickling is done. But the processing of the skin must be completed on time. To do this at home you need to: remove the skin from the dressing mixture. In the groin area, fold the skin 4 times. The folded corner is compressed, then you need to run your finger along it and release the pressure. If a white imprint is formed, then pickling or pickling is completed. You can also pluck a few fur hairs, if little effort is required for this action, then you can move on to the next stage of the dressing process. The main rule is that it is better not to finish the skin during the dressing process than to overdo it. After this, you may have to resort to neutralizing the substances used in previous processes. The final stage is tanning and fatliquoring.
Pickling rabbit skins
To make the skin strong, fermentation is carried out. This process is long, costly, but very productive. If we make an analogy with pickling, then upon completion of the fermentation process the skin acquires a strength 2 times higher than before during the tensile test. Therefore, the choice of method depends only on you.
The starter is prepared as follows: 200 g of rye or oat flour, 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 starter. The resulting solution has a jelly-like structure. Skins are placed in it with the inside out for gradual swelling. The skin is mixed and turned over. The fermentation process ends in 3 days, when you smell a grainy smell and the skin shows a white coating.
Pickling
During the pickling process, rabbit skin can be treated 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 wrung out and placed under a load with the fur facing out. The weight can be a heavy weight or other objects.
Acetic acid
Prepared from a 3% or 4.2% vinegar solution. Depending on the concentration, the recipe differs. Strong pickel is prepared using 4.2% vinegar. Take 466 ml of 9% vinegar per 533 ml of water at a temperature of 30-35 o C. For rabbit skins, use a 3% solution; for this, 330 ml of 9% vinegar is mixed with 670 ml of water. For 1 liter you need 40 g table salt. Finishing this method checking for a pinch, after which the skin is wrung 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 about 6. If the dressing was carried out using pickling, then neutralization is not used. To neutralize the process, you can use baking soda in an amount of 1.5 grams per 1 liter of water. The skin is soaked for 20-60 minutes, after which you can begin tanning.
Tanning
There are two ways to organize this process at home.
Chrome alum
You need 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 must be stirred every 2 hours. Then the skin is wrung out and neutralized using the above method.
Natural Tannids
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 chop small twigs or tree bark and place them in a pan or bucket to the very edge. Then add water and boil for half an hour, then leave to cool. After decanting and adding 50 g of salt, mix and you can start soaking the skins. The duration is 12 hours minimum, sometimes tanning requires a period of 4 days. The time required to complete this process is directly related to physical properties rabbit skins.
The process ends when the tannins have completely saturated the skin. 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 color is the same, it means the skin is ready for further processing. After the tanning process, the skin must be left to mature under a load of 5-6 kg.
Fatliquoring rabbit skins
The dressing process 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 beaten to a homogeneous consistency;
2. Fish or animal fat 200 g is poured into a soap solution (50 g of soap shavings 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 use ammonia - 30 ml and additionally you will need machine purified oil 25 ml, glycerin 30 ml, yolk 250 ml.
Apply an equal amount of any solution to the skin and place it in a stack, with the inside out. This stage requires 4 hours.
Finishing
The last stage after which the skin can be sold is finishing. If the fur color is even and attractive, they are given away in this form. If this is not the case, then before returning fur product dyed and trimmed, milled, or used other known techniques to make appearance skins more attractive.
Drying
Drying rabbit skins at home involves constant stretching. To make the skin attractive, the inside is rubbed with tooth powder, chalk or fine-grained sandpaper. The flesh becomes a beautiful white color and loses excess fat, the skin becomes softer.
Today, products made from rabbit fur have a fairly competitive appearance, the main thing is correct processing skins during dressing. Experience and skill are gained over time. And this requires patience.
Many farmers think that tanning rabbit skins at home is a very complicated procedure. This is not entirely true: dressing fur will not require much effort from you, but this process will take a long time. It takes from 5 to 7 days to prepare the skins, depending on the method of primary processing.
Read also the article: at home?
How to choose rabbit skin for dressing
The skin of a ten-month-old rabbit is suitable for dressing. Such an animal already has a formed fur coat. This allows you to remove any remaining meat and fat from the dermis without damaging the rabbit fur. The process of primary processing of the skin is called fleshing.
After the skin has been removed from the carcass, it must be turned inside out and inspected. If the flesh is blue, then the rabbit was sent to slaughter during molting.
When fleshing such a skin there is a risk of damaging the fur. Bald spots form on it, which affects the quality and price of the finished material.
Fleshing rabbit skin
There are two methods for 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 makes fleshing easier.
The second method is fleshing 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 fleshing 2 hours after slaughter, this way you will save 48 hours. Dressing rabbit skins using the second technology is used if there is a lot of blue on them.
For fleshing, use a kitchen or hunting knife. There is no need to sharpen it, since a sharp knife can easily damage the dermis.
You need to remove any remaining meat and fat, starting from the rump and moving towards the front of the skin. You should slightly trim the vein at the animal’s paw and remove the film from the dermis manually, simultaneously trimming the meat with a knife.
Stages of skinning
In addition to primary processing, there are several more stages of skin processing:
- washing and degreasing fur;
- pickling;
- tanning;
- lift;
- drying;
- softening;
- grinding.
After fleshing, it is necessary to wash the fur and dermis in warm water at 38 ° C in order to dissolve any remaining fat. To 10 liters of water you need to 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 dermis during fleshing. You need to wash it twice - on the fur, and with the skins turned 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 skins. To prepare the 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 leaves no odor on the skins and has no toxic fumes, unlike acetic or sulfuric acid.
Formic acid must be added in two stages: half when preparing the solution and half 2 hours after immersing the skins in the solution. Sulfuric and acetic acid are added to the solution in one step.
An antiseptic, for example, 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 completed.
Preparation of tanning solution
To prepare a tanning solution, add 500 g of salt and 30 g of chrome tanning agent to 10 liters of water. This 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 ratio of 4 g/l.
After tanning, the skins are washed again and placed under a press for a day. Then they are dried in a room for two days with the fur facing 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.
Final stages of dressing
The next stage of preparing 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 and repeat the procedure every 30 minutes for 1.5-2 hours.
Dressing rabbit skins at home is a simple but lengthy process. The last stage of finishing is grinding. To do this, sandpaper is passed over the skin.
For bleaching and better removal of pellets, the skin can be pre-sprinkled with chalk.
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 this requires the appropriate breeds, namely the black-brown rabbit, the white giant, and also the chinchilla. The Gray Giant and other breeds not mentioned above are excellent if they have a thick layer of fur. As soon as the molting period is completed, the animal can be slaughtered. In rabbits, as in some other animals, molting sometimes continues for several months - from November to March. If this process is not yet completed, then you can blow through the hair, where the undercoat is clearly 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 its 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 legs are cut off down to the wrist joint, and the tail and ears are trimmed. The skin should be pulled together with a stocking, directing the movements downwards, the grip should be done in the hip area.
Removal must be done from the front paws and head. To do this, you need to make an incision around the eyes, nostrils and mouth. In the process of removing the skin, there is no need to stretch it, as this will thin out the fur. Before making rabbit skins at home, you should know that this process is quite labor-intensive and requires the master to have certain knowledge. It is not always possible to get the desired result the first time. To soften rabbit skin, you should use the tugging method, which is especially common among northern peoples.
Carrying out tugging
Initially, drying is carried out using a fresh-dry method: a small area is sprayed with milk, and then a movement with your hands is made that is reminiscent of 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 tanning rabbit skins at home, you should familiarize yourself with each stage of the process separately. Among them are preparation, dressing and finishing. The first step is to soak, wash, skin and degrease. The master can choose a method depending on his own skills. It's about about pickling or pickling.
The next stage involves tanning and fatliquoring. Finally, the skins will need to be dried, as well as cosmetic treatment of the leather fabric.
Carrying out dressing
Before tanning rabbit skins at home, tanning should be done according to 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 container filled with water. If the preparations have been stored for a long time, then they should be left in the liquid for several days. The water must be changed regularly.
To help the master
If you decide to engage in the described procedure, then you should know everything about dressing rabbit skins at home. Thus, the workpieces should be kneaded from time to time. If you soak correctly, the material will float freely. It is important to maintain the proportions, which in relation to the volume of the skins is 3:1. This indicates that 3 liters of water will require 1 kilogram of skins.
After the material gets wet, it will resemble fresh. In order to prevent the occurrence of putrefactive microbes, you should 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, 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 should be used in a volume of 2 grams. As for norsulfazole, 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 technology that involves the use of washing powder so that after completing the procedure there is no need to wash the material. At long-term storage The skin solution should be changed every 12 hours.
Flesh process
If you will be preparing rabbit skins at home, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the photo in advance. They will allow you to avoid mistakes. After soaking is complete, you can begin rinsing using water. The liquid must drain, only after this can you begin to pull the material onto the deck. The fur surface should be facing inward. Using a dull knife, scrape it along the ridge, moving along the tail. The side zones need to be processed starting from the ridge.
Quite often, breeders wonder how to make rabbit skins at home. Fattening is done precisely at this stage. It involves removing the film from meat and remaining fat. You can shave reverse side knife blade or use a steel brush.
Carrying out degreasing
In order to degrease the skins, you should use the solution washing method. toilet soap. It must be used in an amount of 25 grams per 1 liter of water. Shampoo is an effective alternative to soap. You can also use Lotus powder. You need to add as much as you usually use for washing. The main condition is that the composition should not contain bleach.
After completing this procedure, the material is hung to drain the water, then the core needs to 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.
Pickling procedure
This method is a classic dressing method. Thanks to this procedure, you can achieve high skin strength. The tensile load during pickling is several times greater compared to pickling. The disadvantage of this technique is the rather lengthy processing and high flour consumption. Using a glass container, you need 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 an amount of 3 liters of the composition per 1 kilogram of skins. The latter are placed in the cooled composition with the inside out. Within two days, swelling and fermentation will occur under conditions of high acidity. The skins should be turned over while 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 flesh. The smell of the solution will be identical to the aroma of bread. This indicates that the procedure should be completed.
Every breeder should know how to tan rabbit skins at home (the steps are described in the article). It is important not to overexpose the workpieces in the solution, as they can be left without hair. Once the process is complete, you can begin tanning.
This stage involves the preparation of vinegar pickle, which consists of 50 grams of table salt, acetic acid in a volume of 12 milliliters and water heated to 35 degrees. Concentrated acetic acid can be replaced with 70% vinegar, using it in an amount of 60 ml per liter of water. Table 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 percent table vinegar, then you will need 350 milliliters of the latter. The volume of water is reduced to 650 ml.
Using 9 percent table vinegar, add 466 milliliters of vinegar and 533 grams of water. In this case, it will be possible to obtain 4.2% pikel. 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 will need 1 liter of water.
So, we are looking at how to tan rabbit skins at home. Washing the workpieces was described above. Now it is necessary to keep the material in the pickle 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 it comes off easily, then the process can be considered complete. The material is removed from the composition and twisted to rid the skin of the solution. After this, the workpiece is transferred to sulphate pickle, 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, and placed in a pile with the fur facing up. The load is placed on top. The stacks are left in this position for 48 hours. During this time they will ripen.
Carrying out neutralization and tanning
If you are thinking about how to tan 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. Next you can do tanning, which is divided into two types - chrome and tannin. For chrome tanning you will need 1 liter of water and 7 grams of chrome alum. The ingredients are mixed, and then 60 grams of table salt are added.
The skins are kept in this solution for 24 hours; the composition must be stirred constantly. The second type of tanning is carried out in a decoction of oak bark, for this you should use a container filled with small branches. Water is added to the container, and then the cup is placed on the fire and boiled for half an hour. 50 grams of table salt are added to the resulting solution, after which the composition is cooled. Rabbit skins are placed in it for 4 days. Afterwards, the material is taken out and left under pressure for two days.
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