How do you skin yours? I learned to split down the middle when skinning but yours seem cased. Do they need to be one piece / inside-out to use this tanning method??
@@anthonyaer8303 Once the rabbit is hanging by the hindlegs, slit from the groin to the ankle, then peel down to the tail and hips. Cut across the base of the tail (always cut from inside the skin to outside), then peel it on down without further splitting of the hide. The back of the thigh and front of the belly can be touchy, so you may need to help with the knife, carefully, to get past those spots that don't really want to come loose (especially on bucks!). Once you have the hide peeled down like a sweater that's almost off (caught at the wrists and neck), cut the 'sleeve' at the foot, leaving the foot attached to the carcass, and the hide at the neck if needed. (As I decapitate mine before doing any skinning, I don't do the heads at all. You can if you wish.) At this point, you have a cased hide. Hope that helps!
My daughter used the above method once. Our dog ate the hide right off the stretching board, salt and all. She was fine - little thirsty and pooped beautiful snowy white rabbit hair poops the next day!
I use a dryer to break the leather even more after I have done a quick break on the furs. If you drop a couple damp towels in a dryer with a couple kids "soft" softballs. Throw in a dryer sheet, and tumble dry all of it with no heat. The dryer sheet will give them all a nice smell, all the loose fur will be in the dryer filter, and they will all be VERY supple. throw some oil on them and they are really soft. Mad a few sets of baby PJ's with rabbit furs.
I did this after breaking it by hand. You don't have to spend forever on them as they are in fact going in the dryer, but you still want to break them enough so they are plyable.
I really appreciate the time you took to do this. We raise meat rabbits as well and also feel it respectful to use all parts of the animal. I have my first batch of hides (20+ ish?) in an alum salt solution. Looking forward to the finished product!
I have a suggestion for large batches, but it's totally up to you. I have started removing only 3-5 at a time from the final pickle. I wash and hang them, and that way I only have 3-5 to stretch at once. This has allowed me to stay on top of this step, and get better results. The rest are fine staying in the pickle. Then 3 days later when I have the first batch done I just take out another 5 hides.
Good Simple Living- I'm so glad you said that!! I was definitely wondering how long it would take me to do the final steps for that many pelts! Lol. Thank you!
It's almost impossible to catch them all before they dry since the last part of drying goes really quickly. You have to stretch them as they dry.... 3-5 times. Once they get totally dry it's so difficult to stretch them without tearing them. When the skin is still damp and tacky start stretching. Let dry some more, and a few hours later stretch again. Do this until totally dry and white.
Will be having our first batch soon, not sure exactly how many yet though. Is there a certain amount that is best to do at once, or a minimum number of hides for the mixture of salt/alum?
18:28 everything that you said is very close to my heart. I'm part Cherokee but my mom never really wanted to learn the homestead part from my Mo-mo (grandmother). But I do remember seeing her do this and raised chickens and piggies. Great video 💙🐝💙
It would have been nice to see the finished fur side because that's what will end up at the top. But the tanning looks very well done with a supple skin, very nice job and no excessive talk, thanks for that!
This is cool my grandma used a bone to do the fleshing. I dont know were she got it or made it but she got it done very fast. I should have paid more attention to what she did so I could share it.
YES! Respect your animals even the ones used for eating! Appreciate they sacrificed their lives for you & USE EVERY PART!!! 💯💯💯 Loved that comment in the video!! Absolutely 100% agreed, firm believer in that! P.S. I am Native American. 😉💝💝💝
. This is the first video I ever seen that take me step-by-step how to do it I thanks God for people like you still in interesting to teach oh there's people thank you very much for what you do
Knowledge is empowering! Thank you. You can also soak the hides in lime water and then scrape the fur off, rinse really well and cut into strips and braid if you wish for rawhide chews treats for your dogs.
I once used our tub to purge crawfish on a weekend that the wife was "supposed" to be out of town. I got some pretty mean looks when she came back early to a tub full of crawfish.
As someone just getting into this (rabbit supplier will call me in about 6 weeks when the does are old enough), I really really appreciate videos like this. Unfortunately these skills aren't being passed down from parent to child anymore, but I absolutely want to do everything right, and even though I'm not sure what to do with the hides, I don't want to waste anything. Have you guys had any luck selling them? I certainly don't expect to get rich selling rabbit furs but it'd be nice to help pay for feed and whatnot.
@@axesandrabbits2642 basically just an old guy who raises a bunch of rabbits. Apparently there is a lady who buys most of his rabbits for restaurants. It isn't any sort of huge operation or anything, he just has a handful of breeding stock and was happy to see someone else getting into it. I bought two does and buck from him. As far as suggestions go, that's a little difficult. I got this guy's number passed to me from extended family after asking around a bit. But try local facebook groups, there's bound to be someone who raises rabbits, or someone who knows someone at least.
when cutting the hides if you stick a piece of 2*4 inside use a razor and carefully cut through the leather the blade will slip between the fur and you wont lose so much. it's what hunters do to minimize loose hair when gutting and skinning deer . love the video I'm absolutely gonna try this.
If you make sure that the hides you save are prime (no loose fur or molt), you'll end up with much better furs and a lot fewer clogs in the tub drain. :) See the dark patches on the inside of the pelt as you butcher? Those are non-prime areas, and that's where a lot of your hair comes from even after tanning. :) Great video--thanks!
I’m less than a novice, but could you explain if there is a way to keep the hide prime? Is it something you do while butchering or does it have to do with a better/different diet while living?
I'm going to be doing this when my Alum gets here so probably next weekend. I have cane back to your video for more learning. Thank you for sharing. Till next time God Bless.
Thank you gery much for sharing this knowledge. I shot an axis deer and kept the hide after butchering it. I have been looking for a way to preserve the hide without losing the hair on it. I LARP and the hide are going to look so good thanks to you!
Well after a year and a half of fretting over the fear of the unknown and watching your video weekly........I'm gonna do it! I have SOOOO many pelts to do. The steer needing freezer space is forcing me to jump in there. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for a very clear and understandable video.
Just an idea for you,to make it easier. Buy an old clothes washer. And you can do your brining and you're rinsing all in the same pot. You can add jatate it twice a day by turning it on for just a second.
I got a little tip for ya If you download levelator you can put any audio .WAV files into it and it will make all of it the same volume you might want to reduce the background noise first though. If the audio is really loud you can usually tone it down depending on your editing software. Hope this comment helps ya. Thanks for these videos!
LMAO, and I quote, "You don't want pockets that the pickle isn't getting." I didn't realize that tanning hides could be so much fun and alluring! Keep up the great work!
I loved your video! Not all ppl who hunt or do this sort of practice and hurting animals. Animal were put here for several purposes. I love what you said in the video, “ that you respect your animals so much that you want to use all their parts, so nothing goes to waste “ thank you for sharing your knowledge. What you do is Awesome!!!!
First video i came to when looking up rabbit fur tanning. I work on a heritage rabbit farm. So you can imagine how many we have. Over a thousand this summer. You have given me great basics. Glad to see people who can appreciate the vallue of rabbit meat. Keep up the good work. And thank you.
Been getting into tanning myself, but I'm no where's near as far into it as you are. Seems you've got a pretty good process down for processing rabbit hides! I mix alum with borax to make a paste for tanning rabbits and squirrels, but I think doing it as a solution, soaking the hide like you do is probably more efficient.
I would be interested in trying the paste when I have 2 or 3 to do. I tend to wait until I have 10-15, and so the solution gets them all done quicker. I really should do smaller batches though, it would make fleshing and stretching so much easier.
I'm about to try this for the first time. We have rabbit pelts and one small deer pelt for our first pickle. I'm very excited! Thank you so much for the great tutorial!
Love your stockpile!! I thought I was the only couponing/meat rabbit raising woman in the world haha. Loved your video! Using my sons phone so that's why it's showing up "Jacob".
I remeber my grandfathers doing this after hunt for jackrabbits. I asked them what they use for, mostly they are use during winter to keep warm. Now, i have rabbit furs wrap on the inside of my moccasins, in winter. I love them so warm and soft!
I think the world is becoming such that environmentalism will supercede convenience and the ARA BS. I think organic biodegradables like rabbit pelts are going to become more popular.
Hello my name is Larry in the state of Washington and I am highly impressed with your mental attitude towards the farming of rabbits my wife farmed them when she was younger and she no longer cares to do that but I think I'm going to give it a try sometime but your mental attitude on using every part and piece and you can tell by the way you do your work with the hides and your comments with the rabbits highly impressive thank you very much and just ignore the naysayers
I did this years ago back in the 80’s and they turned out so nice and I never had any slippage. I remember the Alam but forgot what else was in it, I got the recipe from Mother Earth magazine. We use to sit on them on our bench seating at our dinner table. Thanks for bringing it all back.
Now I've tried tanning with a vinegar pickle and salt (no alum around),but I had hair slip on 2, but couldn't get any of them soft (brain tanning). I'm thinking they were too wet when I applied the brains. . But maybe I should try rabbit first as they are smaller and easier to soften ;) good job btw!
My suggestion is to do a small batch, because they dry quickly. Maybe try 2 or 3 at a time so you can really stay on top of the stretching step. I've never had hair slip with alum. You can find it in garden centers or even order online.
I just tried my first brain tan on a deer hide. First I rubbed the tannin solution into the hide, but next day I decided to just soak the hide in the bucket o' brains for another day. Man, let me tell you, what I got is a stinky hide! Really hoping that smoking it will kill the smell, otherwise not sure what else to do. Did your brain tan process involve stank?
was it a hair on hide or a buckskin? You soak buckskins, but NOT hair on hides or your hide will rot. You don't want to get ANY of the brain into the hair because bacteria will grow almost instantly and the hair might slip. You mix it into a bit of water and paint it on, then rub it vigorously out. Depending on what type of tanning solution (homemade vs storebought) you can re brain the hide if it goes stiff. I managed ONE hide with buttery soft edges, but somewhere I did somethign wrong because I could only get the first 2 inches of the edges soft :(
I soaked the hide for a couple weeks changing the water daily and plucked all of the fur off, so it was buckskin by the time I got around to tanning it. I was able to soften it as I was rubbing in the mixture, before submerging and soaking it for 24 hours.
Thanks, this helps a lot. I will be using this method when my rabbits are ready to harvest. I’ve tanned rabbit and squirrel hides before but I just winged it and they came out a little crunchy so this time I’ll do it right.
great videos here thank you so much. this was the easiest tutorial I have found. I would like to make a rabbit skin comforter and was wondering if you had any tips there or maybe a tutorial in the future. thanks a bunch again and... giggidy lol
I have not attempted to sew hides yet, but from the research I've done it says hand sewn with nylon and a leather needle. It would be a labor of love! Giggidy giggidy goo.
excellent video a throwback to a time when if you wanted cloth this is what you had to do. the knowledge alone is priceless thank you for taking the time to show the complete process. your a very special kind of lady. your welcome in my camp anytime.
WOW! What a great video! You did an excellent job demonstrating. Very clear and easy to understand. I raise American Blues (and thus have a bunch of frozen hides SURPRISE) Now I feel confident about tanning them myself- Thanks!
I really like your outlook. The rabbit breeder I got my cuties from told me to cull and she doesn't keep the fur--admittedly she has a fulltime job and a hobby farm, but I like your outlook more. It's difficult to judge sometimes what is best, but this makes me want to keep the furs. I'm really excited to try this. I can't stress how much I love your channel, how well your explain and the love you have. Thank you so much! I hope you have a nice day!
Yeah, and a bunch of other white people insisting that 'redskin' is fine to use and ignoring tribal elders who say it's deeply offensive. Sigh. Meanwhile, only 2/3 of the folks my husband grew up with on the res have running water and the government still won't let them really govern themselves.
Really appreciate you taking the time to make this video. I've got a lot of hides in the freezer and I've been putting off pickling them, but now I'm ready. :-)
this is soo awesome.....I & my 3 young son's started to do homestead living we moved from Corpus Christi,TX to South Carolina we live on 2 acres with a beautiful lake in out backyard....we have our first 19 chickens (chicks) in they are doing great thankfully I've owned Chickens before so I know how to do all that is needed with then.....I next want to get meat rabbits going,but of course....I like to attack one thing at a time,but would you have any suggestions that would help us pick the right type of meat rabbits & how to get things going for them? me & my son's ages 12yrs,7yrs & 4yrs love your videos.
Wow, that sounds amazing for you & your boys. My children are similar in age 11, 7, 5, & 2. We personally raise satin and Standard Rex rabbits, but there are larger breeds that will grow quicker. We chose Rex because of their disposition, and manageable size. Some of the larger breeds have a larger bone to meat ratio, so you don't end up with that much more meat, and they eat more. The satin & Rex also have nice pelts. Here is our facebook page facebook.com/simplysassyliving/ As far as meat breeds go, there are many out there, and everyone tends to love what they have.
Good Simple Living Thank you Soo much, I'm definitely going to your Facebook page & I will look into the breeds you mentioned. I think it's awesome that we can literally use everything we can off of what we raise. my sister is 14yrs old she loves blanket's & I just thought what a better gift than a rabbit fur blanket for next year's Christmas along with matching pillows. I'm definitely excited about adding a new meat to our homestead & new homemade item's.
I would second the Rex! I've had them previously and you get so much enjoyment out of their coat. It's like velvet. If you're going to use the whole animal the pelt is amazing on them and they make a good meat rabbit too.
You are such a talented woman. Its great to see you doing that. I hope your girls will one day start helping you. When you sew them together it will be nice blankets. By us in wintertime the power goes out lots of times. Minus 40°Celsius i need lots of blankets to keep us warm. We can not have a woodstove because of me having COPD. So keep the kids and yourself and Jeremy ofcourse nice and toasty. Love you all. Goodnight.🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗❤❤
I've done "brain" tanning with egg and it was about this easy without the wait. just flesh the hide, put on your solution and let it dry while stretching it (took less than two days to dry fully, very thin hide). but i want to try this because it looks like less trouble for a large batch, and oil tans (like brain or egg) can't get wet. I leave the heads for the cats to eat, they like it.
I bought a flensing knife when I was 12 years old because I was an avid trapper. That was in 1977 and after 40+ years of use, it is still the sharpest knife I own.
On a side note, I never heard of using alum/salt soak. I always did it the old fashioned way of stretching the hide on a board and rubbing salt on it daily for a month+. Painful and slow, I know, but this was before the internet and the wealth of information that it presents.
@@GoodSimpleLiving It is a Randall Made. That is the name of the company. My Grandfather was a farmer and ordered a lot of blades from them. Some of fondest memories are of him and those days.
I was sitting here telling my wife you were an extreme couponer, so now you confirmed it. I would so love to do that here, but we do not have access to the coupon haul one would need to be considered "extreme". lol
I love couponing. It's a better hobby than shopping, and it always gives the kids a great lesson in math. We donate much of what we coupon for to veterans, a woman's pregnancy & child shelter, and Operation Christmas Child. The best way to get started is just to choose a store, like Walmart. Join the Walmart couponing facebook page for haul breakdowns, and order the coupons from the many coupon clipping sites out there. It's pretty easy.... the FB page will say "hey the $1 off Colgate coupon is working on the .99 toothbrushes at Walmart". So then you just order 20 clipped $1 off Colgate coupons from the website, head to Walmart, and get your 20 free toothbrushes :)
Your husband is so lucky! I’m sure he knows but this is ridiculous! Lol! Thanks for the lessons. I’m attempting to do this on wild rabbits, which I think I’ll have to be super delicate with the fleshing and softening process. :) Thanks again!
Good Simple Living so I did the “fleshing” peel after the 5 days in the “pickle”? I peeled the “fat wads” (lol!) but when it came to the thin membrane no matter how easy I went, it would tear. Also, in the places it didn’t tear it was so thin it was transparent. Due to them being wild and not very fatty do you should i just leave that thin membrane? My worry is it will be so thin I won’t be able to “work” the hide? As a reference, In your video where you say “it’s really thin right here, I’ll have to be careful later when I work it out”. I peel the thin membrane and half my pelt looked like that dark spot you were warning about later. Thank you thank you for your videos and your help!! :) G from Idaho
Was this in the summer or early fall? Sometimes the summer coats can be very thin. Also if they were young rabbits (under 4 months) the hides are very thin and almost impossible to work. The best luck I have had is with winter rabbits or early spring around 15-16 weeks of age or older.
Bill Lishman’s wife is known as “The Beaver Weaver” she crocheted garments using beaver hides. They live in a super cool underground home near the Arctic circle you should check out sometime. It’s just a neat place built by a cool couple. Maybe you can create a new “Hare Wear” fashion! Lol!! Thanks for sharing I Love this! I had a book on Brain Tanning I was skeptical on trying several years back.
I would piece them together for an incredibly beautiful and wonderful thermal bed cover!! One of a kind, too!! Thank you for showing the tanning process, it was fascinating but very labor intensive!! I agree about finding a purpose for everything, if possible. Blessings!!
I successfully finalize my first 2 hides, Thanks for the Video. i think with 15 fore Hides, i can make a Fur jacket. This thing is really warm. its a shame if you waste such a beautiful thing.
....When I was a kid back in the seventies, I read in the book Foxfire, how to tan a hide, and I put alum on the Raccoon hide for three days, and then it said to shake off the clumps, but not all, and then add the salt. The hide came out real good, it was not hard, as salt only does to a hide, it stayed soft and pliable....In fact I was proud of that tanning success....
If you only have a few hides try this egg/salt method ua-cam.com/video/eVbXX0DAxdY/v-deo.html
How do you skin yours? I learned to split down the middle when skinning but yours seem cased. Do they need to be one piece / inside-out to use this tanning method??
@@anthonyaer8303 Once the rabbit is hanging by the hindlegs, slit from the groin to the ankle, then peel down to the tail and hips. Cut across the base of the tail (always cut from inside the skin to outside), then peel it on down without further splitting of the hide. The back of the thigh and front of the belly can be touchy, so you may need to help with the knife, carefully, to get past those spots that don't really want to come loose (especially on bucks!). Once you have the hide peeled down like a sweater that's almost off (caught at the wrists and neck), cut the 'sleeve' at the foot, leaving the foot attached to the carcass, and the hide at the neck if needed. (As I decapitate mine before doing any skinning, I don't do the heads at all. You can if you wish.)
At this point, you have a cased hide.
Hope that helps!
My daughter used the above method once. Our dog ate the hide right off the stretching board, salt and all. She was fine - little thirsty and pooped beautiful snowy white rabbit hair poops the next day!
Good grief...????
My rabbit fur is simply peeling and gap on edges. What should i do for strong fur
..using EVERY part of the animal that has been culled is admirable...☮️
Thank you!
Agreed!
*harvested
Your children have no idea how lucky they are to have parents like you.
Thank you so much, that means a lot.
For reals!!!
Yup so true they are lucky
@@GoodSimpleLiving haha im 14 and I wish my parents were as cool as you guys.
That makes me feel so old, haha. I do have a 12 year old so I guess I am that old!
I use a dryer to break the leather even more after I have done a quick break on the furs. If you drop a couple damp towels in a dryer with a couple kids "soft" softballs. Throw in a dryer sheet, and tumble dry all of it with no heat. The dryer sheet will give them all a nice smell, all the loose fur will be in the dryer filter, and they will all be VERY supple. throw some oil on them and they are really soft. Mad a few sets of baby PJ's with rabbit furs.
I did this after breaking it by hand. You don't have to spend forever on them as they are in fact going in the dryer, but you still want to break them enough so they are plyable.
Did you line the furs with fabric before making the PJs or was the leather bare?
What kind of oil did you use? Mink?
Can you come back and tell us some more about this?
Please make a video on this and share it for all. Because thats brilliant.
I really appreciate the time you took to do this. We raise meat rabbits as well and also feel it respectful to use all parts of the animal. I have my first batch of hides (20+ ish?) in an alum salt solution. Looking forward to the finished product!
I have a suggestion for large batches, but it's totally up to you. I have started removing only 3-5 at a time from the final pickle. I wash and hang them, and that way I only have 3-5 to stretch at once. This has allowed me to stay on top of this step, and get better results. The rest are fine staying in the pickle. Then 3 days later when I have the first batch done I just take out another 5 hides.
Good Simple Living- I'm so glad you said that!! I was definitely wondering how long it would take me to do the final steps for that many pelts! Lol. Thank you!
It's almost impossible to catch them all before they dry since the last part of drying goes really quickly. You have to stretch them as they dry.... 3-5 times. Once they get totally dry it's so difficult to stretch them without tearing them. When the skin is still damp and tacky start stretching. Let dry some more, and a few hours later stretch again. Do this until totally dry and white.
Good Simple Living - Thank you!
Will be having our first batch soon, not sure exactly how many yet though. Is there a certain amount that is best to do at once, or a minimum number of hides for the mixture of salt/alum?
18:28 everything that you said is very close to my heart. I'm part Cherokee but my mom never really wanted to learn the homestead part from my Mo-mo (grandmother). But I do remember seeing her do this and raised chickens and piggies. Great video 💙🐝💙
That's awesome, getting back to nature is good for the soul.
It would have been nice to see the finished fur side because that's what will end up at the top. But the tanning looks very well done with a supple skin, very nice job and no excessive talk, thanks for that!
THANK YOU! I skinned my firstr rabbit hide two days ago and had no idea what to do, then i found your video! I'm on it now!!
This is cool my grandma used a bone to do the fleshing. I dont know were she got it or made it but she got it done very fast. I should have paid more attention to what she did so I could share it.
During the Soviet times, my parents and grandparents used to make hats out of the fur. A coat could also be made out of that.
Such a great knowledge to have and yes this is a lost art this is how our ancestors lived by selling and trading you are the wo"MAN" great job
Thank you so much!
YES! Respect your animals even the ones used for eating! Appreciate they sacrificed their lives for you & USE EVERY PART!!! 💯💯💯 Loved that comment in the video!! Absolutely 100% agreed, firm believer in that! P.S. I am Native American. 😉💝💝💝
. This is the first video I ever seen that take me step-by-step how to do it I thanks God for people like you still in interesting to teach oh there's people thank you very much for what you do
I'm so glad it was helpful!
all my respect to you lady! such a hard work! I admire you! you have a lot of patience and you're not lazy at all, you're a good example to everyone!
Well thank you very much :)
Knowledge is empowering! Thank you. You can also soak the hides in lime water and then scrape the fur off, rinse really well and cut into strips and braid if you wish for rawhide chews treats for your dogs.
This seems a good idea. Can you give some more details on how to do this?
Best step by step video by far. I wasn't left wanting for nothing. Great job. Now I know for a fact I can tan my own hides. Beautiful job!
Awesome, so glad!
Dude... I'd be in so much trouble if my wife found out I used the bathtub to tan animal hides.
I wasn't tanning them in there, just shampooing them in there, and to be fair it's the kid's bathtub ;)
I once used our tub to purge crawfish on a weekend that the wife was "supposed" to be out of town. I got some pretty mean looks when she came back early to a tub full of crawfish.
I don't know, I'd be pretty excited about the crawfish feast!
sounds like you might need a different wife
7 gillis way Antigonish ns
As someone just getting into this (rabbit supplier will call me in about 6 weeks when the does are old enough), I really really appreciate videos like this. Unfortunately these skills aren't being passed down from parent to child anymore, but I absolutely want to do everything right, and even though I'm not sure what to do with the hides, I don't want to waste anything. Have you guys had any luck selling them? I certainly don't expect to get rich selling rabbit furs but it'd be nice to help pay for feed and whatnot.
Rabbit supplier, eh? Like selling live meat rabbits or what? I want to get into this as soon as I have the space, any suggestions?
@@axesandrabbits2642 basically just an old guy who raises a bunch of rabbits. Apparently there is a lady who buys most of his rabbits for restaurants. It isn't any sort of huge operation or anything, he just has a handful of breeding stock and was happy to see someone else getting into it. I bought two does and buck from him. As far as suggestions go, that's a little difficult. I got this guy's number passed to me from extended family after asking around a bit. But try local facebook groups, there's bound to be someone who raises rabbits, or someone who knows someone at least.
when cutting the hides if you stick a piece of 2*4 inside use a razor and carefully cut through the leather the blade will slip between the fur and you wont lose so much. it's what hunters do to minimize loose hair when gutting and skinning deer . love the video I'm absolutely gonna try this.
I learned that after this, much better, thank you!
"giggitty"
lol
I busted out laughing at that part too
Very helpful thank you! I can't wait to show this to my family. It's nice to see another woman doing all this.
Awesome, I'm glad you liked it. We ladies are very capable when we decide to be :)
Good Simple Living U go girl😁
Try using a razor blade to cut it open on the leather side and only the leather, so you wont loose so much hair ;)
Great idea, thank you!
U got a german last name
I was about to say that! The cut line becomes neater too
And a lot of women (like myself) married guys of different ancestry than their own, so they end up with names that don't feel like themselves.
@@maryellen6153 cringe comment. speak for yourself.
I am a dad and your videos make me want to gift my children with a life with animals and home production.
That's how we started feeling as well. We wanted to give them an outside childhood, and teach them how to do things, and connect with creation.
If you make sure that the hides you save are prime (no loose fur or molt), you'll end up with much better furs and a lot fewer clogs in the tub drain. :) See the dark patches on the inside of the pelt as you butcher? Those are non-prime areas, and that's where a lot of your hair comes from even after tanning. :)
Great video--thanks!
Thank you!
I’m less than a novice, but could you explain if there is a way to keep the hide prime? Is it something you do while butchering or does it have to do with a better/different diet while living?
I'm going to be doing this when my Alum gets here so probably next weekend. I have cane back to your video for more learning. Thank you for sharing. Till next time God Bless.
Thank you gery much for sharing this knowledge. I shot an axis deer and kept the hide after butchering it. I have been looking for a way to preserve the hide without losing the hair on it. I LARP and the hide are going to look so good thanks to you!
Awesome, let us know how it goes!!
Well after a year and a half of fretting over the fear of the unknown and watching your video weekly........I'm gonna do it! I have SOOOO many pelts to do. The steer needing freezer space is forcing me to jump in there. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for a very clear and understandable video.
Just an idea for you,to make it easier. Buy an old clothes washer. And you can do your brining and you're rinsing all in the same pot.
You can add jatate it twice a day by turning it on for just a second.
You can also fit the drum with some fingers for plucking chickens; I recall you saying how much you hated doing that in another video.
You make it looks simple and easy. I think I can do this. We are new to meat rabbits and I saved the hides from our first butchering
I got a little tip for ya
If you download levelator you can put any audio .WAV files into it and it will make all of it the same volume you might want to reduce the background noise first though. If the audio is really loud you can usually tone it down depending on your editing software. Hope this comment helps ya. Thanks for these videos!
LMAO, and I quote, "You don't want pockets that the pickle isn't getting." I didn't realize that tanning hides could be so much fun and alluring! Keep up the great work!
Dude this vid was SOOO freaking helpful! Thanks. Also I love your logic! I feel the same way about the lost art!
I loved your video! Not all ppl who hunt or do this sort of practice and hurting animals. Animal were put here for several purposes. I love what you said in the video, “ that you respect your animals so much that you want to use all their parts, so nothing goes to waste “ thank you for sharing your knowledge. What you do is Awesome!!!!
Thank you so much, I am glad you enjoyed the video!
I'd like to know what do you use the hides for after you're done? Do you make stuff/sell them?
I was wondering the same thing.
She did mention a pillow, I'm planning on making a throw blanket.
@@ashleysdemars2721 I’d want to feel that
First video i came to when looking up rabbit fur tanning. I work on a heritage rabbit farm. So you can imagine how many we have. Over a thousand this summer. You have given me great basics. Glad to see people who can appreciate the vallue of rabbit meat. Keep up the good work. And thank you.
Wow that is a lot of hides! Best of luck to you, and thank you for watching!
Good Lord nooooooo ????
Ohhhhhhhh please make a throw for the couch or a baby blanket. Wonderful. I'm just envisioning it now.
I made a runner
I thought it"s only in Africa that we have simple hard working women like you. May God bless America with simple hard working parents like you.
Thank you so much. I have the same prayer, we need to get back to the earth and teach our children.
Been getting into tanning myself, but I'm no where's near as far into it as you are. Seems you've got a pretty good process down for processing rabbit hides! I mix alum with borax to make a paste for tanning rabbits and squirrels, but I think doing it as a solution, soaking the hide like you do is probably more efficient.
I would be interested in trying the paste when I have 2 or 3 to do. I tend to wait until I have 10-15, and so the solution gets them all done quicker. I really should do smaller batches though, it would make fleshing and stretching so much easier.
careful borax is poisonous and the fumes from it can make you sick.... very bad for it to be any where near children.
I don't think borax is very dangerous, but I'm not an expert by any means. You may be thinking of boric acid, which is different.
Susanne Winslow you're incorrect.
I'm about to try this for the first time. We have rabbit pelts and one small deer pelt for our first pickle. I'm very excited!
Thank you so much for the great tutorial!
Simple, clear and informative. Thanks.
Thank you
Your voice and personality are spot on for WENDY from Gravity Falls
Love your stockpile!! I thought I was the only couponing/meat rabbit raising woman in the world haha. Loved your video! Using my sons phone so that's why it's showing up "Jacob".
That's awesome, love it!
I remeber my grandfathers doing this after hunt for jackrabbits. I asked them what they use for, mostly they are use during winter to keep warm. Now, i have rabbit furs wrap on the inside of my moccasins, in winter. I love them so warm and soft!
"It might be come useful again" .... Three years later the world as we know it is ending ...
Haha well not quite, but these skills are good to know.
I think the world is becoming such that environmentalism will supercede convenience and the ARA BS. I think organic biodegradables like rabbit pelts are going to become more popular.
Hello my name is Larry in the state of Washington and I am highly impressed with your mental attitude towards the farming of rabbits my wife farmed them when she was younger and she no longer cares to do that but I think I'm going to give it a try sometime but your mental attitude on using every part and piece and you can tell by the way you do your work with the hides and your comments with the rabbits highly impressive thank you very much and just ignore the naysayers
Thank you Larry, really appreciate that!
You're an excellent teacher. Subbed
Thank you so much!
I did this years ago back in the 80’s and they turned out so nice and I never had any slippage. I remember the Alam but forgot what else was in it, I got the recipe from Mother Earth magazine. We use to sit on them on our bench seating at our dinner table. Thanks for bringing it all back.
You bet, thanks for watching!
Now I've tried tanning with a vinegar pickle and salt (no alum around),but I had hair slip on 2, but couldn't get any of them soft (brain tanning). I'm thinking they were too wet when I applied the brains. . But maybe I should try rabbit first as they are smaller and easier to soften ;) good job btw!
My suggestion is to do a small batch, because they dry quickly. Maybe try 2 or 3 at a time so you can really stay on top of the stretching step. I've never had hair slip with alum. You can find it in garden centers or even order online.
Good Simple Living yeah I'll probably have to look online. Out here garden centers sell out by August and they start selling sleds!
I just tried my first brain tan on a deer hide. First I rubbed the tannin solution into the hide, but next day I decided to just soak the hide in the bucket o' brains for another day. Man, let me tell you, what I got is a stinky hide! Really hoping that smoking it will kill the smell, otherwise not sure what else to do. Did your brain tan process involve stank?
was it a hair on hide or a buckskin? You soak buckskins, but NOT hair on hides or your hide will rot. You don't want to get ANY of the brain into the hair because bacteria will grow almost instantly and the hair might slip. You mix it into a bit of water and paint it on, then rub it vigorously out. Depending on what type of tanning solution (homemade vs storebought) you can re brain the hide if it goes stiff. I managed ONE hide with buttery soft edges, but somewhere I did somethign wrong because I could only get the first 2 inches of the edges soft :(
I soaked the hide for a couple weeks changing the water daily and plucked all of the fur off, so it was buckskin by the time I got around to tanning it. I was able to soften it as I was rubbing in the mixture, before submerging and soaking it for 24 hours.
Thanks, this helps a lot. I will be using this method when my rabbits are ready to harvest. I’ve tanned rabbit and squirrel hides before but I just winged it and they came out a little crunchy so this time I’ll do it right.
great videos here thank you so much. this was the easiest tutorial I have found. I would like to make a rabbit skin comforter and was wondering if you had any tips there or maybe a tutorial in the future. thanks a bunch again and... giggidy lol
I have not attempted to sew hides yet, but from the research I've done it says hand sewn with nylon and a leather needle. It would be a labor of love! Giggidy giggidy goo.
excellent video a throwback to a time when if you wanted cloth this is what you had to do. the knowledge alone is priceless thank you for taking the time to show the complete process. your a very special kind of lady. your welcome in my camp anytime.
Try spoon for fleashing
I appreciate how much time and effort you have put into creating this and other videos! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!
Thank you so much, and thank you for watching!
A true county girl
I just noticed I’m a country girl then because I do the same thing then her.
I have used this method for all my hides. It works great every time.
You're right about the Native American part, because some of my ancestors were the great Cherokees, they lived in the Appalachians.
Really appreciate your honest and down to earth explanation on tanning your rabbit hides. Kept my interest thru the entire video.
Oh good, I know it's a long video! Hope it was helpful!
lol giggity
giggity giggity goo
I thought that's what they said lmbo
I know you posted this a year ago but I wanted you to have 69 likes
Lol strong pickle
I thought that’s what he said! 😂 Then I thought maybe thats the dogs name and he was telling him to get back. 🤣
OMG.. finally someone teaching the entire process. I have been looking for years. Thank you
Couponer?
Likely Or the soaps were on sale...
I instantly thought couponer and I love her more now
Was curious of the same! Couponer or just like a good stock pile & buy whats on sale?
WOW! What a great video! You did an excellent job demonstrating. Very clear and easy to understand. I raise American Blues (and thus have a bunch of frozen hides SURPRISE) Now I feel confident about tanning them myself- Thanks!
Cool, glad to help :) Let us know how they turn out!
Giggitty......
Spot on....
This is such a good explanation of what to do with these. This is my GO TOO video for pickling hides.
Dose the frozen hides flesh easier ? Thanks for the video, al
I actually find the fresh hide to flesh easier, but I freeze them since we only process 5-7 at a time. I like to do larger batches when tanning.
I just started my very first batch ever. Thank you for the great video. I am excited to see how mine come out.
Awesome, have fun with them!
Amazing video! Thanks for uploading this.
Thankyou for showing the whole process! That really takes the nerves out of the whole thing❣️🙂
She should be the standard of an American woman!
A childless feminist just died.
Wow lots of patience and care went to each hide
Great video! Love your camera man's comment at 6:41...lol
Thank you! My camera man, a.k.a. my husband, always has something to say! Ha!
I really enjoy your way of culling and skinning and treating skins! You make it look so easy and like I could do it too.
You can!
Coupon shopper?
Oh yes!
Seriously she's Got enough shampoo for the next decade LOL
Love your sense of humor which comes out in your videos!
"You don't want pockets where the pickle ain't getting " lmao, good one 😂
True statement
I really like your outlook. The rabbit breeder I got my cuties from told me to cull and she doesn't keep the fur--admittedly she has a fulltime job and a hobby farm, but I like your outlook more. It's difficult to judge sometimes what is best, but this makes me want to keep the furs. I'm really excited to try this. I can't stress how much I love your channel, how well your explain and the love you have. Thank you so much! I hope you have a nice day!
"giggity."
Lots of indigenous people still do it, i wouldn't consider it a lost art, but definitely not something common. Really awesome videos.
Wife of a Blackfoot "native American" here: totally fine to call them Indians. It's 'Redskin' that's a racial slur.
My native friends called themselves Indians. It's the white people that seem offended on their behalf lol
Yeah, and a bunch of other white people insisting that 'redskin' is fine to use and ignoring tribal elders who say it's deeply offensive. Sigh. Meanwhile, only 2/3 of the folks my husband grew up with on the res have running water and the government still won't let them really govern themselves.
Thankyou I did my first rabbit skins in alum and they came out fantastic so I want go back to the old way thankyou again Selwyn
Awesome, good luck, and have fun!!
I would like to buy all those hides for 2 gold coin a piece. I kinda want to make a rabbit jacket :)
Fantastic! So respectful of these beautiful creatures nature has provided. Now sell pillows on etsy!
Haha, we do love Etsy! I love that there are uses for the beautiful hides. I could never just compost them.
Thank you so much...now my bunny is wondering why im staring at her...haha
Haha!
The thought of doing something like that is horrific isn't it x
Really appreciate you taking the time to make this video. I've got a lot of hides in the freezer and I've been putting off pickling them, but now I'm ready. :-)
Awesome, hope you have fun!
this is soo awesome.....I & my 3 young son's started to do homestead living we moved from Corpus Christi,TX to South Carolina we live on 2 acres with a beautiful lake in out backyard....we have our first 19 chickens (chicks) in they are doing great thankfully I've owned Chickens before so I know how to do all that is needed with then.....I next want to get meat rabbits going,but of course....I like to attack one thing at a time,but would you have any suggestions that would help us pick the right type of meat rabbits & how to get things going for them?
me & my son's ages 12yrs,7yrs & 4yrs love your videos.
Wow, that sounds amazing for you & your boys. My children are similar in age 11, 7, 5, & 2. We personally raise satin and Standard Rex rabbits, but there are larger breeds that will grow quicker. We chose Rex because of their disposition, and manageable size. Some of the larger breeds have a larger bone to meat ratio, so you don't end up with that much more meat, and they eat more. The satin & Rex also have nice pelts. Here is our facebook page facebook.com/simplysassyliving/ As far as meat breeds go, there are many out there, and everyone tends to love what they have.
Good Simple Living Thank you Soo much, I'm definitely going to your Facebook page & I will look into the breeds you mentioned. I think it's awesome that we can literally use everything we can off of what we raise. my sister is 14yrs old she loves blanket's & I just thought what a better gift than a rabbit fur blanket for next year's Christmas along with matching pillows. I'm definitely excited about adding a new meat to our homestead & new homemade item's.
For sure! Good luck with your journey, and feel free to ask any questions you might have. We are not experts, but we are happy to help if we are able.
Good Simple Living Thank you Soo much!
I would second the Rex! I've had them previously and you get so much enjoyment out of their coat. It's like velvet. If you're going to use the whole animal the pelt is amazing on them and they make a good meat rabbit too.
You are such a talented woman.
Its great to see you doing that.
I hope your girls will one day start helping you.
When you sew them together it will be nice blankets.
By us in wintertime the power goes out lots of times. Minus 40°Celsius i need lots of blankets to keep us warm.
We can not have a woodstove because of me having COPD.
So keep the kids and yourself and Jeremy ofcourse nice and toasty.
Love you all. Goodnight.🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗❤❤
Now your pickle is twice as strong giggity 6:36
giggity giggity goo
Good for you! I hate the killing aspect! But you’re so respectful way better than what we buy at the grocery store!!!!
Thank you, appreciate that!
is this way easier than brain tanning
Yeah and we actually shoot them in the brain, so not sure how brain tanning would work out.
Brain tanning is the most horrible thing Ive done in my entire live its like a needle in a hay stack!😧
I've done "brain" tanning with egg and it was about this easy without the wait. just flesh the hide, put on your solution and let it dry while stretching it (took less than two days to dry fully, very thin hide). but i want to try this because it looks like less trouble for a large batch, and oil tans (like brain or egg) can't get wet. I leave the heads for the cats to eat, they like it.
I bought a flensing knife when I was 12 years old because I was an avid trapper. That was in 1977 and after 40+ years of use, it is still the sharpest knife I own.
On a side note, I never heard of using alum/salt soak. I always did it the old fashioned way of stretching the hide on a board and rubbing salt on it daily for a month+. Painful and slow, I know, but this was before the internet and the wealth of information that it presents.
What brand knife?
The alum and salt it easier, but I've done both and both our long and slow lol
@@GoodSimpleLiving It is a Randall Made. That is the name of the company. My Grandfather was a farmer and ordered a lot of blades from them. Some of fondest memories are of him and those days.
@@7munkee I love that, thank you for sharing!
Great video! I appreciate you putting the work in to respect the animal!
Do you have enough hair and bodywash? lol
Never! I am a couponer, and at Christmas time I donate much of it in care baskets, and then I start over again. It's a hobby.
I was sitting here telling my wife you were an extreme couponer, so now you confirmed it. I would so love to do that here, but we do not have access to the coupon haul one would need to be considered "extreme". lol
I love couponing. It's a better hobby than shopping, and it always gives the kids a great lesson in math. We donate much of what we coupon for to veterans, a woman's pregnancy & child shelter, and Operation Christmas Child. The best way to get started is just to choose a store, like Walmart. Join the Walmart couponing facebook page for haul breakdowns, and order the coupons from the many coupon clipping sites out there. It's pretty easy.... the FB page will say "hey the $1 off Colgate coupon is working on the .99 toothbrushes at Walmart". So then you just order 20 clipped $1 off Colgate coupons from the website, head to Walmart, and get your 20 free toothbrushes :)
Cool. I am a non-Facebooker, but sounds like I might need to look into it. It always amazes me how much people get for free on that couponer tv show.
That show is pretty rigged, and not totally realistic, but if you go after just 1 or 2 things at a time you can build up a stockpile quite easily.
Your husband is so lucky! I’m sure he knows but this is ridiculous! Lol! Thanks for the lessons. I’m attempting to do this on wild rabbits, which I think I’ll have to be super delicate with the fleshing and softening process. :) Thanks again!
Well thank you, I'm the lucky one! Good luck with the process!!
Good Simple Living so I did the “fleshing” peel after the 5 days in the “pickle”? I peeled the “fat wads” (lol!) but when it came to the thin membrane no matter how easy I went, it would tear. Also, in the places it didn’t tear it was so thin it was transparent. Due to them being wild and not very fatty do you should i just leave that thin membrane? My worry is it will be so thin I won’t be able to “work” the hide? As a reference, In your video where you say “it’s really thin right here, I’ll have to be careful later when I work it out”. I peel the thin membrane and half my pelt looked like that dark spot you were warning about later. Thank you thank you for your videos and your help!! :)
G from Idaho
Was this in the summer or early fall? Sometimes the summer coats can be very thin. Also if they were young rabbits (under 4 months) the hides are very thin and almost impossible to work. The best luck I have had is with winter rabbits or early spring around 15-16 weeks of age or older.
Yeah young rabbits are just difficult to tan since they are so thin skinned.
Good Simple Living thanks again for all the help.
I need a girl like you!!!!
Guess I’m the kind of girl many men dream of then.
I love the giggity! Thanks for the video!
Is she a couponer she has a stock pile lol
Yeah I saw that too.
Wesley6925 I know lol
Bill Lishman’s wife is known as “The Beaver Weaver” she crocheted garments using beaver hides. They live in a super cool underground home near the Arctic circle you should check out sometime. It’s just a neat place built by a cool couple. Maybe you can create a new “Hare Wear” fashion! Lol!! Thanks for sharing I Love this! I had a book on Brain Tanning I was skeptical on trying several years back.
Thank you so much for this educational and informative video! I, too, want to be able to use every part of the animal. You have helped me greatly.
I would piece them together for an incredibly beautiful and wonderful thermal bed cover!! One of a kind, too!!
Thank you for showing the tanning process, it was fascinating but very labor intensive!! I agree about finding a purpose for everything, if possible.
Blessings!!
Thank you! Yeah they take a lot of time, but if you treat it like art them it's really satisfying.
I successfully finalize my first 2 hides, Thanks for the Video. i think with 15 fore Hides, i can make a Fur jacket. This thing is really warm. its a shame if you waste such a beautiful thing.
Nice job, congrats!!
....When I was a kid back in the seventies, I read in the book Foxfire, how to tan a hide, and I put alum on the Raccoon hide for three days, and then it said to shake off the clumps, but not all, and then add the salt. The hide came out real good, it was not hard, as salt only does to a hide, it stayed soft and pliable....In fact I was proud of that tanning success....