Butchering a RabbitĪs most breeders are already aware, once a rabbit has been killed and the head removed, it is suspended by one or both back legs to allow the blood to drain. So take heart: If I can tan pelts, so can you. I’m only a homesteader raising some rabbits to help keep my family supplied with meat and extra cash. You’ll need to practice, practice, practice! However, I’m not a professional furrier. There are no shortcuts to learning this skill. Before I describe in detail how to tan a rabbit hide, bear in mind this important point: No tanning formula is foolproof. The availability, convenient small size, and variable colors, patterns, and textures of rabbit skins make them perfect material for the novice tanner.

In fact, you’ll find that your biggest investments in the craft will be your time and energy. You may be surprised to learn, though, that home tanning costs very little and requires a minimum of equipment. You probably know that tanning (which is also called tawing or pickling) is the process of converting a raw hide into leather, thus making the skin more pliable, more durable, and more resistant to water, wear, and decay. In fact, it’s a source of both pride and great satisfaction, since it enables me to create beautiful, useful fur articles from skins that would otherwise have been discarded. I’ve discovered that small pelt tanning isn’t time-consuming, difficult, or expensive. However, unlike most small-scale breeders (who consign their animals’ pelts to compost piles), I also save the hides, tan them, and use the fur to make beautiful hand-sewn items. Like many modern homesteaders, I keep rabbits for meat.

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The long dark do animal hides decay