Removing and dressing skins. (personal experience)
Good day, boys and girls! This is me, alive and well and not coughing.
I warn you right away, militant animal rights activists, people with a tender psyche, zoophiles and pacifists, YOU MAY NOT READ ANY FURTHER, you will feel bad.
Today we will talk about skinning and subsequent processing of skins. If anyone hopes that in the conditions of Postapa, synthetic winterizer and other insulating disgraces will be produced, he is seriously mistaken. We will, like our ancestors, ride around in fur coats and fur coats, well, those who will survive.
But peeling off the skin is actually a piece of cake, but processing it is no small task. Therefore, you need to train in advance. I will share my experience, and then you can do it yourself.
First of all, you need to get a fur carrier (Fig. 1). A hamster or rat is a good place to start. But it’s better to take a hare or a forest, dogs and cats will also do, but this is not humane at the moment. I haven’t had to sand larger animals, but I think there will be a slight difference.
After you have obtained the animal, hang the trophy by its hind legs on a strong rope or wire. For convenience, you can also put a crossbar (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.). 
There are two ways to remove the skin: with a stocking and a mat. In addition, we decide whether we will remove the skin from the head and paws or whether we are only interested in the fur. The trophy skin must be removed with the head, paws and claws, and preferably with a rug. So it will look beautiful on the wall, floor or chair (Fig. 4). I take it off with a stocking (Fig. 5). 
For reasons of hygiene and simply convenience, I recommend using gloves (Fig. 6). 
To speed up the removal process, I personally use a utility knife (Fig. 7). 
The cut is good and there is no need to sharpen. If you are skinning indoors, lay down a film so you don't get the floor dirty.
We make the necessary cuts (Fig. 8). 
Then, with our hands, we separate the skin from the carcass; if it doesn’t work, we help with a knife (we cut off the film, fat and meat).
First we remove it from the hind legs. If we have long-tailed animals, then we will have to work hard. Carefully separate the skin in a circle from the back with your hands. From the side of the tail (ass, chocolate eye) we make a straight cut along the tail, 3-5 centimeters long (Fig. 8). We move the skin with one hand. Using the fingers of the second hand, we grab the tail at the base and carefully pull it out of the skin (Fig. 9). 
It won't go right away. In general, this process is similar to pulling the cores out of the cable braid (Fig. 10). 
After the skin is removed from the tail, we make a cut on it along the entire length to the very tip, cutting off the tendons along the way, if any remain.
After the tail is freed, we continue to pull the skin off the carcass, helping ourselves with a knife if necessary.
Reaching the skin to the front paws, release them, much like the tail.
We pull the skin to the base of the skull and cut it in a circle.
All the skin has been removed. We throw it into a bucket or some other container. We remove the carcass and place it under a tree or wrap it in film.
We take a pack of ordinary table salt and very well sprinkle the entire inside of the skin. You don't have to spare salt, especially on the tail. We leave our skin overnight, let it salt.
We take cold water, really cold, so that it really hurts your teeth. In this water we dilute detergent and furatsilin. For 5 liters of water, add 10 crushed furatsilin tablets. We put the skin and salt into the solution and begin to wash it. We rinse and squeeze. Wash it for about 10 minutes, leave the skin in water for half an hour or an hour.
Drain the water and hang the skin to drain. Pour a new portion of water and add 50 grams of vinegar 70% to it. 10 grams per liter of water. Rinse the skin in it for 5 minutes, leave for 10 minutes.
We hang the skin out again to drain and drain the water. We take a new portion of water, but this time add soda, 2-3 tablespoons per 5 liters. We rinse the skin in it and then leave it to soak for 10-15 minutes. This is necessary to neutralize the acid.
We hung out the skin and drained the water. Now you just need to rinse it in water. Rinse and hang to drain.
While the water is draining, prepare the tools and straightener. I use a plastic pipe as a rule. But according to the mind, a wooden rule is needed (Fig. 11). 
We stretch the skin with the flesh out (fur inside) onto the straightener (Fig. 12 and Fig. 13). 
We take a knife and with the blunt side we begin to scrape off the flesh; our task is to clean the skin of any remaining meat, fat, films and tendons, as well as to expel subcutaneous fat. The process is long and dirty. I start cleaning from the head, although my friend always cleans from the tail. Why the blunt side? And so as not to overdo it, the skin of the living creature is thin, you will get carried away and you can accidentally cut off the layer of skin that contains the hair follicles. Accordingly, the wool will come out stupidly. In addition to the blunt side of the knife, you can use a spoon or a metal plate. There is no need to try to clean off the entire length of the flesh at once. It is better to clean in small areas. After all the films and scraps have been removed, we go over the skin with an iron again, we need to remove as much fat and dirt as possible. The quality of the skin directly depends on this.
We remove the srach and tools. Again we take cold water with detergent, rinse and wash the skin. And this time we turn it inside out to wash off everything we can. Then rinse in clean water and hang to drain (Fig. 14). 
While the water is draining, prepare the pickel (Fig. 15 and Fig. 16). 
For 1 liter of water add 30 grams of vinegar 70% and 30 grams of table salt. Stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Dip the skin into the resulting solution (fur side in). The stench is still the same, so we breathe every once in a while. We rinse the skin a couple of times and leave it in this syrup (Fig. 17). 
Picking time is 12 hours minimum and 24 hours maximum. The larger the animal and the thicker its skin, the longer it must be fermented.
While our skin is fermenting, we make a frame for drying (Fig. 18). 
If the skin is removed with a mat, we need a square frame, if with a stocking, a triangular one. You can use wood as a material; I used plastic pipes (Fig. 19). 
After 24 hours, take out the skin and hang it to drain. We pour the pickle somewhere far away. Because it stinks simply brutally.
We collect clean water. Add soda to it, about 1 tablespoon per liter. And we put the skin there. We rinse and press the skin. Our task is to neutralize acetic acid. Drain the water and pour in a new portion of cold water, rinse again. And so on 2-3 times until the wild vinegar stench becomes tolerable. At the last rinse, you can add shampoo, so that the fur is beautiful and lush. Don’t forget to turn the skin regularly so that it is washed evenly.
He pulls out the skin and hangs it to drain. Prepare the thread and needle. As soon as most of the water has drained away. We sew up the holes left by the shot and the cuts. I sew it up with a regular mattress stitch. By the time sewing is finished, the water will drain.
Carefully stretch the skin onto the frame, with the fur inward (Fig. 20). 
We straighten the fur on the tail so that it dries (Fig. 21). 
And set it to dry. DO NOT dry skins in direct sunlight, near a stove, radiator or other heating and heating devices. The ideal place is the hallway, especially if there is a draft.
As it dries, the skin must be removed and kneaded in your hands (Fig. 22). 
Anyone who went to shit with a newspaper knows what I mean. Yes, yes, this is exactly how we gently and carefully knead the dry areas of the skin. After about 12 hours, turn the skin inside out (Fig. 23). 
Let the fur dry now. Don't forget to knead the skin in dry places. Well, in principle, we repeat the trick with turning and kneading every 6-12 hours until completely dry.
When the skin and fur are completely dry, turn the skin inside out and apply, without hesitation, liquid glycerin to the entire surface of the skin. This can be done with a bandage swab or a brush. Let the glycerin soak in and turn the skin inside out. Take a comb or a clean shoe brush and comb the fur. Our task is to comb out excess fluff and hairs from it. It is better to do this outside or with the vacuum cleaner turned on.
That’s basically it, the skin is ready for further use (Fig. 24). 
If the vinegar smell remains, and it stays bad, you can hang the skin in the garage or hallway, let it hang, breathe, and dissipate.
PS: If the animal carcass is frozen, put it in a warm place, but away from heat sources, and let it thaw on its own.
PS: The main thing from all of the above: the water should be cold or icy, hot or warm water will lead to baldness of the skin; clean the skin with a blunt object; We wear rubber gloves, it’s hygienic, warm and our hands don’t stink; The skin does not need to be squeezed, at most you can squeeze it lightly.
ZYYY: Some of the photos were taken from the World Wide Web using Yandex search. For which I apologize to the authors of photographs and drawings, your authorship will remain a secret.
Thank you for your attention!
Quite often, when preparing certain dishes, the housewife needs tomatoes. They contain a large amount of vitamins and other useful substances, and they themselves have a pleasant taste and aroma.
Usually during cooking you need to peel the tomato. Otherwise, under the influence of high temperatures, it rolls up and remains very hard, which can significantly spoil the appearance and taste of the dish. There are several proven methods for removing the skin from a tomato. Let's look at each of them in more detail.
It all depends on what kind of dish you are preparing. Soup or tomato broth, tomatoes baked in the oven or fried in a pan, or maybe assorted vegetables cooked over a fire?
Many experienced housewives know how to peel tomatoes using hot water. This method is the most popular and widespread. Let's take a closer look at it.
You will need a large bowl or pan, boiling water and the tomatoes themselves. First, cut each vegetable at the very top with a knife crosswise. After this, place the product in a saucepan and add hot water. The ripeness of the tomatoes must be taken into account. If they are very ripe, then it will take them half a minute for the skin to begin to come off. If the product is not ripe, then keep it in water for at least sixty seconds. In this case, it is very important not to overcook the vegetables, otherwise they will simply begin to cook.
Remove the tomatoes and place them in cold water. Now, using a thin knife, grab the end of the skin and pull it. You will see how the skin itself separates from the tomato.
Surely everyone knows how to blanch vegetables before freezing. Did you know that you can very easily peel tomatoes this way? So, how to separate the skin from a tomato using blanching?
Rinse the vegetables and boil the water. Place the tomatoes in boiling water one at a time for twenty seconds. As soon as you see that the skin is cracked, immediately remove the product from the water. Place the tomatoes in the cold liquid and carefully peel off the skins.
Nowadays, almost every home has such equipment as a microwave oven. It can not only help you reheat or defrost food, but also peel tomatoes. How to remove the skin from a tomato in the microwave?
Place the tomatoes on a flat-bottomed plate and make a few slits in the tops. Place the vegetables in the microwave and turn on the warm setting for 30 seconds. During this time, under the influence of microwaves, the skin will heat up and begin to separate from the pulp. All you have to do is carefully remove it.
Some housewives choose a rather complicated method of removing the skin from a tomato. They simply make cross cuts on the vegetables and try to peel them, pulling the skin away from the pulp. This method is not easy, but has a right to exist.
If you cook tomatoes by roasting them completely, you don't have to peel them first. It is recommended to add salt and your favorite spices to the tomatoes. Place the vegetables on a baking dish and place it in the oven. After heat treatment, the skin will become wrinkled and begin to separate on its own. You can peel the vegetable immediately before use. This method will preserve the taste of the product and the juice in it as much as possible, as well as all the beneficial properties.
It is better not to peel tomatoes cooked over a fire first. In this case, their peel becomes covered with a black crust and easily comes off on its own. It is better to serve vegetables prepared in this way in their original form, and peel them before eating.
You probably already understand how to remove the skin from a tomato. But sometimes the recipe requires peeling the vegetable from the seeds. In order to carry out this manipulation as correctly as possible, it is necessary to cut the peeled tomatoes in half, and each half into three more parts.
After this, use a sharp knife to remove the seeds from the pulp and carefully rinse the tomatoes.
It is much more pleasant to eat tomatoes without skin (pickled or stewed, fresh or boiled). Tomato peel is poorly absorbed by the human body and is practically not digested. It also spoils the appearance of the dish, making it less appetizing. That is why many recipes recommend removing it.
The seeds also do not provide any particular benefit to the body. That is why, in order to get the best from this product, it is necessary to thoroughly peel the tomatoes completely, leaving only the pulp. Cook with pleasure and choose the methods of cleaning this vegetable that suit you. Bon appetit!
For a novice farmer, the procedure of slaughtering rabbits may seem scary and complicated. Of course, the operation is actually unpleasant. However, purely technologically, it is also quite simple. In addition, if the farmer does everything correctly during slaughter, the rabbit will not experience any pain.
Preparation
Selected animals are usually transferred to another room in the evening. Before slaughter, the intestines and bladder of animals must be completely cleansed. This happens in about 12 hours. Therefore, in the morning it will be possible to begin the slaughter procedure. It is imperative to keep your rabbit without water or food. The carcasses of these animals are quite small. And when cutting, a full bladder and intestines can easily be hit with a knife. The consequences of this, of course, will not be very pleasant.
If it is not possible to place the rabbits, you just need to remove water and food from their enclosure. However, in this case, the animals can still find something to chew (spilled grains, bedding, etc.). Cutting the carcass in the future will therefore most likely be a little more difficult.
In any case, the selected animals should be carefully examined before slaughter. All animals, of course, must be healthy.
Slaughtering rabbits at home: basic methods
Rabbits are not chopped with an ax like chickens.The throats of these animals are cut only in Muslim and Jewish countries. This method is associated with the religious beliefs of the population. However, cutting a rabbit's throat is considered an inhumane procedure. In European countries and in Russia, therefore, mechanical slaughter methods are usually used. When using such technologies, the animal’s nervous system is first quickly and sharply switched off, and then its throat is slit. Therefore, in the processslaughterrabbitNotis in pain. He doesn't feel anything at all. His heart stops beating - that's all.
Actually, there are several painless methods of slaughter:
using a stick;
by means of electric current;
by stretching;
using a shooting pin, etc.
Different countries traditionally use different methods. In Russia, rabbits are most often slaughtered with a stick.
Tool preparation
The technology of slaughter using such a device for slaughtering rabbits as a stick is quite simple. However, the person performing this procedure must have some physical strength. For example, it will be difficult for a woman to kill a rabbit in this way. The blow must be sharp and strong enough. Otherwise the animal will suffer. And this, of course, is extremely undesirable.
Actually the stick itself forslaughterrabbitsWithyou should choose one that is not too long(about 40 cm), but enoughfat. Something elastic and not rigid should be put on one end of such a tool. This could be, for example, a piece of hose. Such a nozzle needs to be secured with something (for example, with a rope). Otherwise, it may fly off during the slaughter process. Using the nozzle allows you to minimize the suffering of the animal. Indeed, in this case, the blow will be quite soft, but at the same time strong enough to turn off the animal’s nervous system.
In addition to the stick, before slaughter you will also need to prepare a narrow plank. This tool is useful for cutting up a rabbit. You will also need a couple of pieces of wire or two strong laces. The board should be hung somewhere before the slaughter procedure. To do this, you need to tie a rope exactly in its center. You can hang a board, for example, from a horizontal tree branch. It should be positioned so that cutting the carcass in the future would be convenient. That is, slightly above eye level.
Also, to cut up a rabbit you will need a sharp knife and a basin to collect the blood. Before slaughter, it is worth preparing the dishes in which some of the animal’s entrails will subsequently be deposited.
How to kill rabbits with a stick
Actually, the slaughter procedure itself when using such a tool looks something like this:
The belly of the rabbit is cut starting from the groin along the white line on it. The layer of meat in this area of the rabbit is very thin. Therefore, you should work with a knife as carefully as possible. Otherwise, you can damage your intestines. The incision should be made all the way to the chest.
The internal organs are disconnected from the muscle tissue and pulled out. When performing this procedure, you should also be more careful and careful. Otherwise, you can damage your bladder, intestines or bile.
The internal organs are stored for disposal. Only the rabbit's liver (considered a delicacy) and heart are edible. The kidneys and lungs can also be left, but it is better to throw them away or, for example, give them to a cat. The liver is left only if there are no growths on it, for example, white, indicating that the animal once suffered some kind of disease. After the liver is separated from the rest of the organs, the bile will, of course, need to be carefully removed from it.
The carcass is washed inside and out, and then cut into two parts.
the rabbit is picked up by the hind legs;
wait until the animal calms down and hangs freely;
deliver a sharp blow to the occipital region of the animal.
You don't need to put all your force into the blow. The main thing is that it should be sharp. If the farmer did everything correctly, after the blow the animal will twitch several times (involuntary muscle contraction) and calm down. If the blow is not too sharp, the rabbit will not die. It will not be difficult to determine that you need to strike a second blow as quickly as possible. When experiencing pain, the animal will begin to squeal very loudly. Of course, the slaughter must be carried out in such a way that this does not happen.
There is another way to slaughter rabbits using a stick. Sometimes in the territory of the former USSR, farm owners kill animals by hitting them not on the neck, but on the nose. It is not without reason that this part of the rabbit’s body is considered “weak”. Sometimes these animals even simply die themselves, having jumped unsuccessfully and hit their nose, for example, on the support of the enclosure’s mesh. But of course, to use this method, you must have precision in your strike. Rabbits' noses are quite small.
What to do after slaughter
As soon as the stunned animal calms down, it needsmake an incision in the throat to drain the blood. Next you need to hang the carcasson a prepared boardby the hind legs, securing the latter, for example, with wire. A basin or some other container should be placed below to collect blood and entrails. If desired, the rabbit's head can be removed immediately.
Dogs, if they are present in the yard, should be driven away from the place of slaughter and butchering. Giving the offal of a slaughtered animal to these animals is prohibited. It is believed that rabbits can be carriers of various types of canine diseases.
You should, of course, start cutting up the carcass immediately after slaughter. Under no circumstances should you be late with this procedure. Within a few minutes after slaughter, various types of harmful microorganisms begin to rapidly multiply in the uncut carcass. And therefore, it will be unsafe to eat it.
How to remove the skin
This procedure must, of course, be carried out before cutting.Removing the skin from a rabbit is very easy - like, for example, removing a stocking from a leg. In order to remove it, you must first docircular skin incisions on the pawsright under the boardand longitudinally down the inner thighs. Next, you should pull the skin to the groin on both legs. Here you need to make another cut - from hip to hip past the tail. Next, you just need to carefully pull the skin off the carcass towards the head. There is no need to pull it too hard during the removal process. This should be done smoothly. The skin will come off almost effortlessly.
Particular care should be taken when performing this procedure in the area of the front paws. If animals on a farm are raised not only for meat, but also for obtaining skins, it is, of course, advisable not to tear the latter during the pulling process.
How to properly cut a carcass
So, we figured out how to skin a rabbit. The procedure, as you can see, is completely simple. After the skin is removed, you can begin to actually cut the carcass. This operation is also not particularly complicated. You can get good at cutting up rabbit carcasses very quickly. This procedure is carried out in the following order:
What you need to know
It is not advisable to use a cut rabbit carcass to prepare any dish right away. The fresh meat of these animals, unfortunately, is not very tasty. In order for it to become more juicy and palatable, the carcass must be kept in the refrigerator (not in the freezer) for at least 12 hours. It can then be cut into smaller pieces and used for its intended purpose.
What to do with skins: preliminary dressing
Unfortunately, rabbit fur is not in fashion today. And therefore, most homestead owners keep these animals mainly only for meat. In this case, the skins after cutting are usually simply thrown away or burned along with the internal organs. However, on large farms, owners also have the opportunity to hand them over in large quantities to collection points.
In this case, the skins after slaughtering rabbits, of course, need to be processed.This procedure is performed like this:
the skin is hung on a special blank made of dry wood;
the flesh is thoroughly cleaned of any remaining fat and meat (using the blunt side of a knife);
the skin is hung on a special frame, knocked down in the shape of the letter A;
its bottom is secured to avoid pulling.
After this initial dressing, the skins are usually sold. Later, already in the workshop, they undergo additional, rather complex technological processing, the purpose of which is to soften the core. Next, the skins are supplied to light industry enterprises that specialize in sewing, for example, fur coats or hats.
When to slaughter rabbits
Thus, we found out how these domestic animals are actually slaughtered, and how the carcass is cut up. Animals are usually raised on farms until they are 3-4 months old. This is the best time to slaughter rabbits. This procedure cannot be performed before 3 months. The fact is that the meat of small rabbits is still unripe and very tasteless. It is unprofitable to keep animals on a farm for longer than 4-5 months. By 3 months rabbits gain 70% of their weight. Further, their growth and development slow down greatly. At the same time, animals begin to consume a lot of feed.
How rabbits are slaughtered at enterprises: basic equipment
So, at home, this procedure is usually performed using a simple stick. In enterprises, of course, forslaughterrabbitsuse more advanced technologies.Most often, this operation is performed using a device such as a special syringe.The latter is a special piston device with a sharp steel needle at the end. The syringe is first applied to the rabbit's head. After this, press the button. As a result, the trigger mechanism is activated and the needle penetrates the animal’s brain.
Often industrial slaughter of rabbitsPIt is also carried out using a stun gun. Terminals of this deviceThey simply apply it to the animal’s neck. After the discharge, the animal dies instantly and does not suffer. This method of slaughter is considered the most humane.
However, what to do, you need to get dirty and divide the meat. What a modern hunter usually does is to chop the carcass into pieces with an ax along with the skin, and that’s the cutting for you.
Nowadays, would-be hunters mostly butcher wild boar and elk, especially in winter. However, this is not all very good, and the skin is a very important trophy, since many hunters mainly hunt for it. And here, whether you want it or not, you have to become a skinner. If you like to ride, as they say, you’ll have to drag the carcass to the base without a sled, or, nevertheless, remove the skin and cut the carcass into pieces on the spot.
No, You can, of course, delegate this work to your family, motivating that I, supposedly, got the beast, and what you do with it is your concern. But transporting a whole carcass home is sometimes difficult for car owners, and in a city apartment you can’t especially bother with cutting up a carcass.
So you either have to do it in the garage or at the base. And then as it turns out - you just need meat, we remove the skin as necessary, and if you need the skin as well, then it doesn’t matter - either you married well, or you take off the skin yourself. And what is good and what is bad is different for everyone.
Those who are richer can entrust this matter to the rangers for a certain amount of money., and if you go hunting yourself, and you don’t want to spend extra money, then again you’re in a situation where you’ll have to work hard yourself.
The Internet is full of those who want to laugh at those who don’t know how to skin or are just learning how to do it, so there’s no need to know how to do it - there are plenty of photographs. All that remains is to find out how to do it correctly. “Country man must survey” is true if you are a country man. But it’s not worth skinning like this.
Shooting and processing of animal skins for the production of hunting trophies
There are quite a few options for shooting, depending on the type of animal and what you plan to do.
Predators and rodents
If, for example, you have caught a large predator (a bear) and do not know whether a carpet or stuffed animal will be made from it, then the option of filming the skin “in layers” is suitable. If you want to make a stuffed animal standing on its hind legs, then the option of shooting the skin “from the back” is more suitable. For other types of stuffed bear, both options are suitable.
If you have hunted a medium-sized predator (wolf, lynx), then to make a carpet you need to remove the skin “flat on”, and for making a stuffed animal, shooting “flat”, “from the back”, or “stocking” is suitable.
For skinning small predators (fox, raccoon, badger, wolverine, polecat, marten, etc.), as well as for shooting rodents (babybak, squirrel, beaver, hare), it is better to use the “stocking” shooting option, as it is the most universal . For skinning a porcupine, only the “flat” option is suitable.
The removal of skins for making a trophy head from predatory animals will be discussed separately.
Ungulates
For ungulates, there are four main options: shooting the skin to make a trophy head, shooting “from the back” - for making a whole stuffed animal from small and medium-sized ungulates, “flat” - for making a stuffed animal from a wild boar, and a combined shooting option - for a whole stuffed animal from large ungulates .
Shooting the skin "layer"
This method is used, as a rule, for skinning large predators, although it is also applicable for other animals, especially if you intend to make a “carpet” from your trophy.
To ensure that the shooting process does not take a lot of time and effort, you need to have a well-sharpened tool on hand and prepare a place to work.
The sooner you start removing the hide after harvesting, the better your chances of keeping the hide in perfect condition. Within a few hours after shooting, and in the summer or when shooting an animal during or immediately after feeding, the skin begins to deteriorate. In the armpit and groin areas, when the animal lies on its side, its body cools down very slowly, and the skin begins to rot. Due to the ongoing fermentation process, heat and gases are released in the animal's stomach and intestines, causing the belly to swell and the belly skin to turn green. In such places, the fur almost always comes out during the dressing of the skin, and in some cases even before dressing.
Of course, during hunting it is not always possible to skin an animal immediately after shooting. However, it is important to remember that your trophy will only look great if you try to process and preserve it at all stages of working with it, adhering to the tips outlined in this article.
If you do not have the opportunity to remove the skin immediately after harvesting the trophy, try to protect your prey as much as possible from exposure to heat and moisture.
Do not leave the animal lying in the sun. Do not place it on cellophane film - without access to oxygen, the skin will begin to rot, not to mention that this film will not allow the carcass to cool. You can place the trophy on any natural surface - on the ground (but not on wet or heated by the sun), dry grass, boards (except pine - the resin greatly stains the fur), hay or several layers of cotton fabric, matting or canvas.
The main thing is that the surface on which your trophy lies is as clean, dry and not heated as possible. It is better if the animal lies in a cool, well-ventilated, shaded place. During the hunt, most likely, it will not be possible to comply with these conditions, and then everything will depend on how quickly you can process the trophy.
To avoid damage to the skin in the armpit and groin areas, you need to secure the animal’s paws at a distance from the body and from each other, for example, by stretching them on ropes. It's even better if the entire animal is suspended in the air. It is also important to place the limbs and head of the captured trophy, not pressed against the body, for the reason that when rigor mortis sets in, it is quite problematic to move the limbs apart. The animal's muscles can become so stiff that often the bones of the limbs break - as a result, you can not only pierce the skin with the sharp edges of a broken bone, but also injure yourself.
But even if you take all of the above measures, it is best to start filming as early as possible.
When starting to remove the skin, try to position the animal's body so that it is convenient for you to work with it. The less tired you are when processing your trophy, the better quality your work will be. If you do not have an assistant, secure the animal's paws by stretching them to the sides and tying them with a rope (Fig. 1).
This way, you will ensure that when working with the skin you will have a minimum number of hard-to-reach places for shooting.
Start shooting by cutting the skin on the sternum (Fig. 2). To do this, push the fur to the sides until the skin appears. Make an incision that cuts through the skin, but not deeper, otherwise blood may flow, which will stain the fur and interfere with further work. Then insert the tip of the knife under the skin with the blade facing up and cut the skin towards the animal's head using a knife motion from the inside out, constantly straightening the fur to the sides so as not to cut it off. Try to make the cut as even as possible. The cut needs to be completed between the bases of the jaws, at ear level.
During filming, the animal's fur fluffs up at the edges of the cut and becomes stained with blood. As a result, a number of problems arise. Fur stuck to the meat makes it difficult to see the edges of the cuts clearly. If it is not moved to the side, there is a risk of continuing the cut in the wrong place where it is necessary. Or the fur gets under the knife and you cut it off, which affects the appearance of the trophy.
All this can be avoided by wetting the fur along the edges of the cut with salt water (100 g of table salt per 1 liter of water, preferably cooled boiled water). It is more convenient to do this with a plastic bottle with a spray, although a brush, a piece of cotton fabric or foam rubber may be suitable.
Next, lift the skin to the sides, pulling back the edges and inserting your hand under the skin (in many freshly hunted animals, the skin is easily separated from the meat almost without the help of a knife). Before continuing the cut from the sternum to the abdomen, try to separate the skin from the walls of the abdominal cavity with your hands so as not to accidentally cut the animal's belly. Having brought the incision almost to the anus, go around it to one side and continue the incision to the tip of the tail. Also, on one side, go around the genital organ and scrotum. Never leave fur covering the animal's genitals on the carcass.
Remove the tail using a knife. If the animal’s tail can be easily removed with a “stocking” (in animals such as fox, marten, etc.), then it is more convenient to remove it at the last moment, when the skin has been removed from the entire animal, but before removing the head, by pinching the skin with your fingers and pulling out the vertebrae . But after the tail is removed in this way, be sure to open it with a knife from the underside to the very tip. Try to ensure that the cut comes strictly from the bottom. This is necessary in order to subsequently thoroughly salt, degrease and flesh the tail. It is unlikely that you want to have a trophy with a mangy tail.
On the hind limbs, start the incision from a point located a few centimeters from the anus closer to the abdomen (between the anus and scrotum in males). Next, make the incision to the popliteal cavity along the inner side of the thigh.
If you are going to make a carpet from the skin, then make the cut to the center of the heel and then along the bottom of the foot to the skin pad on the animal’s paw. Cut the pillow in the middle almost to the toes and then make cuts to the sides towards the sides of the paw. In this case, the incisions should be made between the pads of the toes and the ball of the foot along the hairline (Fig. 3).
If you intend to make a stuffed animal out of this animal, then make the cut from the knee area not to the heel, but to a point located between the heel and ankle, on the inside of the paw, but not along the cavity, but closer to the heel. Do not cut the pad on the foot, but go around it along the inside of the paw, leaving a fur edging on the pad about 1 cm wide. And then between the pad of the foot and the pads of the toes along the hairline of the skin to the outside of the paw (Fig. 4).
On the forelimbs, start the incisions from the middle between the top of the shoulder and the armpit. Then make a cut along the inside of the paw, closer to the elbow, then to the middle of the hand pad.
The skin on the hand is cut according to the same principle as on the feet, depending on what you want to make from the animal skin (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4).
After this, you need to remove the skin from the animal's paws. To do this, pull back the edge of the skin and use a knife to separate the skin from the meat, starting from where the longitudinal cut (from head to tail) meets the cuts on the limbs. Then remove the skin from the paws on both sides of the cut. Having separated one of the paws from the skin, bend the paw at the joint. Now, fixing the paw in the joint area and pulling back the skin, you get to the fingers.
Remove the fingers from the skin to the last joint, leaving in the skin only the last phalanx of the finger on which the claw is located (Fig. 5). The pads on the fingers are not cut.
By removing two paws, for example the left front and back, you remove the skin from the back of the animal. Now it will be easier to remove the remaining two limbs.
Lastly, remove the skin from the animal's head. This is one of the most difficult and responsible moments. The skin is removed from the head using a “stocking”. Having reached the base of the ears, separate the ear from the skull, cutting with a knife closer to the skull so that the entire ear cartilage remains on the skin. Next, continue to remove the skin with a “stocking”, cutting with a knife as close to the skull as possible, especially in the eye area, where the skin is closest to the bone. In order for the eyelids to remain intact, you need to pull the skin away from the skull and, as soon as the back of the eye socket is exposed, cut the skin not along the surface of the skull, but by pointing the tip of the knife inside the eye socket. When the eyeball appears, pull back the skin of the eyelid and trim it near the eyeball itself. If everything is done correctly, you will get a cut through which the inner surface of the eyelids will be visible. Insert your finger into the resulting hole and, pulling the skin away from the eye, cut close to the eyeball. Once the eyelids are separated from the skull, do not rush to remove quickly. The lacrimal gland is located in the corner of the eye. The skin in this place is very thin and is attached close to the bone, so you need to separate it, cutting it almost along the bone. At the same time, you should not press hard on the knife, scratching the skull, if you later expect to make a trophy from the animal’s skull.
Having separated the skin down to the molars, cut it closer to the skull so that the teeth become visible in the cut.
Next, separate the lips, trimming them as close to the skull as possible. First, remove the lower lip, then, lifting the skin almost to the nostrils, separate the cartilage of the nose from the skull, leaving it on the skin of the animal. As a result, the entire soft part of the chin, lower and upper lips, as well as the nose, along with the nasal cartilage, must be separated from the skull. With a certain skill, you will be able to remove the skin from the skull in such a way that there will be a minimum of “cuts” of meat left on it. But this skill is acquired with extensive experience in high-quality processing of raw materials, as a result of which you will learn to visually and tactfully determine that thin boundary between the skin itself and the muscle or subcutaneous fat layers, along which (ideally) the cut should pass.
While the experience is not so great, it is easier when shooting to leave more cuts on the skin, which can later be removed by flaying, but at the same time avoid numerous cuts to the skin.
Shooting the skin from the back
This method of shooting is a little more labor-intensive than the previous one, but it ultimately has a very significant effect on the quality of the stuffed animal.
Make the main incision along the back, from the base of the tail, slightly stepping back from the center line of the back in any direction; Trying to make the cut as even as possible, move along the spine to the head, ending at the back of the animal's head.
Then return to the beginning of the incision and continue from the side of the tail and anus towards the abdomen, ending 5-7 cm after the anus.
Make the cuts on the hind legs in exactly the same way as when shooting “in a layer”, going around the paw pads along the inside, 1 cm from the border of the pad.
Start making cuts on the front legs just above the elbow along the inside of the shoulder and then along the inside of the forearm, similar to the previous shooting option.
After this, you can begin skinning, taking special care in the armpit and groin areas, where it is quite easy to mistake the folds of fat and skin and cut the skin.
Remove the skin from the shoulders with a “stocking”, otherwise the shooting is practically no different from the previous method.
If the animal has developed rigor mortis or you do not have an assistant, or the trophy is very large and removing the front paws with a “stocking” is difficult, then it is quite acceptable to continue making cuts on the front paws from the elbow along the lower edge of the shoulder blade to the central cut on the back, actually removing the skin “in a layer” ", but from the back.
Shooting the skin with a “stocking”
Make the main cut from one foot to the other, from the outer edge between the pads of the toes and the pad of the paw to the inner. Then, going around the inside of the paw pad, to the center of the heel, to the popliteal cavity and, moving to the second paw between the tail and the anus, repeat everything in the reverse order.
On the front legs, make the cuts in the same way as when shooting “from the back,” from the elbow to the hand.
Next, remove the skin from the feet and toes of the animal's hind legs. Now you can hang the carcass by the hind legs by threading the rope through the puncture between the ankle and the Achilles vein. This will greatly facilitate your further work on removing the skin.
With this option, after you free the hind legs and tail of the animal, the skin from the carcass is removed quite easily. In fact, you can simply pull it off the carcass by grasping the edges of the skin and pulling it down to the armpits. Try not to overdo it. If the skin is difficult to pull off, it is better not to risk it, but to gradually remove it from the carcass, lifting it in a circle with a knife.
A. Salov
***
Enduring the hardships and vagaries of nature, the hunter spends day after day achieving his goal - to catch the animal. And when the work of participants in a collective hunt, many kilometers of a forest road or endless hours of sitting in a storage shed are rewarded with success, the eternal question arises: “What to do?” The trophy has been obtained, but it needs to be properly processed and preserved. If the shot animal is not large, and you have the opportunity to transfer it to a specialist taxidermist in the next few hours, then this is exactly what you should do. When the size of the animal does not allow it to be transported freely, it is necessary to remove the skin. As a rule, during commercial hunts there is a special person - Skinner, whose responsibilities include processing and conservation of your trophy. However, such a service is only of high quality in hunting areas in regions where a large number of hunts are carried out with the participation of foreign hunters, for example in Kamchatka. In our country, the role of skinner is often performed by a “pro” of huntsmen or sympathizers. The result of their work is cut off eyelids, lips, torn ears, improperly salted and subsequently peeling areas, as well as other, sometimes irreparable, defects. Therefore, never use the services of people you are not confident in. Below we will try to explain how to deliver the trophy safely, and some of the basics of the initial processing of the trophy for making a taxidermy product.
1.Large mammals: Of course, we will talk about the bear, the largest predator in the Urals. The specificity is that the hunt for this animal begins quite early, in the summer, when the average daily temperature is quite high. In such conditions, proper preservation is especially important. First you need to decide what product you want to see from the animal you hunted. If it’s a stuffed animal, then first of all try to take measurements, at least two indicated in the figure (1. length of the body from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, 2. from the inner corner of the eye to the tip of the nose.). If the animal is not large, then you can remove the skin using the cut pattern for making a stuffed animal, with this method the main cut runs along the back, above the tail it is divided into two cuts running along the caudal (back) side of the hind legs. Two auxiliary incisions are also made on the forelimbs running from the elbow to the hand along the inside. If necessary, these incisions can be extended above the elbow. We recommend this method of shooting for subsequent production of a stuffed animal, but it is quite labor-intensive, especially when a large bear is caught. Therefore, you can remove the skin in a layer. There is no need to cut the genitals of the animal, making the main incision along the midline of the abdomen, when the skin is removed obviously for a stuffed animal; for the subsequent making of a carpet, the integrity of the genitals does not matter.
If in the near future it is possible to deliver the removed skin to a taxidermist, then the head, hands of the front legs and feet of the hind legs can be left uncovered. In cold weather (<+5о) время безопасного хранения шкуры в таком виде около суток. В теплую (+18о) не более 3-5 часов. Не стоит солить такие шкуры, так как из оставшихся лап и головы будет излишний рассол, лучше обильно проложите шкуру пихтовым лапником. Ни в коем случае не укладывайте шкуру сразу в полиэтиленовый мешок, сначала в тканевый, а потом в полиэтиленовый. Ткань, впитывая влагу и кровь, предотвратит быстрое запревание эпидермиса, а полиэтилен сохранит салон вашего автомобиля.
When it is not possible to quickly deliver the skin to a taxidermist, it is necessary to remove the hands, feet and head, and salt the skin. Here you need to be especially careful, if your skinner has a Crocodile Dundee knife in his hands, then this does not bode well; you need a more modest tool. A lanceolate, sharp knife, with a comfortable handle, and a blade length of about 12 centimeters, can be easily purchased at a hunting store. Have one of your own, it will come in handy.
On the hands and feet, an incision is made along the border of the callus, the fingers are carefully turned one after the other and separated from the skin along the joint between the last and penultimate phalanx. Thus, the last phalanx along with the claw remains on the skin, and so on for all twenty fingers. You must be careful during this operation, as you can easily cut the skin in the sinuses between the fingers.
When skinning a head, you need to pay attention to the following aspects. Firstly, the ears - you need to separate the ear cartilage from the skull as close to the skull as possible, and secondly, you must try not to cut the eyelids, they should remain on the skin. Thirdly, the lips - they also need to be left on the skin. And lastly, the nose - the nasal cartilage of a bear is large enough to rot. The proposed figure shows the place where the “meat skull” is separated from the skin; when cutting the cartilage, be careful not to cut off the nose itself.
After the skull is separated, it is necessary to finish processing the head skin. It is necessary to turn out the ear cartilages by carefully separating them from the skin of the back of the ear; a correctly turned ear has one hole - in the cartilage, in the place where it was separated from the skull (see picture). Carefully cut and turn out the mucous membranes of the lips and eyelids.
Afterwards the skin must be salted. For salting, coarse salt that does not contain iodine is suitable; the amount of salt should be quite large. For example, an average bear with a body length of 160 cm requires at least seven kilograms of salt. The skin should be spread with the skin side up and salted over the entire surface, rubbing the salt into the skin. Fingers and hands are filled with salt, and salt is also poured into the ears that are turned back. Pay attention to the edges of the cut; they may turn under and the salt will not get there.
A properly removed, processed and salted skin gives you some guarantee of its safety. However, try to transfer the skin to a taxidermist as quickly as possible, shifting the worries and responsibility for further safety to him. Don’t wait until the skin reminds you of itself with an unpleasant smell in the garage or on the balcony.
2. Medium and small sized mammals: To make a carpet from a wolf, wild boar, or lynx, a cut pattern similar to the pattern for skinning a bear is suitable. The other requirements for processing and preservation described above also remain the same (the paws must be removed to the last phalanx, the ear cartilages must be turned out, the eyelids must be kept on the skin, the mucous membranes of the lips must be opened, etc.). The procedure for removing the skin from the back onto a stuffed animal is somewhat different. The main cut is not connected to the auxiliary cuts on the hind legs, and the cuts themselves on the hind legs are much smaller.
Hunting for wolves, wild boars and lynx is carried out in the cold season. Therefore, the head and lower parts of the limbs can be left in the skin, simply by freezing it. Such skins do not need to be salted. When there is a strong minus outside (<-20o), рысь или не крупного волка можно заморозить целиком, но учтите, не следует хранить добытый трофей в таком виде, заморозка лишь позволит не мараться в крови, и доставить зверя, в течение ближайших полутора - двух суток, таксидермисту.
It is also advisable to bring whole foxes, beavers, raccoon dogs and smaller animals to the taxidermist. If you do not have the opportunity to do this, or you yourself want to practice skinning, you can only note that to make a stuffed animal, the skin from a fox, raccoon dog is removed in the same way as from a wolf, and from beavers, martens, squirrels through one cut, running along the spine from the base of the tail to the middle of the back (see picture).
3.Trophy heads: In addition to carpets and stuffed animals, trophy heads are also made from animal skins, which decorate the walls of hunting interiors. In modern taxidermy, the concept of a trophy head means a full-fledged product in which the animal is exhibited from the tip of the nose to the shoulder girdle. Severed heads resting their ears against the wall are not an aesthetically pleasing sight. And to avoid this, you need to leave the right amount of skin behind your head. The cutting diagram shown in the figure (behind the forelimbs) is suitable for making a trophy head from any type of animal. These cuts (along the back side of the skin with subsequent bifurcation towards the base of the horns) are necessary only for removing the skin from the heads of horned animals. Roe deer are often skinned with a “stocking”; during such shooting, you can simply separate the head from the carcass, leaving it in the skin. Then you will not need to remove the skin from the head by making the indicated cut, but only cut off the required amount of skin behind the head (hereinafter referred to as the shoulder blades). You can leave the head uncovered, with a large supply of skin, on an elk or wild boar. The main thing is that it is cool, and the transfer of the material (skin) to the taxidermist is quick.
Birds: Birds, like small mammals, are best handed over to a taxidermist whole. One of the features of bird conservation is their feather cover. Feathers are very easy to damage. Therefore, if you decide to deliver a bird for making a taxidermy product, then you don’t need to throw it haphazardly into a bag, then into the trunk, and put a bunch of things on top. The result of such transportation will be a kind of lump of blood and feathers with broken and bent wings and tail.
After you have caught the bird, inspect it for any major damage. If not, then the best way to transport it would be to put cotton wool or toilet paper in the beak and wrap the beak, head and neck with toilet paper. Tuck the wrapped neck and head under the wing, place several layers of paper under the second wing, press the wings to the body, fold the tail, wrap the entire bird in paper (for example, newspaper), being careful not to wrinkle the tail and ends of the wings. The wrapped bird can be placed in a fairly large plastic bag, with the tail facing up. For better preservation, it’s a good idea to add a few fir branches to the same bag; the phytoncides they contain inhibit bacteria that cause rotting. It is better to store poultry packaged in this way in a cool place. If it’s warm outside and your car is parked in the sun, you don’t need to keep the hunted game in a heated cabin. Duck, hazel grouse or grouse packed and arranged with fir can lie for a day in a shady place at an air temperature of +150C. It is also necessary to take into account the degree of damage to the bird; if there are bleeding injuries, they must be covered by inserting a piece of cotton wool into the wound or covering it with toilet paper. Game with a damaged belly is stored for a shorter period of time. During the cold season, hunted birds can be frozen by pre-packaging them. In any case, transfer the obtained trophy to the taxidermist as quickly as possible.
Often hunters, while on the hunting grounds, encounter birds of prey and owls and try to kill them. Remember - these are very small species, many of them are in the Red Book. During the cold season, owls and hawks gather near roads and populated areas in search of mice, rats, pigeons and jackdaws. This creates a misleading impression of their numbers. Every time you aim at an owl, remember that our children have a real chance in the near future to hear their voice only on CDs and see them on DVDs.
Fish: Both whole stuffed fish and trophy heads are made from fish; to make a stuffed fish, it is better to deliver the whole fish to the taxidermist, while trying not to damage the fins. To do this, press the dorsal, lateral, pectoral and anal fins to the body, and place a lining made of thick cardboard or fiberboard along the folded caudal fin. Wrap all fish in cling film. If it is not possible to do this, pack the fish in any other available way, just take care of the safety of the fins, for example, the fish can be wrapped in a regular bag, placing a straight stick of greater length along its body. If you intend to travel far for a trophy, from where delivery of a whole fish in a short time will be impossible, then consult with a taxidermist on how best to deliver the trophy. To make a fish head, you need a supply of skin behind the head. It is necessary to cut off the head along the indicated line without damaging the fins. If it is not possible to freeze the head or quickly give it to a taxidermist, you need to remove the insides and muscles from the cut side, leaving the esophagus and gills. To store the head for four to five days, carefully salt the part freed from the entrails and muscles, fill the mouth and the spaces under the gill covers with salt, then pour the salt into a bag and put the head there. The head preserved in this way should be stored in the coolest place available, and handed over to a taxidermist as soon as possible.
HOW TO STORE A HIDE - FROM HISTORICAL SOURCES
No matter how well the skin is removed, it can soon deteriorate when lying around if special measures are not taken to store it.
Freshly skinned skin is called steam room For a tanner, there is no better hide than a steaming one, especially if it is not stained with blood and dirt. But it is rarely possible to immediately send the skin to a factory or tan it yourself. And when lying, the steamed skin quickly deteriorates. At first it shrinks, wrinkles, and becomes horny. Then she starts to warm up. Her hair is falling off. In the end she completely rots. Therefore, something has to be done to ensure that the skin is preserved without damage.
The best thing is to salt the skin, and such wet-salty skins are considered the most expensive. Although for salting you need to buy salt, then you will earn more money for the skin and will more than cover the money that you paid for the salt.
Before salting the skin, you need to clean it thoroughly. Where the cattle are poorly looked after and kept in the mud, there is often a lot of manure on the skin that sticks to the wool, the so-called bulk. The pile spoils the hide and prevents the tanner from working. We must take care that it is not present on live cattle, and it is better to keep the cattle in the stable. If the peeled skin turns out to be in bulk, then before salting you should try to remove it. To do this, it is convenient to place the skin on a block, and where there is none, then on an inclined board. The pile is carefully upholstered with a wooden spatula or a blunt scraper, but certainly in such a way as not to scratch or tear the fresh skin. If the pile has stuck so tightly that it cannot be knocked off, then you need to sprinkle salt over the fur in those places on the skin where the pile remains.
Cleaned skin it should be salted like this.
The salt is taken fine, not buzun. For each skin, from 8 pounds per pound of skin weight is taken in winter and up to 12 pounds in summer. For thin skins, use less salt, and for thick skins, more salt, but it is unreasonable to take less than what is said here. You'll spare a penny's worth of salt, but you'll waste the skin worth rubles. Therefore, for a large bull hide, you will have to take from 14 to 16 pounds in winter, and from 20 to 25 pounds of salt in summer; a cow hide will cost 8-12 pounds in winter, and 12-15 pounds in summer.
The skin is placed in a clean place on a spread, with the wool on the ground or floor. It is good to put some kind of lining underneath the skin so that the phlegm can drain from it. The entire skin is evenly sprinkled with salt from the inside: it is useful to rub the salt with your hand so that it sticks well to the skin. If the skin is properly salted, then after three days solid salt will be visible on it. If all its salt has been absorbed, then you need to add fresh salt. When the entire skin is evenly salted, bend the head and part of the skin at the tail inward, as well as the floors at the edges. Then the head is sprinkled with salt and all the thick parts are also sprinkled with salt along the coat.
Now they put the entire skin into a bundle. It must be folded according to the rules. At first the fourth part of the skin is folded inwards, starting from the head, then the right and left flaps are folded towards the middle, then the entire skin is folded along the ridge, then rolled up, starting from the head, into a bundle and tied with a tail or twine.
After five days, the package is dismantled. The sputum is allowed to drain, lightly salted and rolled up again as the first time. If everything is done according to the rules, the skin will last a long time and will not dry out.
When, say, a collective collects a lot of skins, it can be salted in riots or stacks.
The first skin is salted on the floor on a spread, as just described. Then the entire skin is folded around so that the head, paws and flanks lie inside, and the entire skin around becomes like a saucer. All bent parts are sprinkled with salt along the fur, the head is especially carefully salted. Then they place the second skin so that the head does not rest on the head of the first skin, but next to it. Everything is done as with the first skin. On the second one place the third, fourth, fifth and so on in the same way, salting everything well each time. The heads will lie in a circle, one after the other. Up to two hundred skins can be folded into such a riot. The brine in the riot should not flow to one side, which can happen if the skins are not distributed correctly.
If the skin was* poorly salted, then it will prohibit. When the skin begins to rot, the first thing that will begin to come off is hair. From time to time you need to tug your hair with your fingers. On a healthy skin, the hair sits tightly, but on a damaged skin it is easily torn out.
Damaged hide is not suitable for a tanner.
If the skin begins to grow hair, it can quickly rot. You can improve the situation if you take the skins apart and salt them again. You need to carefully monitor your hair so as not to be late with over-salting.
Wet-salted skins are the best, but sometimes it is difficult to get enough salt. Then you can store the skins by drying them.
Drying skins done in the warm season.
The skin removed from the animal is hung on a pole with the wool inward along the ridge.
The pole is hung somewhere under a canopy or in a barn, in the shade. You should never start drying a hide directly in the sun because sun drying will ruin the fresh raw hide. This makes it horny, and then easily cracks and breaks. Only an almost completely dried skin can be dried in the sun, and even then not in the summer, but when the sun is not so hot. Many skins are spoiled by improper drying in the villages.
You cannot dry the skins by spreading them on the ground; the only correct way is to dry them in the shade so that there is air on all sides. You can dry cow and horse hides. They almost always dry milk, sheepskin, goatskin and foals. They can be dried in the hut in winter.
However, it is much better to salt the corn, as the Germans and Americans do, because then much better leather can be made from it.
During drying, the skin on the paws and cheeks of the muzzle shrinks. To prevent this from happening, the paws and cheeks are straightened by inserting wood chips or splinters. Where the skin is adjacent to the pole, it is better to make linings so that air gets in there and the skin does not rest along the ridge.
It happens that the entire skin is already dry, but the head and thicker parts are not yet dry. Then you can expose the skin to the sun for a short time, covering it with matting, so that only the head dries openly in the sun.
In winter it is difficult to dry skins, and there is nowhere to dry them. They are therefore often frozen, but this should only be done as a last resort, when salting cannot be established in any way. Very bad lumpy frozen skins, frozen right in the yard in the snow, because a lot of snow and dirt stick to them. Then, when the skin thaws, it is difficult to tan. Better hooped frozen skins, which are frozen on poles in a suspension, as in drying.
During transportation and disassembly, frozen skins easily crack and break. At the factory you have to tinker with them a lot to put them into production. When the skin freezes, it becomes weaker. In the event of a thaw, especially during long-distance transportation, frozen skins easily deteriorate and rot.
There is another type of preservation of skins, this is dry salting. The skins are first salted and then dried. You can use less salt than with wet salting.
Any prepared skin must be handled with care, do not trample it, do not throw it anywhere, but store it in a safe place. Dry skins are almost as easy to break as frozen skins. Therefore, you need to save the skins so that they lie in a cool, dry place, so that water does not drip on them through a thin roof, so that they do not get wet from below, so that moths do not appear on dry skins, and in general, so that they do not deteriorate. If the skins have to lie for a long time, then it is necessary to review them and rearrange them, if necessary, salt them or ventilate them.
Remove the skin.
All the subtleties and secrets of skinning a rabbit.
A small but important introduction.
Every rabbit breeder sooner or later faces such a specific task as skinning a rabbit. In my articles, I have already mentioned the importance of this stage, since rabbit skins, as a valuable commodity, can bring additional and considerable income to your treasury. Even despite the relative depreciation of skins on the market in recent years, if the question is formulated correctly, through their sale it is possible to cover all the costs of purchasing feed. This will mean that all the meat raised will cost you practically free, which, you see, is not bad at all.
There are many ways to skin a rabbit. This is primarily due to the traditions of a particular people and to various technologies for processing and further use. Now I will describe in detail only one, but the most common method in the CIS, which is called removing the skin from a rabbit with a pipe. The described technology makes it possible to sell the skins with a very high degree of probability. If we translate it into simple human language, then this is a method in which the skin is not cut along the stomach, but is removed approximately like a stocking from a leg. It is much easier to dry and process such skin in the future.
With this method, on large farms, the rabbit is first beheaded, but we will not do this with you. Let's remove the skin from the head. Although this is somewhat more complicated, when implemented you will receive a bonus in the form of additional value. Let me make a reservation right away that nothing bad will happen if you fail to complete the entire procedure flawlessly the first time. Most likely, when gaining the first experience, rough edges will arise. Don't be upset if you suddenly cut through the skin, stain it with blood, or cannot remove it correctly from the rabbit's head. Experience will come quickly, and the damaged skin will still be accepted, albeit at a cost of category 3 or 4.
Hanging the carcass.
So, we take a freshly slaughtered and bled rabbit with the urine removed, the fur previously cleaned, and we cut the skin on the hind legs in the area of the hock joints. The knife must be sharply sharpened, since the skin has sufficient strength. However, you should not apply excessive force when pressing, since this can cut one of the thin shin bones. As a result, difficulties with further operations may arise. Having slightly lifted the skin and freed the paws about 1.5 centimeters up the leg, we stuck a special wooden spacer with pointed ends into them. The wood must be hard so that the points easily penetrate the muscle tissue and tendons. The length of this spacer is selected so that the rabbit’s hind legs together with it form a kind of equilateral triangle. In this case, you will carry out further operations with the greatest convenience.
We hang the rabbit carcass by the middle of the spacer, adjusting the height according to our height. It is advisable that the rabbit is at the level of your chest or slightly lower. Take care of the strength of the rope, since when removing the skin you will have to apply a certain force directed downwards. Since the rabbit's tail is of no interest to us as a commodity, we cut it off. However, this is not necessary; perhaps in your region the requirements of buyers and resellers are slightly different.
Removing the skin from the hind legs.
Using the tip of a knife, make a U-shaped semicircular cut in the skin on the hind legs. It happens that a rabbit’s feet are very dirty, in this case we cut off the ends of the front paws at the wrist joint. The mark of the knife should begin at one of the hocks, pass through the anus and end at the second hock. If the rabbit's feet are well spread with a properly selected spacer, then this will not seem difficult to you. Now there is an opportunity to expose the hind legs, which is what needs to be done. Most likely, you will have to make additional ring cuts around the anus and genital area. The smaller the diameters of these cuts, the better. But you can simply slide the blade under the bridge of the crotch area and cut the skin in this place, holding the blade upward.
Removing the skin from the body.
If everything is done correctly, then we move on to the main stage - removing the skin from the body. Experienced rabbit breeders with a “full hand” carry it out in a few seconds. I do not advise you to rush, so as not to damage the goods. It should be noted that sometimes you come across rabbits from which the skin, due to some natural reasons, is very difficult to peel off, even if the rabbit was killed quite recently. Be prepared for this too.
The operation is very simple. We take the edges of the skin with both hands and pull it down. In this case, the fur ends up inside. You should not apply excessive force, as this can lead to stretching of the skin, which means it will become cheaper. If the need arises, we help you very carefully separate the skin from the body with your fingers, or in extreme cases, with a knife. At the same time, we make trimming so that the rabbit fat located in the interlayer mainly remains on the carcass. Once again I want to remind you to be careful. It is better to then remove excess fat from the skinned skin with a knife set at 90 degrees to the surface (safest) than to “admire” the damaged product.
Removing the skin from the forelimbs.
Next, we reach the front limbs and pull off the skin in turn from each of them. To do this, we hold the skin with one hand, and with the other we take the front paw and, as it were, pull it out, slightly bending it at the joint. The part of the skin adjacent to the paw should turn outward (with the fur inward). In order for the skin to completely peel off from the limb, at the end of the stretching it is necessary to cut the paw with a knife just above the hock joint. Personally, I cut off the ends of the front legs immediately after hanging the rabbit. This not only simplifies the process itself, but also helps keep the skin clean. Then we repeat the same with the other foot. The difference from releasing the hind limbs is that here there is no need to make cuts along the paw, we just stretch it out. Sometimes you have to put in quite a lot of effort.
Removing the skin from the head.
The next target is the head. The difficulty of this stage is that it is necessary to make a series of incisions: in the area of the ears, nostrils, lips and eyes. Moreover, all cuts must be sufficient so that the skin is well separated and at the same time, the smallest possible in diameter so that the skin has the highest value. First we deal with the ears. For example, I don’t make special cuts, but simply cut off the ears. With certain skills, the holes will be very small, but the process will noticeably speed up. You'll have to tinker with your eyes. If you have a well-sharpened knife and its tip is pointed, the operation will not seem very difficult.
We repeat the same around the nostrils, after which we pull the skin all the way down, as a result of which it hangs, holding only on the lips. We carefully remove the last obstacle, trying to cut along the very edge, but not to grab the rabbit's whiskers.
That's all. The skin is separated and is in your hands. While it is still warm, try to remove all remaining fat, meat and subcutaneous connective tissue, as well as ear cartilage, if any. It will be very difficult to remove them from dried skin.
