i have a bobcat and coyote hide that i salt dried. i rehydrated them in water and a little lysol for a couple of hours. they seemed to have quite a bit of life into them so i put them in the pickle. they have only been in there for a day and a half but are not very soft. most of the membrane and traces of meat that previously dried are still very hard and almost glued to the skin. did i put them in the pickle too soon? if i leave them in there will they soften up of is there something else i should do? i dont think i can flesh them the way they are.
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We've said for thousands of times here, DON'T USE LYSOL. In fact, don't use ANYTHING but water and salt to rehydrate the skin. To be properly rehydrated, the skin should have been left in the briney for about two hours, then HUNG to drip dry. When the water stopped dripping, the hide should have been put in a plastic bag and refrigerated from 8 to 12 hours. THEN IT'S REHYDRATED and you can begin your other processes.
Gary, a bobcat and coyote are thin skined animals and should rehydrate in water, (I use Rittles Ultra Soft, thats it in my bath), in about 3 hours if it was properly fleshed pryer to salting, maybe a little longer if needed to get them soft. You were a little quick in getting them in the pickle but they should become workable after 3 days. Remember they do firm up in the pickle to make thinning possible, but those two don't need much thinning, just the face and along the back, the rest just clean up. Also forget the lysol, causes more harm than good.