I am really interested in taxidermy and tanning hides. I'm sure this question has been asked so many times but what do I do now? I got a deer hide from a friend the other night and want to tan it. I hosed off the dirt and debris, hung it over a board to drip for an hour or so then I salted it heavy with rock salt, rolled it up and put it in the freezer. How do I proceed? I'd like to leave the hair on it. I should be getting a few more and some elk hides shortly so if I'm going to screw up, I'd rather do it on this one and not the elk hides. Thanks.
Gloria
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the orange button on the left of the screen. Books will help, but I can't remember what they're called offhand...the Breakthrough manual (come on somebody, help me here). Do you have equipment such as a large tumbler to soften the hides at the end of the process? A fleshing machine to thin the skin thoroughly? It can be a fairly simple process if you have the right equipment to work with.
it has to be a fine grain salt and no need to freeze after you salt a hide noniodized salt is sold at your local farm supply store or food lion
Gloria , the first mistake you made was hosing it off . No need to do this as your giving the hide a chance to grow bateria . Second and third , you dont need to salt if your putting it in the freezer , it wont freeze . The first thing you should do , is remove all the meat and flesh and then salt it with fine grade salt , like table salt , not rock salt . Use enough salt to cover the skin , the more the better , leave it on for about 4 - 5 days , then you can start your tanning process . Buy a book for this . If you think the hide has ticks on it , its a good idea to freeze the skin for a week to kill any .Good luck . Rick
Gloria, you didnt light it on fire, or try to feed it to the dog too, did ya? Just kidding. Try this. Get the info FIRST, then, with a game plan, proceed to the next step. Your cart is out well ahead of the horse.
What do you wanna do, learn the step by step and do this often, or just do this one skin? If this is going to become an ongoing hobby, or more, Id say to get the videos or books these guys mention. If youre just trying to get through one hide, contact a local taxidermist to obtain a McKenzie Home Tanning kit. It has a good video, tan, oil and a list of household items to help you. Good luck!