Preparing a hide for tanning

Be sure to tell your butcher that you plan to use the pelt, and to use the steer pattern to remove it. Also to be careful of cutting the skin, because holes in the skin can catch in the de-fleshing machine and tear it, and also detract from the appearance of the finished skin. As mentioned, be sure to have them cool it quickly so the wool does not slip (come off). Lay it out in wool side down in an area of a building where dogs and wildlife cannot easily get to it. You will probably want to lay down a plastic tarp under it to catch drips and salt if that concerns you. We used a section of livestock panel so the air can get to it and the wool will be dry. Put a thick layer of salt on it, making sure to get all the edges. Trim off strips of skin, testicles etc (you won't believe what some butchers leave - an ear?) . Continue to add salt in the areas where moisture pools during the drying process. Depending on how humid the weather, it can take 2-4 weeks to get nice and dry. The salt will be completely dry then. Once its ready, shake off the excess salt (another reason for the drop cloth) and fold it wool side out, or roll it up. Do not put into a plastic bag, just pack it directly into a box for mailing.

A brief, simplistic article on rabbit color genetics I wrote back in 2010

Genetics 101
Lisa Rodenfels

OK, its time for a brief rabbit color genetics lesson:
There are 5 gene pairs we are most interested in right now. A, B, C, D, & E.

The first is “A”. A is agouti, ‘a’ is solid or self. Agouti is
dominant to self. So an agouti rabbit can be AA or Aa. Self is
recessive, so it can only be ‘aa’. Watch how the gene pairs change
colors for you.
A-B-C-D-E- is a chestnut agouti, the same as a wild rabbit. It has
banded hair shaft, with grey at the skin, a tan band, and black hair
tips.
aa-B-C-D-E- is a black rabbit. The only thing that changed is that
this rabbit has 2 copies of the recessive “a”.

B is black, ‘b’ is chocolate.
A-B-C-D-E- is chestnut agouti , A-bb-C-D-E- is a chocolate agouti.
aabbC-D-E- is a chocolate rabbit. Notice chocolate has 2 copies of
the recessive a and b genes.
So you should know that you could never breed two chocolates together
and get any agoutis, or any blacks, since they don’t have those genes.

I am going to skip “C” until later, since it has more variables. Right
now, just know this gene pair creates the REW, pointed white (himi)
sable (shaded) and chinchilla rabbits. REW is the most recessive gene
in this set.

D is dense color, “d” is dilute color. Black and brown are dense, blue
and lilac are dilute colors.
aa-B-C -D-E is black, to make it a blue, you need two copies of the
dilute gene, or aa-B-C-dd-E-. Chocolate is aa-bb-C-D-E. A lilac is
aa-bb-C-dd-E-
You could never breed to lilacs together and get agouti, black, or even
chocolate or blue, since they do not have those genes.

E is extended color. ‘e’ is non-extended. This gene effects how the B
or b gene is expressed on the wool of the angora. It easy to see on a
tort. Notice how on a black rabbit, the black is all over or extended
all over the body. Then look at a tort. The points have black color
pigment in them, but it the body does not – only the tan/orange
pigment. That is what non-extended means.
Look at the genetic codes.
A-B-C-D-E is chestnut agouti. To make Fawn, its A-B-C-D-ee. The
non-extended gene takes the black out of the hair shaft – just leaving
the smut on the face, feet and tail of the rabbit.
aa-B-C-D-ee is a tort. The only thing different from a black is just
the non-extended genes.
aa-bb-C-D-ee is a chocolate tort. A lilac tort would be similar, just
with the ‘dd’ instead.

OH, the REW. The ‘C’ gene is for another post. For now, just keep in mind, REW only masks the rabbit’s
color. Remember, A-B-C-D-E is a chestnut agouti? Well to get a REW,
just change the C to a cc. This works both ways – in an REW, change
the “cc” to “Cc” and the colors the rabbit carries will show up.

Color Comparison

Red (Moulin Rouge)   Wideband Chocolate Agouti (Ginger Hill)  &
Chocolate Agouti (Saraid)

Red Wool - red at tips, gradually blending to creamy at body.

Wideband Chocolate Agouti
chocolate at tips, then a red band, fading to white at the body.
You can see the chocolate tips of the new coat coming in close to the body.

Chcolate Agouti Wool:  Chocolate at tips, the the tan band (tan to red, depending
on the amount of rufus modifiers) with a silvery grey band at the body.
The grey band varies in intensity of color, too.

Yarn Dyeing Tutorial

Tie the skein in 4 different places so that it does not get tangled during
 the dyeing and rinsing process.  Be sure to leave it loose so
that the dye will take evenly and not leave a white line on the yarn.

Wet yarn thoroughly.  Fold skein in half and lay
in an aluminum turkey roaster.  I lay 2 skeins side
by side.  Then add a splash of vinegar.  Select and
sprinkle 2-5 different colors of dye powder on the
yarn.  Keep in mind that the dyes will run and blend
somewhat, so if you use two colors that will form brown,
be sure to keep them separate.   In this dye bath,
I am using red and avacado,  so between them, I have
put a buffer of teddybear brown. 

Using the sprayer nozzle on your sink, wet down
the dye powder thoroughly.  It will wash down into
the yarn.  Put just enough water in the pan so that when
you push down on the yarn with a spoon, it is covered
with water.  Use the spoon to squish the yarn into the
dye so that it takes the color evenly and does not
leave white or light spots. 

Put the pan into the oven, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
The yarn should be steaming when you remove it from the
oven.  Let it sit and cool; often it will absorb more dye
and exhaust the dyebath during the cooling process.

Once it is cooled, dump the yarn into the sink and drain it, then
rinse until the water is clear.  The last rinse should have a conditioner
in it, to give the yarn a silky softness and bring out the sheen in the wool.

Here is a finished skein.

And its ready to photograph.  I twist the yarn as though I am going
to skein it, and then coil it into a ball.