How We Tan Our Sheep Hides

We try to not overlook any potential resources and get the most out of everything. That includes when we raise animals on our homestead for meat. In this case, I've been experimenting with various options for the best way to tan our sheep hides. After showing some friends how to butcher sheep recently, we had three skins that I wanted to preserve.
By adding one cup of Alum and one cup of Salt to two gallons of lukewarm water, you can start a great pickling process to preserve skins like these. Stir the skins twice daily, and after two days remove them, rinse them, and make sure that all flesh and fat is removed from them. Then, add an additional 1 cup of Alum and 1 cup of Salt to the existing solution and return the skins for another week, stirring them twice daily. At the end of a week, fully rinse the skins, even possibly shampooing or soaping them, and then allow them to dry in a shaded area. As the skins dry, make sure to work them to maintain flexibility. You can also add some mink oil or similar product to the finished skins. Hope that helps, and here's a link to the article I read on this process. www.mothereart...
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#papapepper #tanning #homesteading

[@virginiareid5336]

I so enjoy watching you older girls taking on speciality chores such as this. They know more about homesteading than those raised in towns. Thank you for sharing what y'all have learned about tanning hides. Take Care

[@paulatwood998]

Papa pepper I use my sheepskin that I acquired to cover my seat in my pick up truck. I punched a few holes in it 2 tie it to my truck seat. The Hair on it is long and fluffy therefore it allows circulation of air between my bottom and the hot seat cover. It makes for a cooler ride during the hot summer months with the air circulation beneath me & much warmth during the winter months.

[@rebeccawaggner5291]

The lavender one is so pretty! It looks really warm!

[@mama-karma5693]

Wow!! This is GREAT! What a cool skill to have. Love Love Love the coin bags! I believe it is so important to use as much of the animal as you can. GREAT JOB!

[@goin2green]

I believe I'll try pickling my rabbit skins. Thanks!

[@sueeasley5366]

Thank you for the idea on the hide. We have neighbors that go deer hunting. They are going to try to get us one. We will have to skin it and cut the meat up ourselves. I wanted to know how to save the hide. I intend to have fun with this. Love your videos. Love your family.

[@BobMelsimpleliving.]

Good tanning information. Interesting coin purse. Best wishes Bob.

[@teresarodgers8233]

The skins will make a comfortable place to lay in front of the wood burning stove this winter. You could use those little pouches to hold rings and necklaces . Gives a whole new meaning to " the family jewels".

[@magicattic]

LOL!

[@fezan173]

Are you😢

[@sauntersway3980]

You could piece together parts to make blankets. I'd buy a few.

[@wildedibles819]

Nice throws we want to try slippers and muffs for our hands fur on inside be warm without having to wear mittens :) Leg warmer blankets maybe a quilt or leftover fabric or unused clothing to help with the rest of the garments :) Great projects for the children to learn sewing muffs are easy ;) except the skin but its not to bad You can get iron on tape to attach fabric or a fusing that irons on low heat to help put it all together

[@azdogs]

I've always wanted to make a sheep hide herders coat . This gives me an idea on how to do it.Thanks.

[@joanneganon7157]

That's a different idea, maybe send your friend in Aussie one of yours? Happy tanning! JO JO IN VT 💕😄

[@JDGoodE85]

Sweet. I really want to do a deer skin sometime. Good info. I need a hat too. Lol

[@jeanmyers7833]

great video a great way to practice is with roadkill until you get good at it

[@natalievasey6675]

Amazing. Thank you.

[@ryanjennens1481]

thank you for the video and info you share. the local rancher i get my meat from said that i can just have 2 hides, thanks Paul! i get them next week and plan on tanning them myself. i have never tanned anything before. i will be stitching them end to end to make myself a nice warm sleeping pad for the floor of my tent.

[@sauntersway3980]

Chaps, coats, rugs, purses, collars, and such. I say great idea.

[@annellacannella5674]

Great video. Thanks. We just butchered some goats and I wanted to tan the hides. Currently they are rolled up in the freezer. I did not save the scrotums however. 🫣 maybe next time. Happy thanksgiving!

[@Fåreøen]

Great video!👍

[@wildedibles819]

Do you have an Amazon link for ordering stuff i need to order alum i can not find it local if you had a helper link i would use yours or is it just the book links? Much love xoxox i really enjoyed this and the laugh :)

[@ashleybullard5796]

I have a sheepskin hide I've been doing as you suggested (for skinnfell). It's out of the brine now and drying. My one concern is if it needs to be smoked still or not? It feels fragile (but maybe as it dries it toughens up) and my gut says to smoke the hide, but maybe I'm just being nervous. I really love how soft your hides turned out and I really want my hide to be the same and weather proof. Should I smoke the wet hide or be strong and wait it out?Thank you so much for you time! Tusen takk

[@PapaPepper]

Sorry, just got this. What did you choose and how did it work?

[@nordicshepherdess4764]

@@PapaPepper the brine worked so well! My son slept with his sheepskin hide with his blankets all winter. I still haven't smoked the hide but I feel it is just fine as is. I eventually will smoke the hide but I want to try smoking on rabbit hides before I do my sheepskins. Thanks for this tutorial!

[@PapaPepper]

@@nordicshepherdess4764 Awesome! That sounds so amazing!!!!

[@bettinah.7429]

Good job,seems to have worked out well. I just watched a friends video of her carding her Icelandic wool. So much more than just meat with sheep. Nut sack.....😜

[@SustainablyYoursHomestead]

Those look really awesome!

[@Shofar_On_The_Horizon]

Our children are doing this with the Jacobs sheep hide we processed recently. They are at the stretching/drying phase and the hide has hardened and gotten grey/black blotches. Can we rewet the hide and try stretching it again or is it too late? Is there another way to soften it? It’s hard and flexible like jerky.

[@PapaPepper]

I have done a rehydration experiment that worked well

[@PapaPepper]

Here's a link to a video I made about it kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnq4n4Z7r5KobLc I hope it works out well for them

[@Shofar_On_The_Horizon]

@@PapaPepper Thank you!! They are watching it now! It’s their first one and they didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t know either.😅 Shalom!

[@MarfaPavlovna]

Any kind of specific kind of salt recommended?

[@MarfaPavlovna]

We got our 1st Jacob's sheep in March 2022 and plan to do our butchering at our place tomorrow!

[@wildedibles819]

We raise rabbits and want to use our hides looking for ideas so they can get out of my frezor and not attract animals who might endanger the rest of our animals Much love xoxox thanks

[@happyfrog29]

Furry moccasin boots

[@mgh4400]

Or some coats ?

[@SeanAlexanderThirtyEight]

These are lovely! Do you have some way for me to contact you? I’d like to look into buying 2-3 hides for a personal project.

[@PapaPepper]

Email is available [e-mail]

[@waynekenney2218]

I wish I had watched this yesterday. Just slaughtered a Jacob sheep ram sand put the hide in a bag. Don’t know how long it will take to get the stuff in to do the soaking. No room in the freezer for the hide. What do suggest?

[@NisiSkyhorse]

Salt it. There are plenty of videos on how to do that.

[@myjaney]

this girl is very very lucky

[@ismail8101]

Lol 👀 it's nuts lol seamless

[@wildedibles819]

Lol cool coin purse lol

[@JB43186]

You waste nothing! I’m sure the kids would enjoy cozy pillows from those skins.

[@kellychartrand5532]

Woman here sells for $250 Canadian.

[@adelAdel-mt1ig]

What's ALUM ??

[@BriEnr]

It’s a chemical commonly used in dyeing….you can find small quantities in most cooking sections at store, but you can buy multiple pounds at craft stores

[@tamimkhan5628]

Indian baby .