Fresh Bunny- Fridge or Freezer?

[BigggJack]

One of our dogs brought my wife a present this morning, A bunny about I don't know 6-8 inches, I have to be out of the house til this afternoon & of course it is supposed to be a cooker outside today. Am I better off just leaving the bunny in the beermiester til I can get to it, or should I toss it in the freezer?

Side Note: I have no idea how to skin a rabbit or how to prep it for storage, so this should be interesting. So, if there is anyone in the Mont/Chester/Berks area that knows what to and is willing to lend me a hand or demonstrate , feel free to let me know.

 

[duckfoot]

Toss it in the fridge.

Make a cut to break the skin all the way around the neck, clip all four feet off with some hedge trimmers, and just rip his pajamas off.

Shouldn't take more than a couple seconds.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

whole rabbit skins are quite inexpensive. Is it worth the trouble to skin, flesh and dry/stretch the rabbit?- ex trapper speaking here.

 

[BigggJack]

nymphingmaniac wrote:
whole rabbit skins are quite inexpensive. Is it worth the trouble to skin, flesh and dry/stretch the rabbit?- ex trapper speaking here.

The answer to that question is , not today it isn't. I watched a video or two on the tanning process and don't have what I would need to do it, so the bunny ended up disposed. I could have tried to skin it & put the hide in the freezer til I got the supplies,but, that drew a quick "HELL NO" from the wife. I'll gather up what I need and have them ready if I need them down the road.

 

[McSneek]

BigggJack wrote
I could have tried to skin it & put the hide in the freezer til I got the supplies,but, that drew a quick "HELL NO" from the wife. I'll gather up what I need and have them ready if I need them down the road.

Wives don't need to know everything. Mine never knew about those squirrel tails I put in the freezer. Just sayin'

 

[John96]

I currently have a whole opossum in the freezer that no one knows about. ...you just need to disguise it; quadruple bag it and stick it down at the bottom with the venison and seven year old bag of frozen peas.

On another note, if you want to preserve hides in the future you do not need to go through the entire tanning process. You can get everything you need with a trip to the grocery store for a few dollars. Here's a brief run down:

1. Skin the animal
2. Scrape off any flesh/tissue with a dull knife
3. Tack it (fur side down) to a piece of flat scrap wood, it should be taut but not ripping the hide
4. Cover with a generous amount of table salt
5. Store in a cool dark place for about a week (at this point it can be left indefinitely if you don't get around to finishing it right away)
6. Soak hide over night in a Borax solution (1/2 C borax to a gallon of water)
7. Remove, wring out, re-tack, let dry

This method is pretty simple and gets a nice result. Afterwards you can break in the pelt with some boot oil and vigorous crinkling but that is not necessary.

 

[barrybarry]

My Aunt once found my bag of Muskrats in the freezer while looking for ice cubes. The result was everything you could imagine and more. Though it happened 40 years ago we still talk about it at family get togethers.

 

[BigggJack]

McSneek wrote:


Wives don't need to know everything. Mine never knew about those squirrel tails I put in the freezer. Just sayin'

True, very true, but, when you marry a redhead you pick your transgressions carefully & this one wasn't worth the risk.

 

[Prospector]

John96 wrote:
Here's a brief run down:
1. Skin the animal
2. Scrape off any flesh/tissue with a dull knife
3. Tack it (fur side down) to a piece of flat scrap wood, it should be taut but not ripping the hide
4. Cover with a generous amount of table salt
5. Store in a cool dark place for about a week (at this point it can be left indefinitely if you don't get around to finishing it right away)
6. Soak hide over night in a Borax solution (1/2 C borax to a gallon of water)
7. Remove, wring out, re-tack, let dry

I follow a similar method to the bird or mammal skins I save each year. First 3 steps are identical.
In step 4 I mix an equal amount of table salt and borax and spread it on the skin.
After one day I remove the salt/borax mixture (since it tends to pull out a lot of moisture in the first day) and apply a fresh 50-50 mixture of salt / borax.
Next I follow your step 5 until I'm comfortable all moisture is out of the skin.
I keep them for years this way but the skin is stiff.

Very little effort needed.
10 minutes to skin (but I trapped as a kid so I have a system)
10 minutes to scrape the meaty pieces off the skin
Another 5-10 minutes to mix salt borax and tack down skin.

Recycling road kills into flies is worth it (if you get them early).

 

[SteveG]

Fwiw, if looking for whole skins, including dyed, Fly Tyers Heaven in Sunbury is the place to go.

 

[acesedgley]

I really wanted to pull over today and pick up the Chippy I saw on the road, but his tail was still twitching and too much traffic!

 

[dc410]

acesedgley wrote:
I really wanted to pull over today and pick up the Chippy I saw on the road, but his tail was still twitching and too much traffic!

Aw man! The ones that are still twitching are the best ones. The other year I scarfed up a ****bird that was still flopping on a concrete median strip in the middle of Route 61 up near Cabelas. Driving a pickup with an open bed does have some advantages. :-D