Lonestar Wool & Fur Company

Tanning for the Wool and Taxidermy Industries     The most common question I get is "How do we prepare the hide for shipment to the tannery?". The hide needs to be salted after slaughter or after thawing from a freezer. The pelt should have salt applied generously on the flesh side and rolled up overnight to drain fluids. Repeat this process the second day and night. On the third day, shake the excess salt off and hang the pelt over a sawhorse or anything that will get it off the ground. This should be done in a cool, dry area out of the sunlight. After three days of drying in this fashion, the pelt is ready for packaging in a cardboard box and shipment to the tannery. The difference between a good pelt and an inferior one starts with you, the farmer and breeder. Below are listed several common problems, and their solutions. WOOL STAINING - While our process does not “yellow” the wool, there are many other factors, which can result in wool staining. Dung staining is quite common on feedlot sheep and there is some indication that a high yellow corn content in the feed may worsen this. Marker paint, mud, clay and blood can all result in stained fiber as well. Low corn feed, clean conditions and prompt processing can help alleviate this problem. BUTCHERING - Please, make sure that your butcher knows that you want the pelts for tanning and ask that he take care skinning them. If they are not skinned in a cold room, the butcher should hang the fresh pelts over a railing, skin side up, to cool and not throw them in a pile on the floor. You should pick up your skins the same day in order to get them salted as soon as possible. Also, try asking your butcher if he uses a knife to remove the skin or if he "fists" off the pelt. Fisting, or “pulling”, the pelt will give you a pelt with few holes or score marks. Several operations in the tanning process stretch the leather enlarging holes left by the butcher’s knife. BUG DAMAGE - It is important to get as much fat off the skin as possible before salting. There are beetle larvas present in the wool of many sheep, which may hatch in your pelt and eat the fat attached to the skin. Unfortunately the beetles begin their feast from the wool side of the pelt resulting in holes where they’ve eaten through to the fat. Many times you won't detect the bugs before shipping to the tanner; however, when we receive them, the bugs have hatched and are having a field day with your pelt. FAT AND FAT BURNS- if heavy fat deposits are not removed before salting, fat burns can occur. The salt will "melt" the fat into the skin causing hard or greasy patches in the leather. Because you want to salt the skin and not the fat, all fat and meat should be removed. Occasionally a pelt may have a genetic defect causing a layer of fat to form in the pelt between the two layers of skin. While this is not uncommon on the neck of older animals, when it occurs over the entire hide, the skin will not tan and must be junked. SKIN SEPARATION - This happens when the two layers of skin separate, the epidermis from the dermis. This is generally caused when the animal is picked up by the wool, but may be genetic in origin as well. RED HEAT (MOLD) - This occurs when there is high heat and/or humidity for a period of time. You will notice a reddish color to the skin and a foul smell. This may occur even though sheepskins are salted but not dry. It is important to shake off the salt after 7 days and completely air dry. We recommend that you ship your pelts as soon as they are dry. Mold damage may vary from a minor discoloration in the leather to holes and wool slippage resulting in a ruined hide. EXTRA LONG WOOL - Extra long wool requires considerably more effort to finish. The additional time on the comber often results in fluffy straightened wool. We will recurl a fleece for an additional charge or you may do so at home by misting the wool and combing the moisture into the fibers until they are slightly damp. Then air dry or tumble in your dryer on the fluff/no heat setting. I cannot guarantee complete removal of all the sawdust particles on extra long wool. Please check your hides for extremely matted or felted wool prior to shipping them. There is very little we can do to remedy hides which have felted fibers prior to processing. This condition commonly results from loose shed fiber matting into the growing fiber on sheep, which have never been sheared, or older sheep, which are butchered in the spring when they are shedding. These type hides will lose most of the outer wool in combing. Lonestar Wool & Fur strives to give you the best possible pelt. You should feel free to call us with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your pelt. A sheepskin is a big investment of time and money and we want to help you to obtain the results you expect.