Anyone skinned one of these?

[sigidi]

Well an unfortunate finding on the farm early yesterday morning has led to a first time experience for me.

At about 0730 local time I saw one of our Alpaca females lying on herside in the paddock and from the 50 or so metres away, I could see the terrible arch of her neck and knew she was dead.

Wifey and I went down to take a look and after a quick once over, we figured she wasn't gone long as she was still a bit warm.

For the rest of the morning I took the kids to school and ran around town trying to find some specific supplement for her 7 wekk old baby!

Later that day, after much discussion with Wifey we decided to skin her. So I started my first ever skinning at the ripe old age of 30 years old.

Being a first timer these photo's and my method will be rather odd to those who have done the air compressor or golf ball skinning, but here's the begining...



I started on each leg, cut a ring just above the ankle, then worked my way up the inside of the leg once all the legs were done I then took two cuts up the ribcage of the Alpaca, each one about 2" from centre (Alpaca's have a hard protuding breastbone, which is very caloused from when the Kush or sit) Then slowly working down each side of the animal I worked toward the spine...



Wifey had long stopped 'helping' and had to watch from a small distance, to try and help out wifey and also our wonderfull Alpaca, I tried to keep her covered as best I could...



After some work on my part and a lot of walking around the wheelbarrow, I finally managed to release a terrific looking hide from our Lovely Alpaca...




Quatro, our Alpaca died at 3 years of age, much too young for an Alpaca and she has left us a beautifull cria (baby Alpaca) named Gwenevere. Gweny is a solid white girl, who will now receive 4 bottle feeds a day until she is about 6 months of age, and hopefully she will be able to grow into the best Alpaca she can be.

[asy]

Oh! Allan, what happened??? How did she die???

How awful!

Still, nice rug!

Are you going to get it tanned, or do it yourself?

asy :D

[Kevin]

I see a couple of things worth mentioning.
No rubber gloves and a bent back.
If you hang them up and keep your back straight it's much easier on you.
Nice job on the skinning.

[beenthere]

Sigidi
Looks like you got the job done. Hopefully without cutting through the skin while skinning (makes for ugly holes in the hide but takes a lot of care to avoid it too).
Reminds me of the first deer I skinned......bent over, chasing it around on the floor (not in a wheelbarrow) and not really knowing what I was doing. But I didn't give up, and figured out some improved methods after that  for the many that followed.
Thanks for the pics. Now how about one of the surviving 'kid'? 

[Kirk_Allen]

Looks pretty good for a first time.  Sorry you lost you animal.  I know here in the states Aplacas are pretty expensive to buy.  How is the little one doing. 

[Dan_Shade]

roll it up in some salt if and freeze it if you aren't going to process it (this is what I've done before, i may have read that it's not good to do this too...)

make sure you got all the fat off of it.

you can buy tanning kits, I once used oak bark in water for a deer and bull hide.

after it is tanned, (this is where I messed up), you need to do something to keep it pliable.  I still don't know how you do that, other than employing a squaw. (un)Fortunately, women here in the states are above that sort of thing now, maybe down under things are a bit different!

[Kevin]

You add a special oil to the flesh side and work it back and forth over something like a round nose shovel to soften it.

[Radar67]

Dan, salt is the way to go, it draws out the moisture, but you have to salt, scrape off the salt, and repeat the process several times during tanning. As you are scraping the salt off, you have to scrape off the fat and a thin layer of the inner skin as well until it is completely free of all fatty tissue. In between scrapings, the skin has to be chilled. Do not freeze unless it will be a while before processing. A tanning kit (tannin or alum based would be the best way, or you could use the old indian way which requires the use of the brain and a few other ingredients. The skin will harden after tanning. To make the skin pliable, it has to be "broken" (taxidermy word), this is accomplished by applying neets foot oil and working the hide over a wooden rail, post, or other like surface until it is flexible. Tanning a hide is very labor intensive if done by hand. There is also a chemical you should bath the hide in during the tanning process to keep the hair from "slipping", it's name escapes me right now.

Stew

[sigidi]

Asy the plan is to keep doing it myself - just don't know how much work it'll be

Kevin, I have been told about hanging up the animal, but it wasn't going to go down well with Wifey, as it was I had to cover Quatro's head (pink baby clothes in pics) Probably better for me too. Gloves we had one pair on the farm at the time and I made Wifey wear 'em Kevin if you hang it up, what's to stop the animal from spinning around while you're doing the skinning?

Beenthere, yeah that sounds familiar going around and around not having much of an idea. I spoke to a farm butcher about how to do it and got some quick pointers. Luckily I made one hole about 3/8 - 1/2" Here's a pic of Gweny's first couple of hours...

Mate I would love to show the pic but the gallery isn't loading for me?????

Ok Second try - here's Gweny new born and still all wet, yet to get up and walk...



and here is Gwney being welcomed into the herd, after birth all the other animals of the herd come over to say hello and get a good smell on the new addition...



Kirk, yep over there they are not cheap and they are only getting more expensive. The Alpaca association over there has done something quite unique - they have closed their register, which means no new Alpaca's can be registered in the states unless their parents are already registered. By doing this it makes an animal worth much more if it's registered in the states. Little one is taking to the bottle very slowly, a little worried as she has only had one feed that can be called a feed, every other time it seems to have just run out of her mouth - I don't think her or us are happy about the new arrangements

Dan I'll just have to suck it and see how things come out, I've got a friend who has done a bunch of Kangaroo's who is helping via email, he has said he might be able to come visit come tanning time.

Kevin and Stew I'm yet to get that far but any forward info will stop me stuffing up the hide from ignorance.

Thanks everyone for your kind words

[Kevin]

Hang em by the hind legs, a rope on each leg will do.
The legs are spread and tied separately, you can put a stick between the legs if you want.

[Dan_Shade]

we always used hooks through the achilles tendon (I guess that's what it's called on a deer/cow/whatever)

you can buy/make a spreader which works well, but if it was a "pet", that can all be a little rough....

[Max sawdust]

I assume you want the hair to remain on the hide after tanning.  This is much more difficult than hair off tanning.  I would strongly recomend taking it in to be done or using a premade kit for the purpose of hair on tanning.  If you make the slightest mistakes the hair will become loose and start falling out after you went though all of the work.
Max

[asy]

Sig,

A few (!) years ago I tried to tan a couple of angora goat hides. Big hairy buggerrs they were.... 

Got a 44 gallon drum, and the right chemicals from a taxidermist.

Did as instructed, mixed everything, dunked the hides in...  Left them for the appropriate time...

I had NO idea how HEAVY fully sodden hides could be. I couldn't lift them. Even with my (then) husband's help we couldn't lift them properly without getting covered in semicongealed slime from the barrel, and chemicals etc.

We decided to wait till someone oculd help us, but alas, they went off in the heat. (And this was in  melbourne, not queensland, they'd go off a darn sight faster up here)...

My point is...  whilst is might seem like something you'd like to do yourself. I would STRONGLY recommend handing it over to a taxidermist if you really want to keep the hide. If you aren't fussed whether it works or not, and just want to have a go, make sure you take PHOTOS!

I certainly would not want to have my first attempt done on a hide that is special, if you know what I mean...

asy :D

[Dana]

I have tanned coyote skins with the hair on with good success using a homemade mixture. Let me know if you want the mix/instructions.

[woodbowl]

Dana,
     I for one would certainly like to know the hair on homemade recipe, and how well it holds up.  Thanks.

[Dan_Shade]

me too, dana

i remember my mess smelled absolutely horribile.  i remember being out side trying to hose it off and my brother gagging while mowing the lawn  :D

[Dana]

Sorry to take so long to reply. Here is the mix and a photo. This coyotee was tanned a couple years ago. There has been no hair loss.
Stretch skin over a board and scrape off ALL remaining muscle ect with a dull knife held @ 90 deg. to surface. Now rub large amount of NONiodized salt into the flesh side roll it up and put in freezer for 3 days. Unthaw and rescrape hide. Now wash out all the salt. Make your tanning solution with 4 gallons of water, 1 pound of granulated Alum and a pound of salt. (get the alum from the grocery store it is used for pickling pickles. the salt is non iodized) Soak the hide for a week. Stir it once a day. Remove it from the tanning mix and wring it dry. Lather the flesh side with neats-foot oil let soak in a few hours. Stretch the wet hide over a saw horse ect. and work back and forth as hard as you can to soften it. Then sit down and keep working all the hard to reach area with your fingers, dowel, ect to soften the smaller areas. Add more neats-foot oil as needed.

[johncinquo]

Exactly what Dana Said, except I use Ammonium Alum which I buy from the pharmacy.  2lbs per 5 gallons of water.   

Then rub til your hands fall off! 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I don't want to discorage you but, if you have any repetative stress problems with your hands (CTS)
This will REALLY aggrivate it. I was into tanning deer a few years ago. My hands got so bad that I could not type, could hardley hold a phone up to my ear! I decided that somethings were better left to others.

I did get one nice skin out of it tho  :D

[Dan_Shade]

why not make a set of three rollers to roll the skin through to break it down?

what kinds of contraptions do commercial operations have?

[Dana]

Like a sheet metal roller, Dan? I say go for it Worst that can happen is it dosent work and who is to say it won't until you try it.

[Radar67]

Dan, the commercial operations use a drum and tumble the skins, very similar to a clothes dryer without heat and much bigger.

Stew

[Dan_Shade]

yeah, that's what I was thinking of, Dana.

Stew, do they have bowling balls or stones or anything like that in the drums?

[Radar67]

They use sawdust, it absorbs any moisture left in the skin. The weight of the skin and the others in the drum do the job. It may take many days (7 or more) to get it soft enough though.

Stew