I went on a recent hunt where I shot a nice stallion Zebra. I only wanted the skin to make a flat skin, we did the necessary skinning etc but when I got home was VERY disappointed to find the skin completely ruined!!!

Herewith the process followed -
The Zebra was shot photos taken loaded straight onto the cruiser and to the skinning room where we started skinning straight away. From the shot to the skinning room maybe 40 minutes
- Once skinned the excess blood was washed off the skin with fresh water
- The skin was soaked in a salt water solution of approximately 8kg salt (according to the land owner) and approx. 15 litres water
- It stayed in this solution at room temperature for about 43 hours
- I then removed the skin, which smelt fairly bad and washed it with fresh water

Results below

Was it -
In the solution too long?
Concentration of the salt solution not what the land owner claimed?
Solution and skin not kept cold ? it was at about 18 deg C (I guess)

The hair came away from the skin in chunks the entire skin was thrown away.

Yes I did contact the Ph and the Land Owner - the Ph went out of his way, and FULL credit to him. Although we don’t know whose fault it was he has promised me a replacement Zebra to hunt at no charge- trophy or day fees.



This is hair left in the coolerbox once the skin was taken out



One SAD day !!!


Showing how the hair "peeled" away from the skin

43 hrs in warm salt water rotted the skin. Salt brines are ok in some circumstances but I've seen much less damage over the years if the skins are salted immediately after skinning, no soaking. Bacteria is what causes hair to slip, the best place for bacteria to grow is in a warm moist environment. Dang I guess you'll just have to go back and do another safari.

X2 to Jerry's reply.

After fleshing you want to draw the moisture out of the skin ASAP to avoid a breeding ground for bacteria. Skin and get salt on it and draw out the moisture.

Three problems I see most with zebra skin are:

Bacterial dermis slip: from not getting dry salted and hair set in a timely manner.
Bug eaten dermis: from buggy storage areas (skins either not skinned well or stored near green skins)
and
Cracks in the skin: from folding the skin for shipping too long after it has been dried and hardened.

Sorry for your loss. He looked like a beauty.

Yes, I think you made leather there.

Another big problem is not removing all the fat under the mane.
I have soaked very bloody skins in a cold saturated salt solution for about eight hours, leaving it in the cold room, then hung up to 'drip dry,' then using a sloping board, laid the skin on a thick layer of salt, then covered in salt. No heat or warmth at all.

I agree with all of the above, also keep in mind 40 minutes on the back of the cruiser in any heat is not good. I always carry extra water and wet the skin when loaded. If the truck's been waiting in the sun the loading box will be hot and accelerate hair slip.

quote:

Originally posted by ghundwan:

- The skin was soaked in a salt water solution of approximately 8kg salt (according to the land owner) and approx. 15 litres water
- It stayed in this solution at room temperature for about 43 hours
- I then removed the skin, which smelt fairly bad and washed it with fresh water

The skin was rotten when it came out of the "brine" and that is why it smelled. Personally I only see one possibility: the brine was not up to par(most likely too little salt). A proper brine would have stopped the bacterial action.

My guess is the landowner skimped on the salt....

I understand Dettol added to the brine solution will also help prevent this.

Not enough or poor grade salt. Salt solution is fine but this was

1) most likely not saturated

2)low grade salt

3) should have been kept chilled

4) IMO salt solutions are a temporary fix until you can get to a place where you can actually salt the cape so that it becomes flint hard

5) If you use a salt solution in hot weather it is always prudent to add an antibacterial to the mix.

6) Left in the solution too long. Skin needed hung and dried.

My guess is it was a combination of all of the above that caused your problem.

quote:

Originally posted by Jerry Huffaker:
43 hrs in warm salt water rotted the skin. Salt brines are ok in some circumstances but I've seen much less damage over the years if the skins are salted immediately after skinning, no soaking. Bacteria is what causes hair to slip, the best place for bacteria to grow is in a warm moist environment. Dang I guess you'll just have to go back and do another safari.

Spot on. The skin should have been put to fine salt immediately after it was fleshed.