 | A complete handbook on backyard and commercial rabbit production |
 |  | Simplified tanning |
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Making charms from rabbit paws and tails
1. Wash paws and tails thoroughly in any detergent to remove dirt and blood. Re move water by squeezing but do not break the bones.
2. In a plastic container, mix 2 liters formaline and 1 liter water (2:1). Soak paws and tails for 3 days or more. After 3 days, when the bones are hard, the paw and tail are preserved. If the bones are still soft, leave in the formaline solution longer.
3. With a rubber globe, remove the tails and paws from the formaline solution and wash them thoroughly in detergent (borax, tide, baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate). Take care not to inhale toxic fumes from the solution.
4. Dry paws and tails on wire mesh or G.I. in the sunshine until thoroughly dried.
Materials
1. Perstop wood glue.
2. Copper wire.
3. Hand drill made from .05 nail attached to small piece of wood for drilling hole into foot.
4. Cup containing water.
5. Key chains.
Procedure
1. Prepare hook by bending copper wire around a .075 nail to form an eye. Use a pair of pliers for easy manipulating (Fig. 42).
FIGURE 42
2. Mix glue to a consistency like peanut butter, calculating the needed quantity.
3. Having dried the tails and feet thoroughly, chop or cut the exposed bone with a sharp bolo to remove rough edges.
4. With the homemade hand drill, make a hole in the center of the bone about 1 cm to 1 ½ cm deep ( Fig. 43).
FIGURE 43
5. Spoon just enough glue with the pointed stick into the drilled hole (Fig. 44).
FIGURE 44
6. Insert hook up to the neck of its eye (Fig. 45)
FIGURE 45
7. Dip your index finger into the glass of water and smooth the mound of glue around the hook and edges of the paw or tail (Fig. 46).
FIGURE 46
8. Put foot and tail upright in a welded wire rack or cartoon. Let stand in sun until glue is hardened (Fig. 47).
FIGURE 47
9. When glue is dried, place a key chain through the eye of the hook. It is now a completed product (Fig. 48).
FIGURE 48
10. If you have many completed paws and tails, link them together in strands and place in a cellophane bag to protect them from dirt and crust.
11. Bring them to market.
In places where the demand for artificial rabbit tails is economically feasible for production or to produce them, the following instructions utilizes trimmings and good quality tanned pelts for their construction. Artificial tails arc relatively inexpensive to purchase in comparison to the cost of one pelt, thus, the market is open to all strata of the population.
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