• Lay the hide out flat with the hair side down. Try to find a place that is not exposed to the elements, is protected from pets and other animals, and is consistently 40-70 degrees. (When the temperature drops below 40° the process begins to slow. Salt produces little heat as it is absorbed so it is important to keep the atmosphere below 80° if possible. Above 80° the hair follicle can be damaged.)
• Make sure there are no pieces of meat or fat over 1/4 inch thick. The salt will not be able to penetrate.
• Cover the hide using a fine grain non-iodized salt. DO NOT USE ROCK SALT. The size of the salt does not penetrate enough to absorb any moisture.
• It takes about one pound of salt per pound of hide. Don’t worry, it is impossible to over-salt a hide. Normally the average cow takes about 3-4 50 lbs. bags of salt. A feed store is usually the best place to find the salt.
• Let the hide lay out flat for 4-5 days. The salt will pull the moisture from the hide as it preserves it. As the hide absorbs the salt, cover any bare spots with more salt. Be careful when leaving your hide out in the open. We recommend removing the salt and doing it a total of 3-4 times. After a few days while it is still pliable start folding the hide. Make sure to add some excess salt to the creases.
• Direct sunlight will dry the hide out too quickly and can damage the hide.
• After 5+ days roll up the hide, flesh side in. (The hide is not completely cured out, but it is good enough for shipping. It takes 10 days to completely cure out a hide.)
• DO NOT WRAP THE HIDE IN PLASTIC (May cause the hide to collect bacteria).

WE NO LONGER ACCEPT FRESH OR FROZEN HIDES.

They have a much higher chance of hair slippage and rarely turn out well. After being frozen for a year, the hide will become freezer burned which causes the actual chemistry of the hide to change. When tanned, it may look fine, but soon the hair will begin to fall out. Sometimes a freezer burned hide can successfully be tanned for leather, but we don’t handle that kind of tanning process.