Custom Tanning Services

All my hides are tanned by hand using natural, traditional tanning methods of egg yolk and smoke to set the tan. Egg tanning is a traditional method that uses the natural lecithin and fats in egg yolk to soften and preserve the hide, and brings you so much charm & character for years to come

Each hide takes me between 3-6 months to finish and you will be contacted once finished to arrange pickup or shipment. Currently accepting only wool sheepskins for custom services, any breed and any size!

Please contact me at my cell (780-878-8567) or email (prairieshepherdess@gmail.com), to further discuss tanning services

Icelandic hide from my flock
Icelandic x Suffolk hide from my flock
Icelandic lambskin from a flock flock

Prepping Your Hides To Bring For Tanning

When you pickup your hides from the butcher the day of processing, you will want to salt or freeze the same day within hours of the sheep being processed. This is done to preserve your hide so it does not decompose. The hides you bring to me will either need to be salted or frozen prior to their arrival for tanning. Once your hide has been salted or frozen, pleased double wrap in a garbage bag or place them into a bin, and send them my way. Drop off at the farm can be arranged, or if you're out of province or can't make it my way, you can also send them in the mail and I will send them back your way like that

Option 1 of Preserving - Salting Your Hide

Find my video on salting your sheepskin here - https://youtu.be/u6CChkHIH6E?si=c-tFG-eqXd5oNaC0

You can purchase the salt for your hide from UFA - (https://ufa.com/myUFA/Animals/Animal-Nutrition/Minerals-%26-Supplements/Livestock-Salt/Hi-Grade-Salt---20-kg/p/121031)

Please note that you ONLY want to use white salt on your hide, any other type of salt will damage your sheepskin

To salt your hide you will lay your hide out wool down, skin up, and evenly spread the salt over the hide, ensuring you spread into all the edges and folds of the skin. You will want enough salt on it that the moisture is not coming through the salt. About 1/4 inch layer. I don’t measure/weigh my salt, just estimate, but aim for 1/4 inch layer for a successful salting

Option 2 of Preserving - Freezing Your Hide

If you do not have access to salt, the less desirable option is to freeze your hides. Special care must be taken when freezing the hide so the skin does not touch itself because it makes the risk of skin tearing greater when the hide thaws. There are a few options you have when following through with freezing

Option 1 for Freezing - Roll your hide “jelly roll” style, this is achieved by laying it on a clean surface skin side down, wool side up, and rolling the hide into itself

Option 2 for Freezing - The other option when freezing is to lay the hide skin side down, wool side up, and folding the wool side over itself in half

Once your hide is rolled or folded, you can place into a garbage bag, double wrapped, and place into the freezer

Custom Tanning Prices 

$275/hide for services on 1-3 hides, $250/hide for services on 3-5 hides

The maximum for services currently is to send 5 at once as I am the only one working on these
Navajo Churro lambskin from my flock
Icelandic lambskin from a local flock
Custom Jacob hides