Ostrich Skin Removal
 

Qull Areas

A(1) - A(4) : Main Diamond Area
B : Neck
C(1), C(2) : Upper Belly Flap
C(3), C(4) : Lower Belly Flap
  1. The room for removing the skins should be 14 to 16º C (57.2 to 60.8º F) to ensure the skins are maintained within a cold chain.

     
  2. Once bled and defeathered, first remove the shin skins from the lower legs. The scales of the shin should be in the center otherwise they are of no value.

     
  3. Invert the bird so that it is hanging by its wings. Follow the cutting lines as per the diagram. Deskinning with the use of a cradel is not recommended.

     
  4. For skin removal, use only one operator. Using more than one operator can cause an operator to damage the skin with cuts as the other operator moves the bird.

     
  5. The neck of the bird is typically trimmed 20 cm (7 3/4 inches) above the featherline, and the leg some 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) above the "knee".

     
  6. Hose down the skin with water to remove blood and cool the skin.

     
  7. Use a blunt tool to remove access fat. Do not use a knife as this can accidentally cause cuts.

     
  8. Place the skin flesh side up flat on a pallet. Ensure that the pallet has some form of protection eg. a sheet of cardboard to avoid damage from the nails and the slats in the pallet. Similarly avoid contact with any metals such as the salt shovel against the skins.

     
  9. Use fine grain salt to heavily salt down the skin. Avoid coarse salt. The salt should cover all parts of the skin. Skins are living organisms. Salt dehydrates the skin, thereby restricting any bacterial growth. If insufficent salt is used, then this dehydration process is incomplete and bacterial growth will eat into the skin causing damage. Use plenty of salt. Typically 5 kg. of salt per skin.

     
  10. It is best if the pallet is on a slope to encourage drainage. Similarly it is best if the skin is not folded at this stage to assist in the draining process.

We have successfully produced ostrich skins without the use of a biocides before salting down. Since there are so many options on biocides, we prefer at this time not to comment on this aspect until we have more concrete data. However, we would like to say that if an animal slaughter plant is using them, then treat ostrich skins no different. In our opinion, what works for other skins, will most likely work for ostriches. Skins are typically placed in a biocide fo 30 minutes, piled to drain excess solution and then salted down.

 

 

Ostrich Skin Storage
 
  1. After 7 to 10 days, shake off the old salt.

     
  2. Place skin onto a storage pallet, flesh side up.
  3. Heavily resalt with fine grain sea salt. Avoid coarse salt.
  4. Fold the extremes of the skin such as the neck and any parts that fall outside the pallet size into the center. Ensure that there is no juice inside the folds and salt in the folds.
  5. Storage temperature should be between 4º and 10º C ( 39º to 50º F ). Never freeze.
  6. As a general rule, do not place over 100 skins on one pallet as this can cause internal heat in skins at the bottom of the pile.
  7. If the cold chain is maintained during the removal and storage of skins, it should be possible to store skins up to 6 months.

 

Ostrich Skin Transport
 
  1. If transporting the skins by pallet, cover with cardboard, cloth (such as old sheets) or hessien sacking. Do not use any form of plastic. Skins need to breathe and plastic causes the skins to heat. Heat causes bacterial activity which will damage your skins.

     
  2. Use refrigerated transport.
  3. The sooner the skins are transported to the tannery the less opportunity there is for any problems to arise.

 

Ostrich Skin Grading
 
Evaluation in the Raw State It is not possible to successfully grade ostrich skins in raw. Only when the skin is tanned to the crust stage, prior to color finishing, can all the damage to a particular skins can be apparent.. For example chick scars are rarely visible in the raw state. Given that the true value of a skin can only be assessed in the tanned state, an ostrich skin buyer runs a high risk. He can evaluate if there are any cuts, and by holding against the light, can assess whether any holes are immediately visible but this is only on a preliminary assessment. As a result of this risk, the price paid to a farmer on evaluation of a raw skin is much lower than if paid on evaluation of the skin in the tanned state. Ostrich skin buyers use their own grading systems. One such grading system is the following:-
  1. Grade 1 (or Grade A) for a skin without any cuts, holes or marks in the diamond area.

     
  2. Grade 2 (or Grade B) for a skin with cuts, holes or marks in one quarter of the diamond area.

     
  3. Grade 3 (or Grade C) for a skin with cuts, holes or marks in two quarters of the diamond area.

     
  4. Grade 4 (or Grade D) for a skin with cuts, holes or marks in three quarters of the diamond area.

     
  5. Rejects. Damage in all quarters of the diamond area.
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